Farewell concert - how much there is in this word... Obviously, not only for the Russian heart, because such necrophiliac habits are reflected well in the attendance of tours in the domains of the West, which has long been fed up with the bright spectacles of the West. Indeed, “now or never” is a very successful slogan that puts pressure on the feelings of listeners, which makes many put aside their current affairs and rush to touch the next elderly musical legend. For some for the first and last time, so that they could tell their grandchildren later, and for others for the fifth/tenth, because those same grandchildren gave tickets to their beloved grandfather - to remember their youth, brushing away their stingy tears. In general, this is an almost win-win option for any band that has slightly lost its relevance... Especially if you don’t explicitly confirm in an interview that the tour is “well, honestly” the very last, leaving yourself a way to retreat in the form of the excuse that has already become a classic of the genre “this is the last big tour". Now the long-suffering people have gone there too Deep Purple… Their last year’s album received the suggestive title “inFinite” in bold letters, and the tour in support of it was christened, downright frighteningly honestly, “The Long Goodbye”. Of course, without any clear deadlines and promises of how “long” they will really be, and how “goodbye” they will really become. However, I won’t throw stones at the gray-haired “Perplovites” for strictly following the craze of touring fashion of recent years. Nobody wants to see half-empty halls at their concerts in their old age, but such a simple technique really works! Any resident of the capital could verify this personally on the evening of May 30, when the Olimpiysky Stadium, if not bursting at the seams, certainly could not boast of any noticeable abundance of free seats - both in the stalls and in the stands. As a person who has been attending regular performances of the good old DP in Moscow almost every two years over the past fifteen years, I can say with confidence that I have never seen such a sold-out crowd. Of course, Gillan and company are kings; I would even say - tyrannosaurs among all the fossil lizards of rock over a vast territory former USSR, which have always gathered and will always gather thousands of people here, regardless of the program and frequency of their visits. But the current pseudo-farewell tour has exceeded everything, even the wildest expectations. I haven’t seen such an endless sea of people from grandfathers with vinyl records, schoolchildren with iPods, and everyone else in between at Moscow stadiums for quite some time. Considering the roughly similar turnout in terms of profitability for the Ozzy Ozbourne show that took place here just a day later (also, by the way, a “farewell”), there is no doubt for a second - until Ozzy himself, our heroes of today’s story, and any others rock veterans who still have the strength to go on tour will not go to another world prematurely; the opportunity to see them in Russia with the next “encore” remains very large. Therefore, let us now put aside all nostalgic sentiments and try to answer a very pressing question - besides the completely understandable desire to cry for the last time under the first chords of “Black Night,” can the current Purple have at least something to offer a demanding listener?
And here, my dear readers, you still have to get stones from the garden... Get them out to freeze, wondering which way to throw them? After visiting this concert, I again encountered the age-old dilemma of the relationship between the audience and the artist - who should educate whom? All my adult life I have answered this question quite unequivocally - only the artist himself must educate his audience, never following the crowd’s lead. But after spending a farewell evening with Deep Purple at the Olimpiyskiy, I began to think very hard, not daring to throw at least one cobblestone into the already thoroughly overgrown with weeds of these highly respected musicians... I’ll explain why. Completely unexpectedly for myself, in the process I absolutely clearly realized which DP concert I would like to go to, and which DP concert I would really enjoy even now, when I have already seen them a hundred times. This is a concert at which these highly experienced T. rexes would, for once, stuff three or four obligatory, but overly disgusted hits of the 70s somewhere in the encore area, and in the main program they would have a proper blast, performing exclusively songs that were recorded with Steve Morse in the lineup. In the end, with this glorious American, the group has already created six full-fledged albums, good and even excellent material from which is enough not only for one, but even for two full-fledged programs! There and filled with things absolutely uncharacteristic for the group, “Purpendicular”; and the quite masterpiece “Now What?!”, which, in my opinion, is quite worthy of taking prize place in the top 5 of all Purple records ever released. Yes, in fact, even the current “inFinite” is quite good. In general, there is plenty to choose from! In fact, out of the fifteen tracks that DP presented to the public at our concert, the aforementioned period was represented by only four. And each of them, imagine, was performed absolutely adequately, good level! “Time for Bedlam” and “Uncommon Man” really shook the stadium, as befits the thoughtful, almost proggy songs of late Purple. And