World’s loudest band is coming
Dhriving on their unwaning legend as a hard-rock institution, Deep Purple, once credited by the Guinness Book of Records with being the world’s loudest band, have prolonged their lengthy three-decade-plus stay with regular live-album releases featuring mostly older material, as well as occasional tours for scores of insatiable fans around the world. Greece, one of the band’s tour destinations in recent years, has been included on Deep Purple’s latest itinerary with two dates at the capital’s open-air Lycabettus Theater. The local promoter’s decision to book the band for back-to-back shows, on September 24 and 25 at Athens’s largest outdoor concert venue, is indicative of Deep Purple’s lasting appeal. As expected, and in line with the demands of Deep Purple’s legion of die-hard fans, the act will be relying on classic material from the late 1960s and early 1970s. There is no sign of any new material behind this latest tour. Deep Purple’s most recent offering, earlier this year, an expanded rerelease of 1973’s «Who Do We Think We Are» album, is widely considered the beginning of the end of the group’s golden era. But fans can expect to see four-fifths of Deep Purple’s classic early lineup. They are no longer the youths they once were, but Ian Gillan, Jon Lord, Ian Paice and Roger Glover will all be on stage, joined by a more recent addition, guitarist Steve Morse in place of original member Ritchie Blackmore. He has chosen to remain active with a project of his own the last years, Blackmore’s Night. Formed in 1968 in Hertford, England, Deep Purple have survived a seemingly endless series of lineup changes and a midcareer shift from progressive hard rock to less imaginative ear-shattering heavy metal for their ongoing popularity. Several solo careers have been launched from the group’s ranks, including those of Blackmore, David Coverdale, and Ian Gillan. Despite its numerous lineup upheavals, Deep Purple remains alive and well in 2002, with numerous younger listeners aboard the bandwagon.
