Shades of Deep Purple Tour
Encyclopedia
The Shades of Deep Purple Tour was a short tour by British hard rock
band Deep Purple
to support their debut album Shades of Deep Purple
. The tour lasted over one month and included only eight dates (7 in the UK and 1 in Switzerland). It was the band's first UK tour.
the band recorded their first album in just one weekend and then confirmed their first UK dates. The album was released in the US only, reaching #24 on the charts. It included the hit single Hush (written by Joe South and previously performed by Billy Joe Royal) which peaked at #4 and threw Deep Purple into the USA mainstream, although the Shades of Deep Purple Tour included only UK dates. No official live recordings from this tour have been released yet.
. In previous years this festival was held in Richmond, and it would later be moved to Plumpton
for several years before transforming into the famous Reading Festival.
Deep Purple played twice; they opened the main stage at 7 PM and played another set later that evening in the Marquee. Many people had high expectations but the general consensus was 'pretentious' and 'too American'. The line-up for the festival was Deep Purple, Joe Cocker
, Jeff Beck
, Rory Gallagher
(with 'Taste'), Peter Frampton
(with 'the Herd'), Marc Bolan
and John Mayall
and others. Photos from these shows prove that in the early days Jon Lord would sit behind the keyboard and sing backing vocals.
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...
to support their debut album Shades of Deep Purple
Shades of Deep Purple
Shades of Deep Purple is the debut album by English hard rock band Deep Purple, released in 1968 on Parlophone in the United Kingdom and Tetragrammaton in the United States....
. The tour lasted over one month and included only eight dates (7 in the UK and 1 in Switzerland). It was the band's first UK tour.
Pre-history
After a short debut tourDeep Purple Debut Tour
Deep Purple Debut Tour is the first tour by British hard rock band Deep Purple which took place in Europe, specifically in Scandinavian countries....
the band recorded their first album in just one weekend and then confirmed their first UK dates. The album was released in the US only, reaching #24 on the charts. It included the hit single Hush (written by Joe South and previously performed by Billy Joe Royal) which peaked at #4 and threw Deep Purple into the USA mainstream, although the Shades of Deep Purple Tour included only UK dates. No official live recordings from this tour have been released yet.
Tour set list
- "Love Help Me"
- "Prelude: Happiness/I'm So Glad"
- "Mandrake Root"
- "Hush"
- "One More Rainy Day"
- "Hey Joe"
- "And The Address"
- "Help"
Tour dates
- 27/09/1968 Mothers Club, BirminghamBirminghamBirmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, UK - 28/09/1968 Van Dyke Club, PlymouthPlymouthPlymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, UK
Notable live dates
Summer 1968 saw Deep Purple's first shows in UK. The band's first high profile UK performance was at the 8th National Jazz & Blues Festival in SunburySunbury-on-Thames
Sunbury-on-Thames, also known as Sunbury, is a town in the Surrey borough of Spelthorne, England, and part of the London commuter belt. It is located 16 miles southwest of central London and bordered by Feltham and Hampton, flanked on the south by the River Thames.-History:The earliest evidence of...
. In previous years this festival was held in Richmond, and it would later be moved to Plumpton
Plumpton, East Sussex
Plumpton is a village and civil parish in the Lewes District of East Sussex, England. The village is located five miles north-west of Lewes. The parish includes the small village of Plumpton and the larger village of Plumpton Green to the north where most of the community and services are based...
for several years before transforming into the famous Reading Festival.
Deep Purple played twice; they opened the main stage at 7 PM and played another set later that evening in the Marquee. Many people had high expectations but the general consensus was 'pretentious' and 'too American'. The line-up for the festival was Deep Purple, Joe Cocker
Joe Cocker
John Robert "Joe" Cocker, OBE is an English rock and blues musician, composer and actor, who came to popularity in the 1960s, and is most known for his gritty voice, his idiosyncratic arm movements while performing, and his cover versions of popular songs, particularly those of The Beatles...
, Jeff Beck
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold "Jeff" Beck is an English rock guitarist. He is one of three noted guitarists to have played with The Yardbirds...
, Rory Gallagher
Rory Gallagher
William Rory Gallagher, ; 2 March 1948 – 14 June 1995, was an Irish blues-rock multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and bandleader. Born in Ballyshannon, County Donegal, Ireland, and raised in Cork, Gallagher recorded solo albums throughout the 1970s and 1980s, after forming the band Taste...
(with 'Taste'), Peter Frampton
Peter Frampton
Peter Kenneth Frampton is an English musician, singer, producer, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. He was previously associated with the bands Humble Pie and The Herd. Frampton's international breakthrough album was his live release, Frampton Comes Alive!. The album sold over 6 million copies...
(with 'the Herd'), Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan
Marc Bolan was an English singer-songwriter, guitarist and poet. He is best known as the founder, frontman, lead singer & guitarist for T. Rex, but also a successful solo artist...
and John Mayall
John Mayall
John Mayall, OBE is an English blues singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist, whose musical career spans over fifty years...
and others. Photos from these shows prove that in the early days Jon Lord would sit behind the keyboard and sing backing vocals.