I wanted to sincerely applaud the unexpected inclusion of a real diamond “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming” into the set (even if played out of habit, with fills and blots)! As well as the incredibly energetic performance of “Birds of Prey”, in the finale of which Morse gave a simply stunning solo. Even Gillan, whose deplorable vocal conditioning has long been the talk of the town, did a truly decent job with the obviously simple parts in these moderately fresh songs, without in the least disgracing his once glorious name, which is what he did, in general, for the rest of the series concert. Honestly, no words can express the sudden pleasure I received in the middle of this show! The above-mentioned compositions sounded not only fresh and new (which is a huge plus for a concert of almost any veterans), but also fully corresponded to the capabilities and mood of the modern Deep Purple group. Not the one that remained in the 70s and in the youthful memories of the older generation of rockers, but the current one, still relevant in creative terms. And now let’s return to the question asked earlier - why can’t I throw a stone at the grandfathers on stage for not educating the audience by performing what they themselves want to write and perform in 2018? Because I saw perfectly well how the audience reacted to the wonderful reading of these things... And the musicians themselves also see it very well. And, unlike me, not just once, but every single evening.
By chance, a well-deserved older Purple fan happened to be next to me at the concert, with whom we chatted a little. Judging by the nature of the conversation that was taking place, I immediately realized that he, unlike most of his contemporaries, was quite advanced, was not going to shout towards the stage “Child in time come on!!”, he was listening modern bands type Alter Bridge, in general, is a quite pleasant person. So, do you know what he was doing while I was getting incredible pleasure from the same “Birds of Prey”? I was enthusiastically digging through my smartphone... You see, even if such sensible people do not show the slightest interest in modern creativity Deep Purple, what can we ask of the general public? Of course, during all four unfortunate “fresh” songs, an almost dead calm reigned in the hall. And, returning to what I wrote earlier, I considered that I do not have the moral right to blame the pensioners on stage for the fact that in their eighties they are no longer able to find the last strength in themselves to resist this silent pressure from the public. All that remains is, as part of our conditional farewell, to say thank you to them. Thank you for a lot... Thank you for still composing, and even sometimes including fresh and real ones in your set interesting compositions! Let such undertakings be perceived approximately in the spirit of a sketch: “Guys, just be patient for a little while, we’ll play here for ourselves a little, and then we’ll definitely sing your favorite Smokey and Highway Stars.” Thank you for at least trying to perform these old hits at the proper level! Sometimes it turns out downright bad - unfortunately, in addition to the permanently terrible Gillan, now we have added Pace, who suffered a bad micro-stroke, and who suffered very badly for recent years. Fortunately, Glover, Airey and Morse are still in shape, and are able to somehow pull up two colleagues who were discharged for health reasons. Thank you for the fact that even in classical albums you find things that rarely appear at concerts (such as “Bloodsucker”, “Pictures of Home” and “Knocking at Your Back Door” that were heard from the stage this evening), with which you somehow dilute evergreen hits that are boring to the point of gnashing of teeth! Even despite the pensioner-like slowdown of “Knocking...” and “Space Truckin’”, when at times I wanted to sink into the ground in shame for the current weakness of the once strongest musicians. Thank you for being on the farewell tour for the first time in my entire life. long history, Deep Purple finally have some kind of show! And the stylish design of the stage, and the large screen with thematic sketches for certain songs - well, just everything, as is customary now good bands at any big stadium concert. Thank you for not forgetting the improvisation that once made you famous! Even if only during the encore, but still now you can hear long guitar-keyboard duels from Purple, as well as long intros and endings in which you can catch short quotes from creative heritage The Beatles and Led Zeppelin. And of course – thank you, in general, for everything! Despite the inadequately inflated cult status specifically in Russia, Purple were and will forever remain one of the greatest phenomena in the world of hard rock. I hope that they will traditionally be disingenuous with their farewells and will visit us one more time or two before hanging up their guitars completely. Let both young people and pensioners be pleased again, for many of whom the next visit of the legends will certainly be a revelation. Well, personally, on June 30, I now certainly said goodbye forever to one of my old and favorite groups. A concert with a dream set list will never happen again in principle, and despite all the advantages described above, watching again how the musicians I respect not only decay before our eyes, but also with a sad smile switch from actual creativity to banal practicing of a number to please the public, more I don't want to.
