Mick Burgess from Metal Express Radio caught up with Roger Glover from Deep Purple during their European tour in support of Raptures From The Deep.
1) You’ve recently released a new album Raptures Of The Deep; this is your second with Don Airey but is this the first where he has been actively involved from the beginning?
No, he was actually involved in Bananas too but he was the new guy then and I don’t think he really knew our modus operandi, he was actually quite amazed at how the songs came together. He’s been in the band now over 3 years and we’ve toured a lot together. He’s very much part of the band now and his ideas are very prevalent on Raptures of the Deep more so than on Bananas. Don came up with the tune that became “Raptures of the Deep”, he’s a wonderful musician.
Everyone that’s come into Deep Purple has something to offer musically. Deep Purple has always been an intensely musical band. The last thing you want is for someone to come in and be like their predecessor. You have to be yourself in a band especially in a raw, honest type of band like we are. We didn’t want Steve to ape Ritchie or Don to copy Jon; we wanted them to bring something new to the band.
2) What affect has his arrival had on song writing?
His textures are great. I don’t really like to compare him to Jon, as he is a wonderful player but they are quite similar in that their solos are often done in one or two takes as after that you find yourself playing cliches. They are very instant. Don has a greater feel for other instruments like Moogs and other synthesizers.
3) Have you approached the album any differently to those you’ve been involved with in the past?
No!! It was just sheer desperation, like all of them! EMI had just dropped us and we had a month to write and record without any preparation. It focused our minds and we’d come in and jam around for a little and by the end of the day we had a song.
4) The album is probably your most diverse to date. Is this a reflection of the different influences you each bring to the band?
I think we get bored playing the same thing. Perhaps bored is not the right word but you want a bit of variety. What you write naturally is what kind of happens, you can’t force it and say right, we’re going to write a hard rock album or we’re going to go really metal. It’s all an adventure for us ‘cos we don’t know what the outcome is going to be when we start.
5) The album shows that you are moving forward and continuing to evolve as a band. What keeps you motivated after all these years?
Motivated?? It’s a job!! I would have to go to work otherwise which is not very pleasing!! Actually there is a shared sense of destiny in doing this and we ‘re still really enjoying playing and that’s the best part of it. Someone once said “I play for free and get paid to travel” and I live by that. When you’re on stage you don’t think you’re doing a job at all, it’s what you love.
6) “Clearly Quite Absurd” and “Wrong Man” are up there with the best material you have done. Are you pleased with how the album turned out?
In general yes, but I am a very difficult person to please. Even with albums I have produced myself, I’m very self critical. There are things about the album I might have done differently but overall I think it’s a fairly good effort. It is one of those moments that catch the band at a certain point in time much like Made In Japan or Machine Head or In Rock.
7) Michael Bradford produced the album again. Why did you choose him?
He worked with us on Bananas and he’s a fine musician and a great guy. For me it’s very refreshing having someone objective in there. That’s “objective” by the way, not “objectionable”!! He is a very constructive voice in the studio and he has helped us out a lot with the arrangements.
8) Did you consider producing it yourself?
I always wanted a producer to come in. We’ve never actually worked with a producer before. We have produced ourselves which is more like producing by committee and there is an inherent weakness in that. Sometimes one mind is much stronger. It was quite difficult for me being in the band to be objective. People didn’t see me as a producer but they saw me as the bass player. You end up trying to please everyone and that doesn’t always lead to the best result.
9) The artwork is a little different to previous outings. How did this come about?
We seem to have evolved a pattern. I’ll say something to Ian Gillan and his enthusiasm will make it work. It was like that with Bananas. We were on a plane and I saw a picture in a newspaper and I said to him that it was a good picture and maybe we could call the album Bananas. He thought it was brilliant and that was that. There was a thought that we wanted to be less flippant with this album. I was looking through a magazine and I saw this cartoon. I initially thought it would be a good idea for a photograph. I showed it to Ian Gillan over dinner and of course you know what happened next. I didn’t think a cartoon would work as an album cover but I’m pleased it’s not a stock hard rock kind of thing. We’re not intent on trying to present an image through our artwork we just wanted to make people think. You either love it or you hate it which is much better than being indifferent. I do think that it’s something that sticks in your memory and that’s the best thing you can say for an album cover is that it stands out.
