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"Live
In London was recorded on Deep Purple Mk 3's only British tour,
at the Gaumont State, Kilburn, North London, on May 22. 1974,
towards the end of what had been a very successful tour. The BBC,
who had previously recorded Deep Purple for two In Concert shows
at their own studios, asked for and got permission to record the
show for the programme. This was quite a big deal at the time,
something relatively new for the BBC and great for the fans, many
of whom (like I did) spent ages hooking up tape recorders to receivers
to capture the show on cassette or reel to reel. It was finally
issued on a single album LIVE IN LONDON in 1982. In 2005 a 2CD
edition was released in Japan but this hasn't had the remix or
the edits restored. As this long-awaited reissue is prepared,
we'll keep you up to date here of the progress
If
anyone who went to the Kilburn show (or any of the other UK gigs)
wants to jot down their recollections for the booklet please
email us. If you have any ideas for a limited edtion CD
version send them in. A number of Mk 3 releases have appeared
since LIVE IN LONDON first appeared, but this is still the only
official recording from the UK available, and it captures the
feel of the tour admirably. On the whole it's a great gig too,
with just one or two off-moments, and while they do ramble at
times during SPACE TRUCKIN', it is of the time (and has some powerful
work within it). There's a preview of the original album release
in Issue 25 of DARKER THAN BLUE / STARGAZER, and reviews in Issue
26.
 Progress
Report / March 2006
The
various Live In London tapes have been taken out of storage. There
is the full 90 minute show on five 16-track 2" reels (see photograph).
These were copied in 1982 at CTS (De Lane Lea's old studio in
Wembley), possibly from the remaining 4-track reels supplied by
the BBC. The BBC quickly assembled a first version, broadcast
as a specially extended 90 minute "In Concert" programme on June
6th. This may have been broadcast in quadraphonic, for which you
needed a quad amplifier and speakers (this might also explain
the 4 track reels the BBC had). The BBC did experiment with the
format for a short while. The BBC later rebroadcast the gig but
in the more usual 60 minute "In Concert" slot. This was achieved
by dropping the 34 minute long "Space Truckin'" but to fit the
different time slots, there were some other changes.
The
original 90 minutes version had some short edits. For example,
the second broadcast version of YOU FOOL NO ONE has, during Blackmore's
'blues' solo section, an extra minute of Blackmore picking tunes
which is missing from the first airing. There was also a bit missing
from the start of MISTREATED and the drum solo. If anyone has
spotted any other differences, do let us know.
 There
was a BBC Transcription Record cut from the second broadcast which
has been the source of vinyl and CD bootlegs. For the 1982 vinyl
version of LIVE IN LONDON, EMI used the first broadcast, so as
well as getting the material into shape for the 2CD version all
the edits need to be restored. If the encore was recorded, it
is now lost for good.
Initial
work on the tapes will probably take place in April at Abbey Road.
Update
/ March 21st 2006
Where
is the missing Kilburn encore? Don't blame the BBC. Gary Hurley
has written to confirm that the band didn't play one. Gary recorded
the show for himself on a small Philips tape cassette recorder,
and says they finished with "Space Truckin'".
Update
/ March 23rd 2006
"I
can certainly confirm that the complete Kilburn show WAS recorded,
but the 2" 16-track tapes were re-used about 2 or 3 years later
to record a Wishbone Ash show with! I know, as I one day peeled
off the labels and was confronted with the Purple labels still
underneath." Gary Critcher.
Thanks
Gary! For younger Deep Purple fans, Gary used to work for the
BBC and was instrumental in helping us get the two In Concert
shows released officially. His tales of BBC shelves groaning under
the weight of warping transcription records which he was told
to throw out haunt me to this day!
"Concerning
the differences, please remember to restore the original concert
intro, "This band's been called the loudest band in the world,
they didn't say they're the best band in the world. Put your hands
together please, burn with Deep Purple."" Angelo Mutinelli.
The show was introduced by the BBC DJ with the words above. We
wanted to keep this on the vinyl 'Live In London' back in 1982,
but amazingly someone at EMI thought it sounded like he was putting
the band down. He is the only person ever to have thought so!
