Whitesnake 1981 (Purple Club Poster)

When I moved recently, I located great stuff that had been tucked away for years. This Whitesnake poster of mine, published in 1981 when I was running the DEEP PURPLE FREAK SOCIETY club, popped up. It was good to see it again. The photographs were taken by Hasse Ivarsson and Patrik Hökby (years later in 2000, when I had the DEEP PURPLE FOREVER club, I printed loads of shots from this day in issue 27 of that magazine as well along with a fresh David Coverdale interview). But back in 1981, as Whitesnake visited Sweden and Stockholm for the first time, I was invited to partake in a press thing with the entire band (Jon Lord & David Coverdale interviews can be found on this blog) at Mosebacke Pub on May 7 and then we saw them at the Göta Lejon Theater that night. When Whitesnake returned to Sweden in January 1983 I did hand one of these posters over to David as I catched him briefly at the hotel. Who knows what happened to it, if he kept it or if he tossed it away? Whitesnake had certainly changed by then. I guess I should be selling some of the old stuff, but it will have to wait until things are in order around here.

I will have one of these posters framed now. Good memories for sure.

(My image of said poster)

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Man Cave Update (Trinkelbonker HQ)

Got some new furniture delivered today and one of the items was a small table for computer work. So as of today this blog is handled in this little corner. Behind it, hidden behind a door, is this beauty…

So, little by little, the man cave takes shape. I have a couple of major projects to deal with in the coming weeks. No rest just yet, but it is great fun. I have to admit that.

(Thank you Kalle for your support)

(My images)

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30 years ago

Black Sabbath´s 14th studio album “Headless Cross” was released 30 years ago today. It was the second album to feature singer Tony Martin and the first to include drummer Cozy Powell. Ex-Whitesnake bassist Neil Murray joined for the tour that followed. At this time, Sabbath had lost the American market, but this line-up did well elsewhere (not least in Germany and the soon to fall Soviet Union). I think it is a masterpiece and they were absolutely brilliant live. Saw them in Stockholm (interview is on this blog – see December 2012), and got some pretty decent shots, some of which was later used in Sabbath books by Martin Popoff and Garry Sharpe-Young. Still has a real soft spot for the Tony Martin era of Sabbath.

(My image of said album, seen here with a shot from Stockholm that I have on display in the old man cave)

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Talk of the day (Sabaton, Babymetal, Whitesnake)

SABATON

Sabaton is back in the news. They are set to release a brand new album called “The Great War” on July 19. This will be released in several different versions (I see a rare blue Vinyl is planned for Sweden through Ginza). Meanwhile, and this is huge, they have just put out a new song/video called “Bismarck” on YouTube, a collaboration (the video that is) with World of Warships. The video is brilliant and the interest is sky high. I suggest you check it out.

BABYMETAL

More dates have been released from the Babymetal camp. They will play at The Brixton O2 Academy in London on July 2, a gig squeezed in between two Japanese dates so it is probably a promotional trip to do some press in Europe. They have also announced that they will perform at the Aftershock Festival in Sacramento (still in California) on October 13, two days after the headline show at The Forum in Inglewood (see earlier post). Looks like they are dropping news almost on a daily basis now, to get a buzz going.

WHITESNAKE

Whitesnake are doing well in the States. The US Tour is rolling and the band is doing a good job. They are concentrating the set around three albums, “Slide It In”, “1987” and “Flesh & Blood” (to be released in May). David is slightly more static than before, but at 67 and having undergone knee surgery not too long ago, I do not blame him. I think Whitesnake are far better in 2019 than we have any reason to expect. He truly is the last Rock Star. The Roger Moore of Classic Rock.

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Happy days

Here is a couple of boxes that I have recently added to the old collection. The new “Slide It In” box from Whitesnake (six CDs, one DVD, photo book etc) and the “Trilogy” box from Babymetal (covering three big shows from 2015 on DVD, a fantastic photo book etc). Awesome stuff. Hard not to notice that many of the classic bands are doing this sort of thing when all has been said and done (looking back is not a bad thing). Babymetal did it on the way up, and these incredible (Limited Edition) Fan Club boxes are so good it is just silly. Every DVD in the Babymetal box would kill almost anything else that is on the market today. The standard is way higher, and it spoils you to the point were other live DVDs looks bland.

Love the past, the present is in good hands.

(My image of said boxes – thank you Kalle for your support)

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Babymetal go for broke in the US

Babymetal has booked their first ever American Arena gig in Los Angeles. It will take place at the classic venue The Forum on October 11. Fans that buy a ticket will get a free CD of the as yet to be announced third studio album. Now The Forum is owned by Madison Square Garden, so one has to wonder if this means a show in New York as well if this sells out? In any case, this is the big moment. Expect them to launch one hell of a campaign for the third album. The rumoured Digital Single for the new song “Elevator Girl” has been confirmed for May 10 and we have to assume that a video will appear as well although we have to wait and see. Incidentally, this will not be the first concert for Babymetal at The Forum as they opened for Korn there in 2017. As far as prestige is concerned, this is huge. I think they will go all out and a future DVD release could well be planned.

(Official image)

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Say goodbye to the old Trinkelbonker

Spending a lot of time downsizing this blog so that it can survive the EU directives that was passed recently. This will take a while and it is heartbreaking work (all links will have to go etc). The blog will never be the same. We shall see how all this unfolds.

I heard that 5,000,000 people signed petitions against all this. Some were awake.

(My images in the post seen above)

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Talk of the day (UFO, Whitesnake, Metal Puzzles)

UFO

Sad to hear that Paul Raymond of UFO has passed away. He never got to finish the farewell tour that still has some way to go. I really feel for the group, this is a terrible situation but it would be difficult to cancel too many shows.

WHITESNAKE

Here is something for all the trainspotters (as in: “I need to know everything about the stuff I love, and then some”) out there. David Coverdale has mentioned in interviews lately that his daughter Jessica (from his first marriage with a German woman called Julia) is actually a Baroness these days. She married into the Von Stauffenberg family. And yes, if that rings a bell it is because during WWII (in 1944), Claus Schenk Von Stauffenberg was the German officer that tried to kill Hitler (as portrayed in many movies, one quite recently that starred Tom Cruise as Von Stauffenberg). The very famous Valkyrie operation.

HEAVY METAL PUZZLES

Puzzles that features classic album covers from bands such as Iron Maiden, Motörhead, Judas Priest and Slayer are coming our way. 500 pieces in great looking boxes. I will definitely go for some, like “Bomber” (Motörhead”) and “Ram It Down” (Judas Priest) etc.

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Commando 5219-5222

Commando 5219-5222 is out today in the UK. Just google “Commando comics” should you want to subscribe.

(Covers courtesy of Commando)

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Talk of the day (PAL, Black Sabbath, Babymetal)

PAL

The 1976 PAL (Paice Ashton Lord) album “Malice In Wonderland” is set for re-release on the earMusic label in Europe on May 17. It will get the gatefold sleeve treatment as well, which is a good thing. Loads of goodies on this one including stuff that was intended for the second (aborted) album.

BLACK SABBATH

I find it interesting that Tony Iommi is re-mixing the “Forbidden” album, the last Black Sabbath album before the Ozzy reunion. It felt like a bit of a disaster back in the day, it really was the only Tony Martin album I never could quite enjoy. I guess Iommi intends to give it a well deserved boost.

BABYMETAL

Rumours are in full swing that Babymetal will release a song called “Elevator Girl” on May 10, but this has yet to be confirmed. They did perform this song live last year. We shall see.

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