Deep Purple European Tour - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The Deep Purple European Tour was a year-long successful concert tour by British

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

Hard Rock

Hard rock

Hard rock is a loosely defined genre of rock music which has its earliest roots in mid-1960s garage rock, blues rock and psychedelic rock...

band Deep Purple

Deep Purple

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...

, lasting from July 1969 until June 1970. The band played mostly UK shows, also covering Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

, Denmark

Denmark

Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...

, Holland, and Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

. It was the first tour to feature the classic Deep Purple line-up: Ian Gillan

Ian Gillan

Ian Gillan is an English rock music vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple. During his career Gillan also fronted his own band, had a year-long stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath, and sang the role of Jesus in the original recording of Andrew Lloyd...

, Roger Glover

Roger Glover

Roger David Glover is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist and lyricist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.-Early career:...

, Ritchie Blackmore

Ritchie Blackmore

Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...

, Jon Lord

Jon Lord

Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...

and Ian Paice

Ian Paice

Ian Anderson Paice is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the English rock band Deep Purple. As of Jon Lord's departure in 2002, he is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has...

. It is considered to be the pre-tour for the In Rock
Deep Purple in Rock
Deep Purple in Rock is an album by English rock band Deep Purple, released in June 1970. It was their fourth studio album and the first with the classic Mk II lineup. Rod Evans and Nick Simper had been fired in June 1969 and were replaced by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, respectively...

album, as the band mostly played songs from the upcoming album.

Tour Pre-History

In 1969, the band's founding members Blackmore

Ritchie Blackmore

and Lord

Jon Lord

decided to replace vocalist Rod Evans

Rod Evans

Rod Evans is a former English singer and was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968. He provided vocals for the group's first three albums, including the hit singles "Hush" and "Kentucky Woman". He was replaced by Ian Gillan in 1969.-Early career:Before joining Deep Purple, Evans played together...

with Ian Gillan

Ian Gillan

. Gillan himself declined to join Deep Purple without his former bandmate Roger Glover

Roger Glover

Roger David Glover is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist and lyricist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.-Early career:...

. Lord and Blackmore accepted him and in 1969 band was joined by Gillan and Glover, replacing Evans (vocalist) and Simper (bassist). This new line-up, known as MKII, immediately went on tour throughout Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

and the UK.

UK

10 7 1969 Speakeasy London UK
18 7 1969 Jazz Club Redcar UK
20 7 1969 Mothers Club Birmingham UK
13 8 1969 Revolution Club London UK Cancelled
15 8 1969 Mayfair Newcastle UK Cancelled
16 8 1969 Rebeccas Birmingham UK Cancelled
20 8 1969 Revolution Club London UK

Belgium & Holland

22 8 1969 Jazz Festival Bilzen Belgium
23 8 1969 Club Paradiso Amsterdam Holland
24 8 1969 Club Paradiso Amsterdam Holland

UK #2

26 8 1969 Klook's Kleek Windsor UK
29 8 1969 Lyceum London UK
30 8 1969 Kent Pop Festival Gravesend UK
3 9 1969 Que Club Gothenburg Sweden
7 9 1969 Club 6 Copenhagen Denmark
12 9 1969 Queens Hall Barnstaple UK
13 9 1969 Queens Hall Narberth UK
20 9 1969 Winter Gardens Malvern UK
21 9 1969 Venue unknown Redcar UK
24 9 1969 Royal Albert Hall London UK
27 9 1969 Nottingham College Nottingham UK

West Germany & Switzerland

4 10 1969 Casino Montreux Switzerland
9 10 1969 Venue unknown Augsburg West Germany
10 10 1969 Venue unknown Stuttgart West Germany
11 10 1969 Pop & Blues Festival Essen West Germany
12 10 1969 Amsterdam Netherlands
14 10 1969 Musikhalle (poss. Star Club) Hamburg West Germany

