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.
Added UK publication The Dark Side (issue) 242 to the old collection. This is a sister publication to Infinity magazine, and they are both very good. Looks like a Rick Melton cover, but no credit is given (hate that). Not sure if that art represents a movie, but the woman is the spitting image of a friend. Slightly weird.
Bought this UK James Bond magazine on import and I suppose the franchise will be around soon enough with a new face. They do present some potential actors in this magazine, horrible choices all of them. Maybe the time has come to end it all? The old school charm is long gone. If I was running the franchise, I would find somebody that looked the part and parody it all, with outrageous jokes and loads of sexism. At least we could have something that made fun of everything woke, which I think is what the majority of us all really wants at this point. But hey, that is just me, and we live in a time in which the original novels are being censored. It could be saved though. I have a solution and I will be gracious enough to give it it to the world. Put Jeremy Clarkson in charge of the script. That should fix it. It would be a huge relief. That could catapult Bond way into the future. With reputation intact.
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)
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)
Got the new issue of Metal Hammer (374) on import from the UK and the main news that they highlight right off the bat is Momometal joining Babymetal. Some good stuff in this issue, Ozzy, Rob Halford, AC/DC, Evanescence etc. The big chunk of the magazine is wished for/and presented by, Tenacious D. The Sabaton tour will most likely be covered in issue 375. Having said that, I might as well mention that Babymetal are covered in German publication Sonic Seducer right now as well (issue 4 2023), but Metal Hammer is the real deal.
(My shot of said news highlight – image is, as far as I know, official for promotional purposes)
Got these excellent magazines on import from the UK today. Classic Rock 314 and Infinity 60. Hours of great nostalgia. Actually, Classic Rock will give you some new acts as well to check out, but it is all old school. Classic Black Sabbath and Classic Bond on the covers. Hard to resist I would say.
(My shot of said publications, now go out and support these titles!)
Got some magazines from Japan with Babymetal covers and loads of content. Over 230 pages in fact. Clock-wise from bottom left: Metal Hammer Vol.13, Hedoban Spinoff 11, Rolling Stone 5 2023, Young Guitar 4 2023, PMC Vol.27. These were all published to coincide with the release of the new album over there. Probably the last batch to feature Babymetal as a duo.
Bought an issue (6 1981) of the Swedish edition of MAD Magazine on the recent trip to Stockholm. It features a Don Martin Poster of American rock stars (probably lifted from the US. edition), but on the other side there is this wonderful ABBA Poster with art by Swedish artist Folke Hallin. Nice.
trinkelbonker 