Set list:
Intro - Mars, the Bringer of War (Gustav Holst)
1. Highway Star
2. Bloodsucker
3.Pictures of Home
4. Strange Kind of Woman
5. Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming (first live performance since 2012)
6. Uncommon Man (dedicated to Jon Lord)
7. Lazy (with extended keyboard solo intro)
8. Time for Bedlam
9. Birds of Prey
10. Knocking at Your Back Door
11. Keyboard Solo
12. Perfect Strangers
13. Space Truckin"
14. Smoke on the Water
Encore:
15. Hush (Joe South cover)
16. Bass Solo
17. Black Night
Outro - Deep Purple (Nino Tempo & April Stevens)
We express our gratitude to Melnitsa for the accreditation provided.
The legendary rock band, formed back in 1968 in the UK, initially had a completely different name - “Roundabout”. The appearance of the group was timely, harmoniously joining the world of rock music of the 70s, the debutants quickly gained popularity and loyal fans.
According to music critics, group Deep Purple made an invaluable contribution to the formation and development of heavy rock, and also became one of the founders of heavy metal.
The virtuoso instrumentalists who were part of the “classic” line-up of Deep Purple formed the golden core of the group, which included guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, keyboardist Jon Lord, bass guitarist Roger Glover, vocalist Ian Gillan, and drummer Ian Paice. Legendary albums that have become the epitome of hard rock classics were released by this particular lineup of participants. The musicians split up and reunited more than once due to the ambition of the kings of rock music. But as a result of their efforts, seven masterpiece albums out of 18 were born, released under the group’s logo. The most colorful records include the records “Fireball”, “Machine Head” and “In Rock”. In general, the number of albums sold exceeded one hundred million copies.
Since the composition of Deep Purple has changed several times throughout the history of the band, the total number of its members is 14 musicians. For some, participation in the team was a successful start musical career, for some it became a valuable experience working with the masters of rock. The only person who has not changed the group since its formation was the talented drummer Ian Paice.
In the period from 1976 to 1984, the group experienced its longest creative break. Despite the 8-year “vacation”, the musicians picked up their instruments and went back onto the stage, where an innumerable army of devoted, fanatically loving fans awaited them.
By forces former members Deep Purple was created large number side projects. The list of the most significant bands included Black Sabbath Rainbow, Ashton & Lord, Blackmores Night, Ian Gillan Band, Whitesnake, Paice, and Warhorse
All official and concert events are collected here Deep clips Purple, as well as the best mixes of Deep Purple videos. The performer Deep Purple creates his creations in the genres: Metal, Classic Rock, Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Rock, Popular music (Pop), 80s, Alternative Rock(Alternative).
In addition to such hits as Knocking At Your Back Door, Soldier Of Fortune, Call Of The Wild, you can watch the latest Deep Purple videos.
We invite you to get acquainted with the work of artists similar to Deep Purple. These include the following: famous bands, like Uriah Heep, Dio, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden and others.
The Deep Purple group, an object of veneration for more than one generation, celebrated its 50th anniversary by organizing a large-scale concert on the stage of the Olimpiysky Sports Complex on May 30, 2018.
For many fans, this was a unique opportunity to see a cult and one of the most influential bands in musical world. Deep Purple played their best and fan-favorite hits, and also included new songs from their twentieth studio album, “inFinite,” which served as the occasion for a world tour.
Deep Purple was destined to become popular. In terms of album sales, she left even the Beatles behind.
