Deep Purple: Still Running Strong
Deep Purple has flirted with the idea of calling it quits before. But according to vocalist Ian Gillan, they’re still running strong. Don’t pay attention to the rumors you may have heard. "So far, so good," he quips early in the below conversation with UCR.
The Tour with Yes
Deep Purple is set to start their tour with Yes on Wednesday (Aug. 14). In advance, Gillan checked in with Ultimate Classic Rock Nights host Matt Wardlaw to discuss the upcoming run as well as the band’s decade-plus working relationship with legendary producer Bob Ezrin.
A History with Yes
When the tour with Yes was originally announced, it was billed as the =1 More Time tour. Realistically, how close does the end of the road – and perhaps, this band, feel to you?
There wasn’t much of a bond. [Laughs] We were doing a festival [in] Plumpton, the first rock, jazz and blues festival that became the Reading Festival, run by Jack Barrie at the Marquee [Club in London]. He’d put on some absolutely great bands. Of course, we’d worked with most of them in those days. It was fantastic. They were all good in their own way – but I think Yes were a bit miffed, because they wanted to close the show and it wasn’t in their contract. It was [in our contract] that Deep Purple would close the show, so they refused to leave the hotel room. Jack said, "Guys, would you mind going on a bit earlier? I don’t want to push you but it would help me and it would help the crowd." "Yeah sure, okay, no worries." Then, Ritchie [Blackmore] decided that if we weren’t going to close, nobody was. He ordered some gasoline to be brought in. He threw it all over the equipment and then had the roadie light a broom, which had a petrol-soaked rag on the end of it to ignite the lot. Of course, it did ignite – because the fumes just exploded. Within a half-hour, there were blue lights flashing. The police, the fire brigade and ambulances were all coming in and there was complete chaos. Everything was on the front page of the Sunday papers the next morning and it was all quite rock ‘n’ roll. [Laughs]
The Unleashed Tour
When asked about the tour name, Gillan clarified that it’s actually called Unleashed, not =1 More Time. As for the end of the road, Gillan emphasized that as long as the energy level remains high, the band will continue to perform.
Working with Bob Ezrin
Deep Purple has now done five albums with Bob Ezrin, who has been instrumental in helping the band dial in their sound. What is it that you love about working with him?
Bob is exactly what we were missing. No. 1, he’s an arbiter in the final stages of arrangement. I know it sounds ridiculous, but when you get five guys in a room, you get very close to a finished arrangement and someone will say, "Well, what about this? Why don’t we try this?" So we can sit and squabble and talk for three days trying to settle on an arrangement and just basically keep everyone happy. Bob comes in and says, "That’s rubbish. Get that out. Get rid of that. Do this, do that." [Laughs] He takes our arrangements and tightens them up. That’s been great. He does it with a voice of authority because we respect him and what he’s achieved. He also gets the best sound we’ve ever had. That’s really important.
The Sound of Deep Purple
We had a series of front-of-house sound engineers [for our live concerts] who would mix like all of the other rock bands. They’d mix it like heavy metal. The audience would feel the bass drum thumping in their guts, the guitar and the power and it was relentless. Everything was full on, all of the way through the show. One day, we had a new engineer and he looked at things musically and made it enjoyable to listen to. We finished "Highway Star," which is our traditional opening song and I couldn’t believe it. We were all taken aback because the audience reaction was at least four times greater. They raised the roof. Nothing had changed. The band was the same and it was the same sized venue – same everything. The only difference was the sound engineer and it’s been that way ever since. That was a massive change. It was more than Ezrin, to be honest, in the live field. I’ve always thought we didn’t get our sound as good as it could have been in the studio. Sure enough, that’s his gig, man. That’s his skill. He gets the best sound we’ve ever had. I say that without fear of contradiction. I mean, it’s obvious.
Conclusion
Deep Purple is still going strong, with a new album and a tour with Yes on the horizon. Despite rumors of the band’s demise, Gillan is confident that as long as the energy level remains high, they’ll continue to perform. With Bob Ezrin at the helm, the band is able to dial in their sound and create music that is both timeless and relevant.
FAQs
Q: How does it feel to be back on tour with Yes?
A: It’s great to see Deep Purple hitting the road with Yes. What sort of bond was there between the two groups back in the day?
A: There wasn’t much of a bond. [Laughs] We were doing a festival [in] Plumpton, the first rock, jazz and blues festival that became the Reading Festival, run by Jack Barrie at the Marquee [Club in London].
Q: What do you love about working with Bob Ezrin?
A: Bob is exactly what we were missing. No. 1, he’s an arbiter in the final stages of arrangement. He takes our arrangements and tightens them up. That’s been great. He does it with a voice of authority because we respect him and what he’s achieved.
Q: How do you view your approach to your vocals?
A: Well, you’re always learning – but also, I think there are little things that you don’t know you’re doing at the time. You don’t notice until afterwards. It’s very obvious that when you’re relaxed, you perform better. I often think of the analogy of an athlete. If they’re relaxed, they’ll run faster and perform better – because your brain’s working better.
Q: What inspired the lyrics on your latest album?
A: I tore up all of the songs on this album until I did that equation, the "equals one" equation, because I was so fed up with the complications of just trying to buy things or get through life without all of the bureaucracy and impediments that are constantly falling in your way. Once I put that "equals one" equation together, I thought, "Right, that’s it." The whole album, I wrote it in about three weeks, all of the words and tunes and kept it simple.