UK #3

22 10 1969 Baths Hall Ipswich UK
24 10 1969 Lyceum London UK
25 10 1969 Winter Gardens Weston-super-Mare UK
30 10 1969 University Leeds UK
1 11 1969 Mayfair Ballroom Bristol UK
2 11 1969 Lyceum London UK
7 11 1969 Venue unknown Romford UK
8 11 1969 Leas Cliff Hall Folkestone UK
10 11 1969 Art College Bath UK
13 11 1969 Regency Theatre Newport UK
14 11 1969 Aston View Birmingham UK
15 11 1969 University Leeds UK
16 11 1969 Kinema Glasgow UK
17 11 1969 Kinema Glasgow UK
21 11 1969 Avery Hill Eltham UK
22 11 1969 University Bradford UK
23 11 1969 Groovesville Epping UK
29 11 1969 Imperial College London UK
30 11 1969 Roundhouse London UK
4 12 1969 Venue unknown Worthing UK
5 12 1969 Polytechnic Sunderland UK
6 12 1969 UMIST Manchester UK
7 12 1969 St Georges Hall Bradford UK
9 12 1969 Keele University Stafford UK
10 12 1969 University College London UK
11 12 1969 Rye Ballroom Bournemouth UK
12 12 1969 The Flamingo Hereford UK
15 12 1969 The Cosmopolitan Carlisle UK
18 12 1969 The Flamingo Redruth UK
19 12 1969 Van Dyke Club Plymouth UK
20 12 1969 The Roundhouse Dagenham UK
28 12 1969 Greyhound Croydon UK
5 1 1970 Anciennes Paris France
6 1 1970 Assembly Hall Worthing UK
10 1 1970 University Reading UK
19 1 1970 Civic Hall Dunstable UK
21 1 1970 Newcastle Music Hall UK
23 1 1970 University of Lancaster Lancaster UK
30 1 1970 Royal Albert Hall London UK
31 1 1970 Lawns Centre Cottenham UK
6 2 1970 Technical College Waltham Forest UK
7 2 1970 Union Hall, University Leicester UK
8 2 1970 Mothers Club Birmingham UK
13 2 1970 University Cardiff UK
14 2 1970 Free Trade Hall Manchester UK
15 2 1970 Boat Club Nottingham UK
16 2 1970 Kings Head Romford UK
19 2 1970 BBC Studios London UK
20 2 1970 Civic Hall Preston UK
21 2 1970 St Mary's College Twickenham UK
22 2 1970 Greyhound Croydon UK
24 2 1970 Imperial College London UK
25 2 1970 University Bristol UK
27 2 1970 Polytechnic Leeds UK
28 2 1970 Philharmonic Hall Liverpool England

Switzerland

4 3 1970 Volkshaus
Volkshaus
The Volkshaus is a building in Zürich, Switzerland.New Order performed at the venue during a European tour on April 2, 1984. The concert was entirely broadcast on DMS3-FM radio....

Zurich Switzerland
6 3 1970 St Jakob Sporthalle Basel Switzerland
7 3 1970 Verkehrshaus Luzern Switzerland

UK #4

13 3 1970 Winter Gardens Blackpool UK
14 3 1970 Winter Gardens Weston-super-Mare UK
15 3 1970 Wake Arms Epping UK
17 3 1970 University Exeter UK
20 3 1970 Odeon Edinburgh UK
21 3 1970 Caird Hall Dundee UK
22 3 1970 Kinema Ballroom Dunfermline UK
23 3 1970 Music Hall Aberdeen UK
24 3 1970 Electric Garden Glasgow UK
25 3 1970 Town Hall Hamilton UK
28 3 1970 Roundhouse Dagenham UK

West Germany & Austria #2

30 3 1970 Sportpalast West Berlin West Germany
4 4 1970 Mulheim Sporthalle Cologne West Germany
6 4 1970 Konzerthaus Vienna Austria

UK #5

11 4 1970 Central Hall Chatham UK
18 4 1970 Technical College Ewell UK
24 4 1970 Venue unknown Bath UK
1 5 1970 Art College Bath UK
9 5 1970 Roundhouse Dagenham UK
11 5 1970 De Montfort Hall Leicester UK
15 5 1970 Venue unknown Chelmsford UK
16 5 1970 Town Hall Birmingham UK
17 5 1970 Colston Hall Bristol UK
18 5 1970 Civic Hall Dunstable UK
25 5 1970 Queen Elizabeth Hall London UK