10) You’ve moved from EMI Records to Edel Records. Why the change?
EMI records just said they’d had enough. It was unbelievable to us. To be quite honest it was a slap in the face. Most people who we’ve worked with at EMI over the years are amazed and it was a decision taken higher up. EMI have done some good stuff for us in the past and they still control the back catalogue. Fortunately it has worked out for the best as out of adversity come good things. Edel Records have done a fine job with us and we have had plenty of press coverage and backing. They are a small company eager to prove themselves and in many ways it is better than being just a number in a large company. I’ve got nothing but good things to say about Edel at the moment.
11) The reviews have generally been positive. Do you take much notice of what the press say these days?
No!! It’s a hackneyed subject, the press and the critics. I’ve seen reviews of our shows and I know that 10,000 people went away very very happy and we still got a bad review. Sometimes I think that they haven’t even been to the show. We get the “The old dinosaurs were cranking out the old hits again” sort of thing. Yes, we play some of the old hits but that’s not what Deep Purple is about and they miss the point entirely. So if I can’t believe those, I can’t believe the good ones either. It’s always nice to read a good review though but I don’t take any of that seriously.
12) Which songs will you be playing live from Raptures and how have the audience reacted to them so far?
The reaction so far has been great and the tour so far has been magic. It seems like the last 10 or so years since Steve joined has been a long hard climb back up for us from what I feel was a weak point in our history in the late 80’s and early 90’s. I think we lost a lot of credibility with our fans and credibility is very hard to win back once you lose it. I think it’s taken this long but it seems like this is the icing on the cake because we’ve done amazing business on this tour probably better than we have done since the 70’s. We’ve been doing songs like “Wrong Man”, “Rapture of the Deep”, “Before Time Began”, “Kiss Tomorrow Goodbye” and “Junkyard Blues” from the new album and they seem to be going down pretty well.
13) A review of the show at The Astoria in London seemed to criticize you for playing too much new material yet you also get condemned for playing too much old material. It’s as if you are damned if you do and damned if you don’t. Do you feel you can’t win with the press?
We don’t set out to please anyone but ourselves. The set list debate is one of those things that can go on forever as you just can’t please everyone. We get a situation where if we don’t play “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming” people will go nuts but sometimes it just doesn’t fit well in the set. Opinions are like the leaves on the trees….there’s so many of them!! If we had to play every song people wanted to hear we’d be on stage for hours and then we wouldn’t be pleasing ourselves, would we?
14) Is “MTV” from your new album your reply to the media?
That is our reply to being categorized mainly in America where radio stations used to be free to play all kinds of album tracks and stuff and now they are all formulated and use rigid play lists. If we ever get on the radio it’s always “Smoke On The Water”, “ Highway Star”, occasionally “Woman From Tokyo” or “Perfect Strangers”. With Zeppelin it’s the same 3 or 4 songs with them too. You know, both bands have so much to offer in terms of back catalogue. There’s loads of great music out there but we get caught in this category called “Classic Rock” and if you are seen as a “Classic Rock” artist then they won’t play anything new. “MTV” actually came out of an interview I did with a radio station about Bananas. We did about half an hour about the new album, Don Airey and the tour, there was a lot to talk about. At the end of the show they said thanks very much and went and played “Smoke On The Water”. I don’t even want to talk about MTV; I don’t even want to go THAT far!!
15) It must frustrate you that the music press overlooks your newer material?