The group gathered such virtuoso musicians like Ian Paice, Ricci Blackmore, Jon Lord, and vocalist Ian Gillan can compete on the same stage with Luciano Pavarotti.
The ageless rockers still travel around the world, charging all their fans with crazy energy and drive of hard rock. Each concert demonstrates the virtuosity of musical skill, giving impromptu performances with unexpected moves, immortal hits and a unique show.
At the beginning of its journey, it was a small group for which creativity always came first. At the peak of their popularity, the composition of the group changed several times. One day, for a short period, the team broke up.
Fortunately for fans, in February 1984 the musicians got together again. Gillan, Blackmore and Glover spent three months working on their new album, “Perfect Strangers,” which, after its presentation, gained worldwide popularity and went platinum, despite a ten-year break from working together.
Climbing the musical Olympus
The main breakthrough came with the recording of the album Shades of Deep Purple, which the musicians created in two days. The first step towards the conquest of America had been taken.
A few years later the group decided to perform with symphony orchestra. The idea arose spontaneously and there was only three months to prepare.
The musicians did not own musical notation, so they wrote notes over the notes like: “Look at Malcolm at the moment of such and such a melody and after 4 seconds start your part.”
And, despite such seemingly serious moments, the concert blew up not only the hall, but also the media.
In 1970, the lead singer of Deep Purple made his film debut. He performed main role in the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar". And in 1972, the group’s rating surpassed such popular groups as Led Zeppelin and the Rolling Stones.
Interesting facts from the life of musicians
According to Ian Gillan, among his contemporaries there are no groups of this magnitude only because they are not promoting those who really have talent. Once, at the start of his career, Ian himself almost succumbed to the temptation to sing simple compositions to order, and the manager then warned that in the future everyone would continue to associate him with these stupid songs.
The song Smoke On The Water was written by Gillan on a napkin in a cafe, and Glover came up with the title for it. The reason was a tragic fire during the performance.
Ian Gillan often forgets words on stage, making up new ones on the fly, which really infuriated Ricci. When Blackmore noticed inconsistencies in the text, he stopped playing. The musicians sometimes even fought using a microphone stand and a guitar.
The group broke up twice. The first reunion ended in a bar fight between Ian and Richie. Negotiations on the second resurrection took place soberly, and the Deep Purple team resumed touring.
Ian ran the business for two years after leaving the band the first time. But a performance in 1975 at the Butterfly Ball concert brought him back to the musical path. Arriving home, the lead singer wrote three songs at once.
On a windy May day, the surroundings of Prospekt Mira were filled with informal people of different generations.
Ian Gillan
There were also rockers of the old formation, already gray-haired, there were also middle-aged people, some with haircuts, some without, and there were young people. Some of whom drank something similar to doping from glasses and paper bags. Those who often visit those parts must have realized (in case they didn’t know for sure) that one of the “old-time” rockers was performing. And, obviously, they were not mistaken: Deep Purple came to Moscow once again.
Deep Purple- 50, that’s what the posters said. For some, this figure could cause something like horror, because it turns out that if the group is 50 years old, then we ourselves are no longer young. Some people probably admired it - wow, 50 years, that's a must! And some, perhaps, have disdain - they say, old people, where should they perform.
Ian Pace
One way or another, the veterans of hard rock are celebrating their half-century anniversary this year and, according to the name of the tour, set off on this occasion (“ The Long Goodbye», « Long goodbye") on his last tour. However, judging by the same title, farewell, if there is one, will be really long - after all, an example Scorpions Everyone can still see how many times they came to Russia alone to give “farewell” concerts, but it’s okay, they still perform to this day.
Don Airey
The situation with Deep Purple is generally similar. From the very beginning, I didn’t really believe that this would really be a farewell concert. That's when they arrived Black Sabbath, then it was immediately clear that this was their last tour. And here - not a word, not a half-hint - nothing.
Roger Glover
And the concert program did not at all resemble a summing up. It was a “regular” Deep Purple concert, consisting entirely of familiar and beloved material. Latest album" Infinite"was represented by only two songs -" Time for Bedlam" And " Birds of Prey" - they sounded in a row, one after another, somewhere in the middle of the concert, and even then, rather, as a formality - it’s not at all imaginable new album It probably wasn't possible.