Germany & Switzerland #3

28 5 1970 Ostseehalle Kiel West Germany
29 5 1970 Neue Welt West Berlin West Germany
30 5 1970 Circus Krone Munich West Germany Postponed
1 6 1970 Rheinhalle Düsseldorf West Germany
2 6 1970 Musikhalle Hamburg West Germany
4 6 1970 Bedford Town FC Bedford UK
7 6 1970 Eisstadion Munich West Germany
8 6 1970 St Jakob Sportalle Basel Switzerland
9 6 1970 Venue unknown Cologne West Germany

UK #6

12 6 1970 Eel Pie Island Twickenham UK
14 6 1970 Fairfield Hall Croydon UK
16 6 1970 Jesus College Cambridge UK
19 6 1970 John Dalton College Manchester UK
20 6 1970 University College Oxford UK
21 6 1970 Radstadion Frankfurt West Germany

Setlist

During the tour, half of the setlist included MKI hits with the other half consisting of new MKII songs. "Speed King

Speed King

"Speed King" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple from their 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock. The song is one of the loudest from the album, and featured some of the band's greatest amount of improvisation in a studio recorded song, on both the original version and later live versions...

", "Child In Time

Child in Time

"Child in Time" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple. Featured on their 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock, the song is 10 minutes and 18 seconds long.-History and characteristics:...

" and "Into the Fire" were premiered on the tour, before being released on the In Rock
Deep Purple in Rock
Deep Purple in Rock is an album by English rock band Deep Purple, released in June 1970. It was their fourth studio album and the first with the classic Mk II lineup. Rod Evans and Nick Simper had been fired in June 1969 and were replaced by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, respectively...

album.

And The Address {opening bars only}
Kneel And Pray (early version of Speed King
Speed King
"Speed King" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple from their 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock. The song is one of the loudest from the album, and featured some of the band's greatest amount of improvisation in a studio recorded song, on both the original version and later live versions...

with different lyrics)
Into the Fire
Kentucky Woman
Kentucky Woman
"Kentucky Woman" is a 1967 song written and originally recorded by Neil Diamond. Another well-known version is the 1968 recording by Deep Purple....

(only occasionally)
Child In Time
Child in Time
"Child in Time" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple. Featured on their 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock, the song is 10 minutes and 18 seconds long.-History and characteristics:...
Mandrake Root
Wring That Neck aka Hard Road
Ritchie's Blues
Paint It Black, instrumental (The Rolling Stones)
~Drum solo

Tour diary & notable live dates

Deep Purple MKII kicked off their first tour at the London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

Speakeasy Club. In a recent interview, Ian Gillan

Ian Gillan

named this show to be favourite live performance of his career, as it was his first show with Deep Purple.

After a few UK dates, the band headed to Belgium

Belgium

, where they headlined the Bilzen Jazz Festival, and then again returned to the UK.

On the 24th of September, the band played at London's Royal Albert Hall

Royal Albert Hall

The Royal Albert Hall is a concert hall situated on the northern edge of the South Kensington area, in the City of Westminster, London, England, best known for holding the annual summer Proms concerts since 1941....

, with the London Symphony Orchestra

London Symphony Orchestra

The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...

conducted by Malcolm Arnold

Malcolm Arnold

Sir Malcolm Henry Arnold, CBE was an English composer and symphonist.Malcolm Arnold began his career playing trumpet professionally, but by age thirty his life was devoted to composition. He was ranked with Benjamin Britten as one of the most sought-after composers in Britain...

. This was one of the earliest examples of a rock band collaborating with an orchestra. The show was called Concerto for Group and Orchestra

Concerto for Group and Orchestra

The Concerto for Group and Orchestra is a concerto composed by Jon Lord, with lyrics written by Ian Gillan. It was first performed by Deep Purple and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold on 24 September 1969 and released on vinyl in December 1969. The release was the first...

and was later officially released. The Concerto and album itself was influential, with many rock bands following in Deep Purple's steps and playing with orchestras. Rock band Metallica

Metallica

Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...

made their orchestral debut in 2000 and named Purple's 1969 show as the main influence.
The orchestral parts were written by Jon Lord

Jon Lord

and included three movements.