Not all press is bad but the real frustrating part is being channeled by the companies to somewhere where you don’t really belong. We now feel that we have the artistic freedom to go where we want but not everyone recognizes that and that is frustrating. I still go to places and they’ll say “Are you in a band” and I’ll say “Yes, Deep Purple” and the reaction is “Oh, are you STILL going??” We haven’t gone away as we’re one of the hardest working bands in the business. These people only get their information from TV and the press.
16) What are your plans tour wise to promote the album?
We are touring over in Europe and have been playing for a few weeks with Alice Cooper and that’s a great package. We’re playing to sold out houses and the new material is standing up very well with the old material.
17) The only UK date confirmed at present is the Monsters of Rock show at Milton Keynes. How did you become involved in this?
I’m the bass player so I don’t know how these things are sorted, I just turn up and play!! These things happen so I don’t know where they come from. Usually it’s our management who cooks things up like that.
18) Do you know who else is on the bill?
At the moment there is us, Alice Cooper, Journey, Thunder and Ted Nugent with another couple of bands to be announced.
19) Who would you like on the bill if it was your choice?
Oh!!! Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and acts like that!!
20) What sort of set have you got planned?
We haven’t really thought about it yet. It depends how much time we have that will determine what we play. I’d think it’ll be pretty much the sort of set we’re playing now with a couple of surprises thrown in.
21) You played in the original Monsters of Rock at Donnington 26 years ago, what are your memories of that day?
There is one very clear memory and that’s Cozy Powell. In his solo he used to do the “1812 Overture” which involved a couple of explosions. As it was such a big gig he wanted his explosions to be correspondingly as big and when the local council came round for a test firing before the show, I was walking past the mixing desk and had no idea what was going to happen when these things went off. It was huge and it left me deaf for a couple of minutes. The worst part is that it blew the cones out of half of the speakers and it did about £20,000 worth of damage. You know Cozy, he was the mad man macho “everything bigger than anything else” type of person. I really miss Cozy he was a lovely bloke. That was his last show with Rainbow. For me, I had just joined Rainbow and produced the Down To Earth album and I hadn’t been in a band for 6 years so it was great being back on stage. I remember that as being a crowning achievement.
22) Jon Lord has talked of a one off show with all past and present members. Do you see this as a possibility at some point?
There’s two things I’d say to that. The first is, no, I wouldn’t consider doing it and secondly, Jon Lord never actually said that. Someone once asked Jon if he could ever imagine all of the members on stage together and he said “Oh, that would be a dream !!” and of course that has gone on to be Jon Lord’s dream. Nostalgia would be the only reason to do it and maybe money, but I don’t think there’d be much money in it really. We have moved on from that and anyway, can you imagine the egos clashing around on stage, it would be a nightmare. It would be like one of those cartoon fights where there’s a huge dust cloud and the odd fist and foot sticking out!!!
23) When you left Purple in the 70’s did you follow what they did with Coverdale, Hughes and Bolin?
I kept an eye of what they were doing, albeit a critical eye as I didn’t really have that many good feelings to the band at that time. I must say I did rather like some of the stuff that I heard. “Sail Away” from Burn and “Might Just Take Your Life” are great. Ian Gillan once compared it to seeing your ex-girlfriend with someone else !!
24) The initial buzz created by the reunion in 1985 must have been great, how did it feel to play together after so many years?
It was a wonderful feeling actually and I never thought it would be that good. I was very skeptical of the whole thing. What had happened with Deep Purple in the 70’s was a product of it’s time and to try to recreate that could have been such an anti-climax. I was concerned about that and we had all moved on since then after Deep Purple had run itself into the ground. It was with some trepidation that I went back into that. The first time that all 5 of us were in the same room was the first time in 11 years and that was a strange feeling. The first thing we had to decide was if we had any new music because if we didn’t, then it wasn’t worth doing. We got together in Vermont in the basement of a rented house and I’ll never forget that moment, it felt like putting on an old glove, it just felt so right. Playing with Paicey again was just wonderful for me. There were so many smiles around the room when we first starting playing, it was just great. There was a genuine feeling of coming together again and I knew it would work because of the music. Music has always been our focus; we’ve never been a band to chase fame and stardom. A lot of people look to the shallower things and really it should be about music, at least it is with us.
