Found this poster and I have to say that it is pretty nice. Published in Belgian magazine Joepie back in the day (looks like late 1979 or early 1980), it sports some nice pictures of Deep Purple and the offshoot bands (including images of Tommy Bolin, Ritchie Blackmore and Jon Lord). “Loudest band in the world” headline, some general history and a Purple discography. The address to the Belgian Deep Purple Fan Club is mentioned, must have meant a lot at the time for the club. Good times.
Got this Canadian release of the new “Born To Be Wild” Single by Ann-Margret (With The Fuzztones) on import. Marbled Vinyl Limited Edition. Instrumental version on the flip side. Lovely.
(My shot of said release, thank you for helping me secure a copy Kalle)
Today it has been a month since we saw the Sabaton Tour To End All Tours trek roll through Sweden. So what did it mean for the reputation of Babymetal in these parts? Well I have not seen any reviews in print but 15,000 rockers did see Babymetal nail it and a lot of these had no idea of what to expect of them. What I did notice on the night was a good reaction from the crowd, and that is always an important clue. Then you hear things. A friend at work has a daughter that travelled to see Sabaton in Stockholm, but came home a huge fan of Babymetal. Effectively, Babymetal went from being an underground act to being a contender in this country, and it took this tour to do it. All in all, this was a successful tour and a strong package. Kudos to Sabaton for including Babymetal. Metal Hammer has a two page review in the 375 issue from Leeds, and I would expect most Metal media in Europe to cover the tour within the next few weeks. Not so much in Sweden though, as the main publication Sweden Rock Magazine really do not cover live events (except for Sweden Rock Festival). In a sense, the slow rise of Babymetal in these parts has been happening by word of mouth and by social media. In November, as they return for their third ever show in this country, we shall see were things stand. I would say that it is looking good though. 2023 is a year of hard work for them but they are cementing a solid reputation. On a sidenote I have just discovered how insanely good the song “Maya” is live. I hope we get a video for that one. Is has the Babymetal formula of brutality with a strong pop element in full flight. And the presentation live is just fantastic. Pretty sure we will get a video eventually. Maybe ahead of the Stateside trek that is coming up? We shall see. I would say that they are on a roll. The recent visit in Jakarta was an incredible success. Next up, Australia. First proper tour ever, big venues only.
(My shots from Stockholm, outside and inside the venue)
Sad to hear that Tina Turner has passed away. Clearly one of the most iconic artists, she survived the years with her husband Ike (excellent music though) and made it big on her own in one of the biggest comebacks that we have ever seen as a celebrated solo artist. Some songs are truly unforgettable, like the mid 1980s hit “We Don´t Need Another Hero”. Incidentally, this song is covered by Ghost on their new five track EP “Phantomime”, a fitting tribute.
(Seen here is a 1985 Maxi Single and the Ghost EP)
David Coverdale added another CT With DC episode (Part 2 in fact) to the Whitesnake TV Channel yesterday, and the very first question deals with him meeting legendary actor Richard Harris and being invited to party with him, Peter O´Toole, Oliver Reed and Roger Moore. I mean, this is just classic stuff! Imagine being a fly on the wall on that night. Hearing this, I recalled a book that I have in the old collection (may have mentioned it before, not sure), “Hellraisers” (Preface Publishing, 2008) by author Robert Sellers. You may want to read that, just sayin…
(My shot of said book, image from the computer screen inserted)
Well I said I would be back about this once The Tour To End All Tours was done. Sabaton and Babymetal had new videos out on the same day at the beginning of said tour, now the moment of truth has arrived. Do we have a winner? Actually, no. What we have is a standoff, both videos (Sabaton “1916” and Babymetal “The One – The First Take”) has notched up 1,200,000+ hits on YouTube. Respectable, but not remarkable. Of course they both have recent videos with higher numbers. In any case, they are both popular and on the rise. Good to see.
We have two releases coming up on August 25 that demands our attention. First up is the second album from Swedish rockers Velvet Insane, “High Heeled Monster”, and the other is a brand new release from Vandenberg called “Sin”. You have some videos to check out: Velvet Insane “Damage Control” (total 1970s!) and Vandenberg “Sin” (total Whitesnake!). Good stuff.
Spent an hour this morning looking through the first 16 Deep Purple Family binders (1968-1981) of the old and updated collection, and I have to say that it is a wonderful hobby to save stuff like this. After the initial 1968-1976 era of Purple, you have the solo projects and the bands that came out of Purple: Rainbow, Ian Gillan Band, Paice Ashton Lord, Whitesnake, Gillan, Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio etc etc. As time moves on the Purple Family Tree grows bigger, and it is all collected in these binders. Countless articles, photographs, tickets, you name it. Even now, in 2023, there are new projects and careers to add, like Simon McBride (the new guitarist in Purple) and Elegant Weapons (the new outfit that features Judas Priest guitarist Richie Faulkner and ex-Rainbow singer Ronnie Romero). And it goes on and on. It all goes in. Over 90 binders and counting so far.
(My shot of 1975 article in Swedish publication POSTER)
We had snow and cold winds in these parts just a couple of days ago, but thankfully it looks like Summer has arrived. The grass is turning green, the temperature is fairly OK (t-shirt friendly if you are a brave soul) and the birds are singing. All in all, it is starting to feel pretty good. I have catched up with the Babymetal collection (binder 15 has been reached) and work is ongoing with the old Deep Purple Family collection (94 binders and counting). I have hundreds of magazines to go through before everything is finished, but I already did look them over once so I should be able to wrap this up within too long (good hobby on rainy days). The time for outdoor activities has arrived and there is a lot of activity going on down by the cottage in the backyard. The grill project is nearly done, a huge undertaking. I will showcase it when it is done. Within a week or two, the sounds of lawn mowers will be in the air. I really enjoy this period.
(My shots, Babymetal image is from PMC Vol.27 article)
The “Bismarck” video that Sabaton uploaded onto YouTube four years ago has notched up over 75,000,000 views. That is quite an achievement. Of course they did a good video and that particular battle is the stuff of legends. Hobby enthusiasts can build models of Bismarck from different manufacturers (and of other ships that was part of the battle, like The Hood). The 1960 movie “Sink The Bismarck” is still a classic and I recommend it highly. Sabaton has probably reignited a huge interest in all this.
trinkelbonker 