Digging Deep

I have decided to seriously update my Deep Purple collection as far as the old binders are concerned (in fact, I am ditching the old ones and replacing them with high quality new ones), and I am also putting it all in new plastic pockets. Some of this stuff goes back 50 years and I will also put in press releases, official band shots etc etc, keeping the timeline intact. This way, and this is a huge job, it will all look great and I will be able to enjoy it on a whole new level until the day comes when I might decide to sell it all. I probably own one of the Top 10 collections of Purple (& extended family) in the world and it would be nice if it could survive long term. I will keep the 1968-1976 period, plus some early solo album stuff from the late 1970s in one line of binders, and the reunion era in another. I will add all the nostalgia kind of articles about the original period from later magazines as they have seen print in later years. This way, I can separate this era from the reunion years. I have separate binders for Rainbow, Whitesnake, Gillan, Glenn Hughes, Coverdale/Page and Black Sabbath. It has been over 20 years since I really added stuff to the Deep Purple collection in binders, and I have hundreds of magazines waiting to be raided for content. If anything, it was Babymetal that got me going again, and I am really having a blast doing this. It is a great hobby.

(My shot of Purple binder No.1 – looking good!)

…

Advertisement

TV Room Magazine Collection

I decided that I really ought to have my Film & TV collection of magazines within easy reach in the TV room so I made a project of it yesterday as part of moving stuff around in the house. As you know, magazines are important to me and I want my collections on display. I think most people just throw the magazines away after having consumed the contents but I really believe in keeping the best stuff around (some of it in binders, some of it in complete form like this). In the end I think this worked out pretty well.

(My shot of said display)

…

Purple Fandom

It is a big world out there but the Spanish Hush magazine may just be the last remaining Deep Purple focused publication out there. Still going strong after 53 issues. As you can see, they add a few things outside the Deep Purple Family into every issue, but it is basically aimed at fans of Purple and Classic Rock.

Well done.

…

Diorama Heaven

Had to add the new issue of UK publication Meng AFV Modeller (117) to the old collection. Just look at that incredible diorama by expert plastic kit builder Bernhard Lustig depicting a snapshot of Germans surrendering to US troops in Germany 1945. Inside the magazine, you get 18 pages of additional photographs and advice on how to achieve such good work. This diorama is titled “Game Over”. Great magazine, awesome work on display.

(My shot of said publication)

…

Instant Classic!

Well this is interesting. I just watched this Russian made Sci-Fi movie from 2019 on DVD and the English speaking version (it has been dubbed) is so well made that you hardly notice it at all. In fact, I had to double check if this was dubbed at all or if it was filmed in English, which would have been a bit strange for a film made in Russia I guess, so that says it all. “The Blackout: Invasion Earth” is the best Sci-Fi movie that I have seen in years. The Russians are making really good stuff these days and Hollywood is not necessarally the epicentre of the industry anymore (even the Norwegians are competing these days and doing well). The story here is that the world goes dark except for a small part and the people living there has to scramble to get answers. And it does not look good. I will not reveal more because I want you to enjoy the twists and turns as you see it yourself. If this is what we can expect from Russia these days, then the time has come to give them some well deserved credit.

(My shot of the DVD cover)

…

Top Notch Magazines

I love a good publication and every month we have good examples of great journalism to enjoy in the magazine racks. Here we have three of my current picks, UK publication Shindig! (112, Nancy Sinatra cover), a Swedish Elvis book-a-zine and Sweden Rock Magazine (3 2021, Black Sabbath cover). Great nostalgia. I was going to showcase the Nancy Sinatra cover along with a new CD collection but it seems to have been cancelled or postponed. It is still due on Vinyl though, but very expensive. Elvis is always cool and I like the 1968 comeback image on this magazine cover. As for Sabbath, they get an awful lot of press (and magazine covers) out of the Deluxe Editions of some of their classic albums. Tony Iommi talks about “Volume 4” in this issue of Sweden Rock Magazine (second Sabbath cover in less than six months!).