25) It must have been such a disappointment when it didn’t work out?
Yes, the old animosities came back. Ritchie had a very successful run with Rainbow for 9 or 10 years and getting back into the Purple fold he felt he was the man in charge. I mean, in Rainbow, he was the man in charge and he knew that, it was his band. In Purple, there were 5 of us and gradually the old behaviours came back and the animosities arose again.
26) What did you think when Joe Lyn Turner joined?
It was a strange time really. We actually had Jimi Jameson from Survivor come down to sing with us at one time and he is a fine singer and I liked him a lot but with Joe it was a bit too much like Rainbow really.
27) Was it a relief when Ian rejoined?
The whole thing about kicking Ian Gillan out is something that should never have happened but from bad things come good things and we actually came back stronger as a result of that even though it was 3 years of pain for him and I’m sure he went through a lot but bless him he did the right thing by getting out on the road and making records straight away. He really proved himself and it was good for him to do that so maybe getting fired was the fuel he needed to fan that flame
. 28) Steve Morse has been in the band for coming up 10 years how did you end up choosing him?
I was a fan of Steve’s from the 80’s when I heard “Go For Baroque” in a taxi in Germany and I refused to get out until I heard who it was. A few years later I actually saw him play live in Florida, I didn’t meet him but it was at a small barbecue on a Saturday afternoon at a local hotel in front of about 400 people. We were doing Slaves and Masters at the time and I went along and saw him and was totally blown away. I didn’t actually go up and say hello to him as I didn’t feel worthy!! Anyway, I went away and bought a load of his albums including one called The Introduction by The Steve Morse Band and years later when we were on the phone one night after we realized that Joe Satriani wouldn’t be the guy for the band, we were asking each other who could we go for. At that moment I noticed a Steve Morse CD on the top of a pile of CD’s in my room and I went “Hey!! Steve Morse!!” Some of the other guys hadn’t heard of him and others knew of him vaguely. So, we ended up calling him and it worked like a dream. My argument was that the guitar player in Deep Purple had to be something extraordinary. We had talked about getting a real “meat and potatoes” kind of heavy rock guy, you know, young and fresh and all that kind of thing but when it came down to it we needed that sort twin pole of the guitar and organ on a very musical level so we had to have a virtuoso sort of player.
29) How did the balance of the band change when he joined?
Purpendicular was our first with Steve and it’s one of my favourites. We spent 5 weeks writing songs and we just couldn’t stop writing, it just a wonderful outpouring of creativity. He brought a renewed freshness into the band.
30) Joe Satriani played with you in Japan just before Steve Morse joined, was this always a short term stop gap or was Joe seriously considered as a full time replacement?
Joe was chosen for us by the Japanese promoter as Ritchie refused to go to Japan. We had 2 weeks to cancel and get sued and then we’d have to sue Ritchie or come up with a guitarist. The promoter said that we couldn’t be Deep Purple and turn up with any old guitarist; we’d have to have one that would mean something to the Japanese public. He gave us 2 names and said that if we came along with Jeff Beck or Joe Satriani then he would go with that. Joe was the one who accepted our offer but it was always just going to be for that tour and that we would need to consider a full time replacement after the tour finished.
31) Did you ask Jeff Beck?
Yes, yes we did but he said it wasn’t his cup of tea. I mean, we know Jeff, we are good friends so it wasn’t an animosity type of thing, it was a calculated decision based on what he wanted and where he was with his career at that time. He was veering away from the rock towards a more esoteric jazzy type of thing. I don’t blame Jeff one bit, in fact I would’ve been totally overawed to have played with Jeff as I’m a big fan of his but I’m also a big fan of Joe. He was a very nice guy, very accommodating and very professional.
