UFO

Last day of my delayed holiday. I have had four good weeks and everything I had set out to do is done. I also discovered a classic television show called UFO on YouTube and bought it on eBay. It turned out to be quite entertaining for a guy of my age (who can gladly accept the goofy style and the sexism etc). Originally aired 1970-1973 it has everything that was cool on television back in the day. This is feel good stuff. I highly recommend it.

Thank you for your support Kalle.

(My shot of the DVD box with the complete series)

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East Meets West

Babymetal just performed two nights at the Saitama Super Arena (yesterday and today) and the lore continues (as can be witnessed on YouTube). They will still play several huge shows at home this year, but they have already announced that the “Gods of the East” will meet “The Gods of the West” at the Legend – Metal Galaxy Shows at the Makuharu Messe Arena on January 25 and 26, meaning that the American Kami Band will be there together with the Japanese original Kami Band. It is also indicated that all three Avengers (the replacements for Yuimetal) will be there. This is pretty exciting stuff, and it remains to be seen what Kami members (and Avengers) that will appear on the European Tour right after this, kicking off here in Stockholm on February 3 (I will be there, so that is going to be good fun). The European Tour will be followed up by an Asian Tour and then it is back to Europe again for Festival dates. Su-metal and Moametal has obviously both agreed to be doing way more concerts than before, and this will mean quite an effort considering how physical their performances are. But it will also help to cement Babymetal as part of the next generation of mega acts. I think they will headline rock festivals all over the world a decade from now.

Looking forward to following and supporting them on this exciting journey.

(Official ad for said “East/West” gigs.

Good traffic right now

Loads of Deep Purple fans are here checking stuff out. I joined a facebook page called Deep Purple – Legends yesterday and added a few links from the past. I can continue to add links with old interviews etc on a regular basis for some time no problem. Trinkelbonker is a good place for fans of the Deep Purple Family. I often post news before anybody else does.

I say welcome to the new visitors. Enjoy the blog.

(Cover seen here is my publication SLICE 2008 – Blackmore photograph by Michael Johansson)

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Ups & Downs

Things are moving fast in Babymetal Land. Lets deal with the bad news first. The Clockenflap Festival in Hong Kong has been cancelled. This is due to the current unrest in the city. It is the first ever Babymetal date that is being cancelled, but it is what it is. On the more positive side, “Metal Galaxy” gets a pretty fair review in Classic Rock # 268 (Queen cover), (quote) “Inside the heart of every fiercely tattooed heavy metal fan there lurks a Japanese schoolgirl” – the press loves to come up with stuff like that. And we got news from the Babymetal camp today that members of the Fan Club called The One will be able to buy super exclusive DVDs (etc) of the Yokohama Arena “Sun” shows from June 28-29 as well as the July 6-7 “Moon” (Legend M) shows from Nagoya. These can be ordered from today and will be shipped on April 1 and the really good news is that the very fact that The One is covered now for some time, should mean that the Forum show that they filmed in Los Angeles a few weeks ago might get the stamp of approval for official release everywhere. About time that they put something good out there outside of Japan. So, fingers crossed. And finally, we now know that the new Babymetal ESP guitars (E-II MF-9 and the Babymetal MF-7 Mini) is available now. This would not have happened if the 2016 Arrow guitar had not sold well so that is pretty cool. And you do not see nine and seven string guitars that often, so these guitars are special. And darned good looking too.

(Top image shows part of ESP ads from 2016 and 2019)

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The Last Hurrah?

Tickets go on sale today for the Norwegian Tons Of Rock Festival with headliners Iron Maiden and Deep Purple. The legends lives on, but in the case of Purple this really could be one of the final dates in Scandinavia.

(Official ad for said concert)

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Talk of the day (Lucky Luke, Ozzy, Molly Hatchet)

LUCKY LUKE

Just had the pleasure of reading the 92nd Lucky Luke book “En Cowboy i Paris” (Albumförlaget, 2019) and I was quite surprised. Like Asterix, the series lives on long after the original creators have passed away, but the quality is still high. If anything, this is one of the best adventures in my book and that speaks volumes.

OZZY OSBOURNE

Good old Ozzy has a new studio album called “Ordinary Man” coming out in early 2020. First video, “Under The Graveyard”, turns out to be a good heavy song so there is still hope.

MOLLY HATCHET

New live release from Molly Hatchet on November 29, “Battleground”. They have a new singer, Jimmy Elkins.

(My shot of the Lucky Luke book)

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Some Enchanted Evening

Just added the Limited Edition (1,500 copies) Red Vinyl of “Some Enchanted Evening” to the collection. Originally released in 1978, it eventually ended up as the best selling Blue Öyster Cult album ever. The cover art by T.R Shorr still stands out and the quality of this pressing is outstanding. Hard to take a good picture of it as it mirrors the surroundings, but I gave it a go.

(My shot of said release)

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