Ian Paice is 75 years old today. He is the only member of Deep Purple to have been in every line-up and on every record, studio or live. He reached his 75th birthday just over a week after his Purple colleague Don Airey did. The staying power of Purple is amazing to behold, but well deserved. Ian has been an important part of the legend since day one. Respect.
(My shot of Canadian Fan Club magazine The Guv´nor, issue 7, published in 1993)
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They stopped making big maps of The Great Lake (or “Storsjön”, fifth largest lake in Sweden) and started to print them like this instead. Front and back is protected by thick see through plastic pages. I love the fact that they have added Storsie (or “Storsjöodjuret”, the Great Lake Monster) on the front. Printed by Jämtlands Båtförbund (translates roughly to Jämtlands Boat Owners Association) and Hydrographica. Big format. Extremely detailed. 20 pages + plastic protection.
(My shot of said Nautical Map edition, printed in 2023)
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Tex Willer has returned on the Swedish market in the 2020s and this book, “Nordvästterritoriet” (Ades Media, 2023) is top notch all the way. Story by Mauro Boselli, art by Alfonso Font. Pretty expensive, but worth it. 324 pages.
(My shot of said book, cover art by Claudio Villa)
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More Japanese releases that may be of interest. On August 23, Lovebites will release a new live Double CD (& DVD) titled “Knockin´At Heavens Gate – Live In Tokyo 2023”. Check out the trailer on YouTube now. And Japanese singer Maki Oyama has just released an album called “Valkyrie”. It features members from bands like Aldious and Murasaki. Check her out on YouTube now.
(Covers are from official platforms)
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I like my nostalgia and so I was more than happy to invest in this new Swedish book, “Total Nostalgi” (Semic & Mustang Media, 2023). Covering five decades it sports a lot of good stuff that takes you back. The classic 1975 ABBA “Greatest Hits” album with top notch art by Hans Arnold can be seen on the cover, full gatefold sleeve inside. I really want them to reissue that LP, the sooner the better. Books like this seems to be very popular in Sweden.
(My shot of said book)
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Spotted a game called Dice Dribble yesterday and figured it would be interesting to check it out. Certainly looks like a good game once you have figured out the rules. The box looks kind of cool too.
(My shot of said game)
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Nobody wants it to rain on Midsummer, but that is what we have got so it will have to be indoor activities this year. Some comics then is not a bad idea, here we have Swedish titles Pondus (6 2023) and 91:an (14 2023). The latter has crosswords too, which is always a good thing.
(My shot of said comics, covers by Frode Överli & Krister Petersson)
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Bought this lovely Soundtrack LP on my recent Stockholm trip and the 1970 film “Waterloo” has always been one of my favourite movies of all time. Love the cover.
(My shot of said LP)
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We have a very positive review of the Sabaton/Babymetal/Lordi show in Leeds by Dannii Leivers in UK publication Metal Hammer 375 (July issue). Lordi suffered from technical issues on the night, but Babymetal and Sabaton had no such problems and left the crowd wanting more. This was the first show on the Tour To End All Tours trek.
(My shot of said review in this publication)
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Commando 5655-5658 is out today in the UK. Just search “Commando comics” should you want to subscribe.
(Covers courtesy of Commando)
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trinkelbonker 