32) As a band you look relaxed and happy on stage, have the frictions of old now gone?
Well, it’s not an act. When we are playing that’s when we are enjoying ourselves the most. It’s a wonderful feeling to play with a band that’s all pulling together. A lot of bands go on stage and have this aggressive sort of rock star attitude. We’ve never done that, we are just musicians doing what we do so there’s no pretense going on and I think people respond to that too. You know, there’s no black leather or tattoos or any of that regulation heavy metal look. To us that’s just pointless, it’s all about the music.
33) In the old days did you see yourself as the calming influence between the more volatile elements in the band?
I think that has been the case some of the time but I think I get credited with that more than is my due. The band is a bit like a soap opera with plenty of ups and downs. At times over the years there have been people who think that they are the best thing since sliced bread and you have to cut them down to size every now and again. You can’t really do that without hurting people’s feelings and we all go through stuff like that. Generally we’re a pretty healthy band and we are 5 people who all have something to say. In many ways we could all run our own band and there’s a certain amount of volatility but there’s also a great deal of respect for what each of us does. No one is in the band for any reason other than they deserve to be there and we respect each others opinions.
34) Are you still in touch with Ritchie Blackmore?
No, he won’t speak to me!!
35) What do you make of his Blackmore’s Night project?
I haven’t heard a lot, just little snippets. I think it’s wonderful that he’s exploring that side of his music as he’s always was involved in that. I’m happy that Ritchie is happy and I’m happy that we’re happy.
36) Losing Jon Lord, a founder member must have been difficult but Don Airey was the obvious and perhaps the only choice for Deep Purple. Do you agree?
He deserves it. He’s a great, great player. When he does his solo, me and Ian Gillan stand behind the amps and marvel at his technique. We don’t compare and don’t say that we are missing Jon as that is impossible to do. Don has had to run the gauntlet of being the new guy but he is the right one for the job.
37) I bet Steve is glad that after 10 years he’s not the new guy any more?
Well, he still thinks he is!!
38) Apparently Don has great taste in football?
Well, I don’t know about that. He seems to spend a lot of time muttering “Sunderland……nil!!!!!” I think Sunderland are going through a bit of a hard time at the moment. He’s very passionate about them though and he’ll stick with Sunderland no matter what.
39) The way he way he was introduced to the fans during his first tour and when he played along side Jon must have eased his transition into the band?
It was a very emotional moment. Changes in bands aren’t usually that pleasant, there’s usually a lot of animosity, rumours flying around or bad feelings but we have the greatest respect for Jon and he has the greatest respect for us. We wanted to do it that way and it was the generosity of both Jon and Don that made that happen. I think it was very dignified and it was Jon endorsing Don.
40) You have played with Ian Paice probably longer than any other musician; you must have an almost telepathic understanding with him on stage?
Yes, I suppose I do!! Ever since I joined the band I realized that Paicey was an extraordinary drummer. He is very good at listening to what’s going on and he leads the music.
41) It’s very difficult to be unique as a drummer but you can always tell when Ian Paice is playing.
In this day and age of drum machines, people expect perfection. He doesn’t play like a drum machine, a real drummer plays with his heart and that’s very important for a drummer. Paicey plays with a swing that is very rare in this business. Most play very straight and solid and straight forward and it’s very difficult to be a personality. I can pick Paicey’s playing out easily If you played me 10 records I could tell you which are the ones he’s playing on. Over the years I’ve learned just to tuck in beside him and get as close as possible to him. I can tell when he’s going to push the beat as he does a certain little thing on the snare. It sounds like it’s something that we’ve learned and practiced but it’s just a bit of improvisation.
42) You once filled in for Ian Gillan many years ago when he was ill. Would you ever dare do that again?