(My shot of said publications)

…

Bless His Cotton Socks

Rare as it is, good television still exists and I have to say that Brian Johnson´s A Life On The Road is just about as good as it gets. Brian is the perfect guy to meet up with Rock Royalty and I hope this series will be available on DVD soon. In fact, I have enjoyed all of his stuff on television (his car stuff is always great). Never met the man but it is obvious that he is a nice bloke. You can tell that everybody loves him, and they can not all be AC/DC fanatics.

(I nicked the headline for this post from something Brian said in one of the episodes)

…

Ian Gillan & Colin Towns Autographs

As I went through stuff this morning, I stumbled across a Gillan Tour Poster from Greece, most likely from the “Glory Road” era. Print on both sides, but what caught my eye was the autographs by Ian Gillan and Colin Towns. I was not there so this was sent to me during the Deep Purple Freak Society years by some contact or other. I keep finding stuff like this. Not complaining, it is a lot of fun.

(My shot of part of said poster)

…

Fanzines Archived

Finally got around to archive all the fanzines that I have made over the years for easy access. I will add a few press things about the journey from newspapers etc and that will be it. Hopefully, when I kick the bucket some day (and I certainly hope that this will not be in the cards for some time yet…), somebody in the family will have enough interest in what this old man did in his life to save it for later generations. I have made over 100 fanzines and I have located copies of all of them, except for four. Hopefully, I can complete the collection in time, now that I am aware of it. If not, it is still a good chunk of what went down.

(My shot of said archive)

…

Talk Of The Day (Sabbath, Peter Hermansson, Elvis, Tom Jones, Sunstorm, Thin Lizzy, Babymetal)

BLACK SABBATH

Fans of Black Sabbath should be aware that “Heaven And Hell” and “The Mob Rules” have both been released Stateside in Deluxe Editions in early March, with added bonus material. The latter has a rather nice Vinyl foldout.

PETER HERMANSSON

220 Volt drummer Peter Hermansson is to release his first solo album titled “Second Glance” on April 16. He has played with John Norum (the album “Total Control” will be out on Silver Vinyl on May 21) and Talisman and he is actually not just a good drummer but also a pretty decent singer. Last track on the album is a cover of Deep Purple´s “Soldier Of Fortune”. He has surrounded himself with people from bands like Europe, Electric Boys, Blindstone, Quiet Riot and Overdrive for the project. And 220 Volt. Peter is from my neck of the woods (Jämtland County) and he actually grew up in Stugun, where I live now.

ELVIS PRESLEY

Collectors should know that there is a rare rerelease of the 1970 Elvis Presley live album “On Stage” (Red Vinyl), printed in 2,500 copies out now, and it will disappear fast. I have seen it and it looks awesome. It comes with a poster, as was the case on the original pressing. Your copy will have a number printed in gold lettering on the sleeve, which is very cool.

TOM JONES

The great Tom Jones has a new album called “Surrounded By Time” out on April 23. He also released a CD Box called “The Complete Decca Studio Albums Collection” a few months ago. He has sold over 100,000,000 albums.

SUNSTORM

When Joe Lynn Turner declined to be part of the excellent Sunstorm project after five albums he thought they would put it to rest. Instead, they brought in current (?) Rainbow singer Ronnie Romero and they now have a new album called “Afterlife” out.

THIN LIZZY

The classic Thin Lizzy album “Chinatown” is now out on Vinyl. I always loved that album.

BABYMETAL

Babymetal has now performed eight of the 10 concerts they announced for the Budokan venue (in Tokyo) a while back and they will be done in mid-April. Japanese publication Hedoban has them on the cover of issue 29 celebrating the success and it really is great fun to follow them on their magic journey. The Young Guitar magazine in Japan is also covering the Budokan shows in the current issue. The “10 Babymetal Years” compilation is to be released on April 23 in Europe.

(Top images of nature scenery – Jämtland County – and of Tony Iommi is by me – inserted you have a couple of album covers and a glimpse of the Hedoban magazine)

…