“Ian Paice, Roger Glover and Ian Gillan don’t do these songs” former Deep Purple bass player/vocalist, Glenn Hughes, tells the Bexhill audience, as he explains his decision to put together a tour celebrating the legacy of MK 3/MK 4 era Deep Purple at the urging of many promoters.
Having caught Hughes on one of his more regular tours a few years ago I knew we were in for an absolute treat. The few Deep Purple classics he threw into the set-list when I saw him back then completely set the audience alight and he proved, beyond any reasonable doubt, that he still had the vocal ability to hit those high notes and deliver those songs in a way they deserve to be heard. When the Bexhill date was announced I therefore jumped at the chance to see Hughes perform an entire set of Purple material.
As well as still being in very fine voice and being an absolute legend on the bass Hughes has also got himself a very good band together indeed, particularly guitarist, Soren Anderson, who handles the material amazingly well – from the classic Ritchie Blackmore riffs in the MK 3 material to the more funked up jazzy feel of the MK 4 material.
Material from the MK 3 line-up features more prominently in the set and we get some wonderful versions of classics like ‘Stormbringer’ and ‘Might Just Take Your Life’. However, MK4 Purple and , isn’t overlooked entirely. ‘You Keep On Moving’ and ‘Gettin’ Tighter’ from Come Taste The Band, Hughes’ final album with the band, both get an airing. Introducing the latter, a song he co-wrote with the late Tommy Bolin, Hughes tells us he’s played it at every gig he’s performed since 1976 in tribute to his former colleague who died that same year. The Bolin tribute is followed by a raw, emotive and absolutely majestic version of ‘Mistreated’ one of the truly classic Purple songs from any era of the band.
And while the modern-day Gillan-fronted version of Deep Purple may no longer play any of the material that Hughes originally performed on, Hughes and his bandmates are not quite so churlish. They give us a magnificently rocking version of ‘Smoke on the Water’ and, after encoring with a stunning ‘Burn’, they close with a thrilling version of MK 2’s ‘Highway Star’ – Hughes hitting all the high notes in a way Ian Gillan could now only dream of. Back in the day Bolin performed both of these songs live during his three-year stint with Deep Purple, of course, so it seems only right to include them now.
I grew up with most of the songs played tonight, from albums that were frequently pumping out of my dad’s stereo as a kid. Never having seen Hughes and Coverdale with Deep Purple first time around, however, (they split when I was aged 10 – a good five years before I started going to gigs!) I am very grateful to Glenn Hughes for giving these songs a new lease of life and providing me and many others a chance to hear them performed on stage once more. Glenn Hughes has done the Purple legacy proud with this tour.
Set-list
Stormbringer
Might Just Take Your Life
You Keep On Moving
Sail Away
You Fool No One / High Ball Shooter
Gettin’ Tighter
Mistreated
Smoke on the Water / Georgia on My Mind
Burn
Highway Star
Related reviews:
Darren's music blog 