Never!!! Someone recently mentioned that incident and said that I must have a really good voice…ha!! It was pure desperation!! Ian was sick and we had a hall full of people and it was like if you want your money back fine but if you want to stay, the four of us would try and pull off some kind of show. The only reason I did any vocals at all was to let the rest of the band know where the verse came in. I don’t have the range that Ian has; I’m a baritone and a very poor rock singer. I don’t know if there’s a recording of that kicking about anywhere but you never know.
43) Talking of filling in, producer Michael Bradford stepped into Steve’s shoes recently when his wife was ill. How did he do?
It was just some television shows, I think we did 4 shows and only one of them was live, the others were lip-synced. It was one of those crappy things you have to do from time to time but it actually helped raise our profile in Germany significantly. We didn’t want Steve to feel threatened in any way by asking Joe Satriani or someone of that ilk to come in. Michael Bradford was the perfect choice as the fans were under no illusions about what was happening and there were no rumours flying around that Steve was leaving. Michael looked great and looked so different.
44) How did it feel to play at Live 8?
It was purely magical. It was superb as you met so many people backstage. I met Gordon Lightfoot who was one of my heroes. Going on stage in front of so many people especially when it wasn’t our audience was amazing. The preceding bands on the day had been fairly quiet really, singer songwriter sort of stuff and we came on and tore the place apart with tons of energy. The crowd really warmed to us, it was a great moment and we could’ve gone on to play more songs but were limited by the time.
45) Do you feel that Purple have received the accolades that they deserve bearing in mind the influence you have had in rock music?
I think possibly our general profile is not as high as I’d like it to have been. People think in terms of Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath with us as a distant third sometime. I don’t think that is accurate in terms of where we were. I’m not really concerned at our standing or whether we are in the Hall of Fame or win Grammy’s or whatever, it is our audience that counts.
46) Can you see Purple touring less over the coming years and maybe playing shorter tours or festivals instead?
I don’t know what’s in our future and we certainly don’t plan for that. We are a hard working band and live is really where we are at.
47) On a personal level what are the highlights of your career?
I think in 1999 before Jon left we did the Concerto at the Albert Hall. The first time we did the Concerto I had only been in the band a couple of weeks and that was an amazing change for me going from a pop band with Episode Six to standing on a stage in the Albert Hall with an orchestra. I remember feeling not nervous at the time but nervous the next day at what could’ve gone wrong. To do that again 30 years later after a career of extreme ups and downs felt like a full circle or something. Not that it was the end or anything like that but when we walked out on stage to do “Love Is All” with Ronnie Dio and they all stood up I have to say I was very moved by that.
48) What are you listening to at the moment?
Anything and everything!! Right now I have been listening to Mozart. I’ve just got the new Burt Bacharach album; I also listen to Bob Dylan and a lot of African music. I don’t listen to a lot of current music. I hear what I hear on television and some of it’s good but it doesn’t really hold a lot of interest to me. The frightening thing is there’s so much music out there that you have to listen to what you know.
49) What projects have you in the pipeline in the near future?
The Butterfly Ball is coming out on DVD soon but that’s not really anything to do with me. I don’t really care for that movie but I loved the project. I think it’s a project that could one day have some future in it and I can envisage it with today’s graphic artists. You look at some of the movies like Antz and Toy Story and it’s amazing stuff. I think Butterfly Ball would translate really well into that type of movie and I think there’s life in that. There has been some interest over the years but not enough for me to want to go and do it.
50) What about production work?
Most of the production I did was in the 70’s and I’m still credited with being a producer now!! I don’t really produce anything that I’m not involved in.
51) Do you have any plans for solo work?
I did a solo album a couple of years back called Snapshot and I’m working on a follow up to that. I’m writing songs at the moment and in fact I’m writing with my daughter who is the singer in a band.
52) What does the future hold for Deep Purple?
Purple will take most of my time over the next couple of years and we’ll be touring extensively and then we’ll start working on our next album after the tour is over. The tour, record, tour cycle is what I’ve done all of my life so it’s perfectly natural for us to work like this.
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