Opening set - first part (without Orchestra):

Hush
Wring That Neck
~Jingle Bells instrumental
Child In Time

Concerto For Group And Orchestra (second part)

First Movement - Allegro moderato
Second Movement - Andante
Third Movement - Vivace presto
~Drum solo

Encore:

Third Movement (2nd half)
~Drum solo

In April 1969, Deep Purple headlined the Montreux Jazz Festival

Montreux Jazz Festival

The Montreux Jazz Festival is the best-known music festival in Switzerland and one of the most prestigious in Europe; it is held annually in early July in Montreux on the shores of Lake Geneva...

in Switzerland

Switzerland

as well as the Pop & Blues festival in Germany

Germany

. Other festival acts included Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd

Pink Floyd were an English rock band that achieved worldwide success with their progressive and psychedelic rock music. Their work is marked by the use of philosophical lyrics, sonic experimentation, innovative album art, and elaborate live shows. Pink Floyd are one of the most commercially...

and The Nice

The Nice

The Nice were an English progressive rock band from the 1960s, known for their blend of rock, jazz and classical music. Their debut album, The Thoughts of Emerlist Davjack was released in 1967 to immediate acclaim. It is often considered the first progressive rock album...

. Ritchie Blackmore

Ritchie Blackmore

jammed with The Nice

The Nice

's Keith Emerson

Keith Emerson

Keith Noel Emerson is an English keyboard player and composer. Formerly a member of the Keith Emerson Trio, John Brown's Bodies, The T-Bones, V.I.P.s, P.P. Arnold's backing band, and The Nice , he was a founder of Emerson, Lake & Palmer , one of the early supergroups, in 1970...

On February 19, they performed at the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

's Studios, with the show later being released on CD. They then returned to Germany

Germany

, Switzerland

Switzerland

and Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, before again returning to the UK. The tour ended at Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

's Radstadion

Radstadion

Radstadion is a velodrome located in Olympiapark in Munich, Germany. They hosted the track portion of the cycling competitions for the 1972 Summer Olympics....

on June 21, 1970.

Live albums and DVDs

Several live albums from the tour were later released.

Concerto for Group and Orchestra
Concerto for Group and Orchestra
The Concerto for Group and Orchestra is a concerto composed by Jon Lord, with lyrics written by Ian Gillan. It was first performed by Deep Purple and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Malcolm Arnold on 24 September 1969 and released on vinyl in December 1969. The release was the first...

CD/DVD
Gemini Suite Live
Gemini Suite Live
Gemini Suite Live is a recording of Jon Lord's classical/rock piece featuring the whole of Deep Purple Mk 2, recorded live during this one and only live performance in 1970...

CD
Kneel & Pray CD
Live in Montreux 69
Live in Montreux 69
Live in Montreux 69 is a live album by English rock band Deep Purple, recorded October 4, 1969 in Montreux, released in 2006. It was recorded in the Montreux Casino that burned down two years later....

CD
Scandinavian Nights
Scandinavian Nights
Scandinavian Nights is a double live album by Deep Purple. It was originally recorded by Swedish National Radio for a radio show called Tonkraft at the Stockholm Konserthuset on 12 November 1970, but not released until 1988. The tapes re-mixed by Tom Leader at Angel Studios...

CD/DVD
Deep Purple in Concert
Deep Purple In Concert
Deep Purple in Concert is an album by British hard rock band Deep Purple, of two concerts recorded by the BBC for their "In Concert" live series, recorded in 1970 and 1972. First released in 1980 in the UK, with the current US edition being made available in 2001...

CD/DVD
Live in Stockholm CD/DVD
Space Vol 1 & 2
Space Vol 1 & 2
Space Vol 1 & 2 is a live album by the British hard rock band Deep Purple. The show was recorded live in Germany on July 11, 1970 at the Reiterstadion in Aachen...
Doing Their Thing DVD
Heavy Metal Pioneers (Tour documentary)

Line up

Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan is an English rock music vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple. During his career Gillan also fronted his own band, had a year-long stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath, and sang the role of Jesus in the original recording of Andrew Lloyd...

- vocals
Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore
Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...

- guitar
Jon Lord
Jon Lord
Jonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...

- keyboard, hammond organ
Roger Glover
Roger Glover
Roger David Glover is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist and lyricist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.-Early career:...

- bass
Ian Paice
Ian Paice
Ian Anderson Paice is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the English rock band Deep Purple. As of Jon Lord's departure in 2002, he is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has...

- drums

External links

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