Roger Glover and Ian Paice
The rest is all hits. Starting right away with " Highway Star", taking a break on " Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming" and finishing, of course, " Smoke on the Water", Deep Purple showed that they are still oldies. Each of those who filled the "Olympic" could be convinced of this - all the musicians of the group performed a solo. It was especially successful for the keyboard player Don Airey- he intertwined traditional improvisations with music Rachmaninov and even with " Evenings near Moscow".
Ian Gillan
The only reminder that the group has been around for many years and that, perhaps, it’s really time to retire, was the voice Ian Gillan. No, he’s fine now, but it’s becoming more and more difficult for him to pull out his own vocal parts. Although, at a minimum, it will definitely be enough for one more “farewell” tour.
Steve Morse
There were only two negative moments in the generally good, strong, but, alas, not excellent concert. The first is sound. He was so bad that sometimes all the parts, including the vocal part, were mixed into one musical mess. The second is the warm-up team. There is an unspoken rule that the opening act must perform in the same genre as the main artist.
Deep Purple
In this case, the choice was more than strange. Perhaps, on a more intimate stage and at a concert of a different format, the Israelis Gunned Down Horses, playing something like stringy alternative metal, would have been a great success, but in in this case they raised one question in the audience - “why?” Many found the answer outside the hall, in the buffets.
Ian Gillan
Otherwise, it was nice to hear one of the most beloved bands in the country once again. We can only hope that the farewell, as it should have been from the posters, will be really long. In any case, when leaving the stage, neither Gillan nor the others began to make pretentious speeches - they just confessed their love. You could say we said goodbye in Russian.
Photos of Anton Chernov provided by the concert organizers
The cult group Deep Purple will celebrate its 50th anniversary with a big anniversary concert on the stage of the Olimpiysky sports complex on May 30!
This will be a unique opportunity to see one of the most influential bands in music history. Deep Purple will play all their best and favorite hits, as well as new songs from their twentieth studio album, “inFinite,” which became the reason for their world tour.
Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Steve Morse and Don Airey - ageless rockers continue to travel around the world with a wave of hard rock, charging all their fans with frantic energy and drive. Every concert of the group is a virtuoso musical performance, filled with improvisations and unexpected moves, timeless hits and a unique show.
Opening act - Gunned down horses
From the photo archive of the Olimpiysky Sports Complex: Deep Purple concert, 2016
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Reference
For rock fans of all nationalities and ages, the Deep Purple concert is an anticipated event. This cult group from the UK was founded in 1968. And to this day, this is one of the most notable bands in the world of music, whose contribution to the formation of the style of heavy metal and hard rock can hardly be overestimated.
The golden lineup of Deep Purple included Ritchie Blackmore (guitar), Ian Paice (drums) and Jon Lord (keyboards), who earned a reputation as virtuoso musicians.
The albums of this cult group sell millions of copies. Today, more than 100 million copies have been sold. For 40 years creative activity The composition of the team members changed periodically (14 people in total). The only permanent member of Deep Purple is drummer Ian Paice.
Music industry professionals are unanimous in their opinion that this group is the pioneer of the hard rock genre and constantly note the influence of its musicians on the direction of rock and heavy metal.
The group first visited Russia in 1996. Then, for the Deep Purple concert, hundreds of fans from different corners countries.
2017 was marked for the band with the release of their 20th studio album entitled “Infinite”. In support of it, the tour “The Long Goodbye Tour” was organized, which the band members announced in December 2016.
Many music fans rushed to buy tickets for the Deep Purple concert, because in an interview for the Heavyworlds website, Ian Paice noted that The Long Goodbye Tour could be the last big tour for the team, although a final decision on this matter has not yet been made.
For the Deep Purple concert in Moscow in 2018, the main arena of the Olympic Stadium was allocated. You can purchase tickets at the box office of the sports complex or electronically on the official website.
