| Glenn Hughes, the Voice of Rock, played his last concert with Deep Purple on March 15, 1976, at Liverpool’s Empire Theatre. On that night, the UK bassist and vocalist walked away from one of history’s truly game-changing rock revelation and never looked back — until now.
Starting tomorrow night in Christchurch, New Zealand audiences will witness one of the finest hard rock singer/ musicians of his generation fronting a mighty handpicked band live in concert, as he revisits some of Deep Purple’s all-time greatest songs for the first time in more than 40 years.
 When Hughes joined the Mk III line-up of Deep Purple in ’73, the band, while maintaining their rock standing, took on a new music direction with the album ‘Burn”. Tracks such as ‘Mistreated’ and ‘Burn‘ quickly became classics, especially when their true power came through on stage. This was no more apparent than at the 1974 California Jam festival, with the band’s biggest ever crowd, estimated at over 250,000.
On tour, Hughes’ funk and groove leanings were pushing to the fore, and that process carried over into the recording of the ‘Stormbringer‘ album in the late summer of 1974. ‘Stormbringer‘ took shape blending rock, soul and funk in a way that was quite ahead of its time. This was witnessed at Australia’s Sunbury Festival in ’75. A further 5 city tour to Australia including a concert in NZ, later that year as Mk IV, was remembered by the band as a high point – gorgeous weather and a stunningly successful tour.
“My lasting memory with Deep Purple in New Zealand, was flying into Auckland in ’75 for the Purple concert at Western Springs. My great brother, Tommy Bolin was with us then along with Jon Lord, Ian Paice and David Coverdale.”
“Most Purple fans rank Burn and Stormbringer among the greatest albums the band ever made, in any incarnation,” Glenn says. “Over that Mk III/IV period, we were also performing Mk II classics like Smoke On the Water and Highway Star every night on massive world tours.
“I’m seriously excited to get out there and play tracks like Burn, Stormbringer You Keep On Moving, Mistreated and Getting Tighter, as well as some of those older songs that helped define the genre. With my band, I know this will be a really incredible show.”
Glenn was inducted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame last year along with other Deep Purple members.
With one of the heaviest repertoires known to rock, and with sound and lighting production values befitting the legend, Glenn Hughes’ Classic Deep Purple shows are destined to write a new page in rock history – GET READY! |
The Scene
The Scene
The Scene