We will do our best to restore this to the new edition.
"If
there's somethin' left of the quadrophonic mixes, it would honour
this release if it became the first Mk 3 SACD or DVD-A or maybe
even Dual Disc release." Harrie Hendriksen
This is a good idea Harrie, I'll see what turns up when we listen
to the tapes. I'm not sure what the economics are but we can ask.
Update
/ May 25th 2006
EMI
have booked the studio to sort the tapes and prepare the mix in
June. They will also look at the possibility of a 4.1 mix at the
same time for SACD.
Update
/ May 26th 2006
 We're
trying to find copies of tickes from shows on Deep Purple's 1974
UK Tour. Click the ticket on the right to see what we've got so
far.
Update
/ June 14th 2006
Abbey
Road have spent a day on Live In London, and copied over the 4
track tapes. The good news is that it seems to us as if the bits
missing from tapes used for the vinyl are here, as is the full
"Space Truckin'". The strange news is that the separation is weird,
with vocals, drums and bass all on one track. Happily as this
is a mostly instrumental number, it'll not present too many problems.
Peter Mew at the studio is now going through the stereo tapes
to check all those and preparing listening copies so we can work
out exactly where any "lost" bits are prior to cutting these back
into the final CD production master.
Some
more tickets from the tour have come in from fans, and we've been
and photographed the fabulous Kilburn State Gaumont for the package
too, with a member of the DPAS having penned us a short history
of the venue for the sleeve notes. These old cinemas might seem
invincible, but developers are trying to get permission to demolish
the magnificent Art Deco Odeon in Kensington this very week (and
don't get me started on the 1960s Commonwealth Building opposite,
for which Blair's mob are prepared to change the law on listed
building status so they can raze it to the ground).
Tickets
from Deep Purple's 1974 UK Tour, in chronological order...
The only British tour 74 gigs we are missing tickets images for
now are Southend Kursaal, Norwich (first night), and Stoke On
Trent. Can anyone help? If you can add to the collection, please
get in touch. Can anyone help? If you can add to the collection,
please get in touch.
Update
/ June 19th 2006
It
looks like we may never see a Deep Purple / Southend Kursaal Ballroom,
June 27th 194 ticket! Audie Philips writes to say that for gigs
there all tickets were taken in, and counted. You could then pick
one up as a souvenir on the way out. However for the Deep Purple
gig, the management held onto all the tickets, so fans couldn't
get one after the show. Unless there is anyone out there who didn't
go to the gig, that's it...
Update
/ September 1st 2006
 All
the missing bits have now been timed and the list is back with
Abbey Road. One bright spark in the DPAS (hello Martin) imported
the various audio versions into a PC so the sound waves could
be compared visually to help double check the work. Abbey Road
will now compile a finished version of the show for us to listen
to. We've asked them to go steady on the compression as I know
this does concern a lot of fans.
Assuming
this gets done in September (which is a busy time as studios finish
up major Christmas releases) a release around November does look
very probable. Which is good; I wasn't looking forward to chewing
pointy hat for Xmas dinner... In the meantime, Mike Garrett at
the RB Fanclub (Lincoln) has been down and photographed the Kursaal
venue for the A-Z.
Update
/ September 19th 2006
"I
seem to remember the concert at Birmingham (3rd) had a lot of
technical problems involving Ritchie's amps. As he moved around
the stage his guitar would go dead. As a result of this the rest
of the band did not have a very good gig either. This was the
first time that I'd seen Deep Purple live so I was a bit disappointed
and began to wonder if this new line-up could really cut it live.
I then saw the band again a few weeks later at Wolverhampton Civic
and my worries were unfounded. Purple played a blistering set.
I actually walked past Blackmore on the stairs during the break
after the support, and he had a smile on his face, so he was in
a good mood. I was lucky enough to be right up against the stage
in front of him for the whole show. At the end he did a complete
destruction job on his guitar. I managed to get a plectrum which
I still treasure! The gig still stands as one of the best I've
ever seen." Adrian Smith
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