Hi Scott,

Thank you. The road is a strange place to live and it can drive you crazy. By mental exercise I mean that you have to keep your brain from wasting away with the constant repetition of traveling from hotel room to hotel room. I read a lot and attempt cryptic crosswords, among other things.

RG

Congratulations again on the book, it really was an achievement. I have
some stuff, of course, loads of photographs, some posters, magazines,
clippings, paraphernalia, etc. but I'm not like Bill Wyman, who kept
absolutely everything. Having said that I would probably surprise myself if
I actually went through all the boxes, drawers, files and cupboards in my
house. One day...

RG

Hi Steve,

All artists or bands have had to start somewhere and that usually means performing in front of a numerically challenged audience at some point – in my case that meant an Episode Six gig where there were exactly the same number of people in the crowd as on the stage, namely six! We even got to know their names. I do remember it as a great time, however.

There was also an embarrassing moment in Rainbow’s career when we were doing an in-store signing session in Pittsburgh during the Down To Earth tour. This large music store outside of town had advertised our impending appearance one afternoon, when we would be signing albums and posing for photographs. Despite the fact that Since You Been Gone was huge at the time, not one person showed up. Not one! It was pure Spinal Tap. There we were surrounded by the equally embarrassed staff, waiting for people to appear, which they didn’t in droves. No One Came indeed. It was only later that we were told that the Pittsburgh Pirates were playing a crucial baseball game that same afternoon and that all of Pittsburgh was otherwise occupied. All it needed was Artie Fufkin to beg us to kick his ass.

RG

Hi Peter,

There's a good question! I have wracked by brains and all that I can come up with is not a lot; I Surrender was obviously in a studio somewhere, probably New York; Death Alley Driver, at least the outside scenes, were done in Connecticut, near where RB was living at the time; Can?t Happen Here was on a stage somewhere, again probably in New York. Unfortunately I didn?t keep much of a journal in those days, otherwise I would be able to look it up.

RG

Thanks Robert,

I used a Hondo Longhorn bass on the album Straight Between The Eyes. It was an instrument I found in Manny?s in New York and I picked it up because it looked like a Danelectro (it is a copy). I immediately fell in love with it - it was fresh and zippy (am I really talking about a piece of wood with some strings on?) not to mention cheap. I still have it but, as I write, I am away from home so I can?t photograph it. I will, at some future date, catalogue all my bass guitars as a feature on this site, so keep looking. Thanks for the question.

RG

Hi Scott,

Thank you for the kind words. ?The road? is a mythical place that to most people means crazy parties and outrageous behavior. Of course these sometimes occur but it is not a regular part of life. As Paul McCartney says, everyone thinks that The Beatles were having a hard time making Let It Be because that album marked the end of the band and there were some well documented struggles in the studio but in fact, most of the time, they were still having lots of fun ? others naturally focus on the bad stuff. DP has had its share of bad times but like-wise; there were many good times as well.

Most of the touring stories are exaggerated by the continuous retelling but in reality, touring is a bit like police work; grueling boredom. One of the stories that is not exaggerated took place in 1971 when we were touring with Rod Stewart and The Faces. Both bands were staying in a Holiday Inn somewhere in the States and a party was going on in two adjoining bedrooms. The Faces got tired of constantly having to walk out in the corridor in order to get to the other room so they decided that the architect had got it wrong and another door was needed. To that end they created one by knocking a hole in the wall between the two rooms. It may not have looked too tidy but it worked - at least until morning! They got banned from the whole Holiday Inn chain for that. (Some would say that was not such a bad thing.)

The constant travel can take its toll, which is why bands sometimes let off steam by getting crazy or drunk in some hotel bar and then getting into trouble when the staff start to object. The other strange phenomenon as that with repetition comes a sense of unreality and a loss of awareness about where exactly in the world one is. I have found this on occasion and over breakfast have had to ask the waitress not for more coffee or toast, but where am I? Ian Gillan once famously said to the crowd in Glasgow, ?It?s great to be in Edinborough,? which was duly greeted with an ominous hush and an almost audible clenching of fists. Quickly realizing his mistake he went on, ??but it?s even better to be in Glasgow,? to a huge roar of approval (some of which was from the band). These days I am not so alarmed at forgetting where I am, it?s who I am that bothers me!

My headscarves are cotton, not silk, and are usually Indian. They can be found in hippy markets in various places. Oddly enough, Carmarthen in Wales is where I?ve bought quite a few (there?s a large hippy commune outside the town).

RG

Hi Ake,

As far as I know there are no plans to release it. I don?t even know who has the rights to it. I do remember the recordings were difficult to mix, but that was those days, things are easier now (in some respects). I enjoyed performing that song, one of Ritchie?s finest moments IMHO.

RG

Hi Jim.

1. Before the reunion I had the feeling that maybe we should leave Deep Purple where it had come to rest; maybe it was a seventies phenomenon and should be left that way. Two things happened; first I listened to a few boots and reassessed what I thought the band was all about. Then my curiosity got the better of me and I wondered if we could still do that years later. The first thing we did was to have a jam together. At that point I knew it would work. It felt like slipping on a favourite old sweater. No, we didn't feel constricted. At least I didn't.

2. I don't like comparing people, as far as I'm concerned they each had something great to offer. Cozy was, well, Cozy - charm, power, determination and tons of charisma. Bobby had a fantastic sound, stage presence, great hair, and was, and still is, one of the funniest men I've ever met. Chuck was reliable, cool, intelligent and a superb drummer. That's why I used him on Mask.

RG

HI Marcin,

(taking a deep breath...)
1) Yes, sometimes I have but not recently. I had a hard time listening to Burn but had to admit that Sail Away and Might Just Take Your Life were rather good. As the others came out I lost interest and have no particular feelings about them, good or not.

2) Probably not, there is no reason to. While we're on the subject, I don't believe Jon's dream has anything to do with Jon, as far as I know it was a question put to him by a journalist that has since been taken completely out of context and is now widely believed to be Jon's idea, which it never was.

3) Sad. Ian seemed very set on the course he had chosen. I had no thoughts of leaving - the band seemed to be falling apart around me and I was trying to keep it going. Ritchie never said anything to me about his plans.

4) Cherkazoo was originally four unconnected songs that I wrote with Ian earlier on (mostly he doing the words and myself doing the music). We made the demos, involving a few different musicians, two of whom I remember - Pete York and Paul Buckmaster - and only later did Ian elaborate on the idea and add more songs to make a concept piece of his own.

5) There were some writing sessions, I have not heard them since. There was nothing finalized, don't know what exists.

6) I am not irritated by touring. It is a privilege.

7) I cleaned his shoes, made sure his bed was made and heated some milk. Occasionally a memory or two comes up.

8) Allow? It's not that sort of set up. We would do backing vocals if it sounded good. In fact he has suggested it from time to time.

9) Time permitting, yes I would. I speak to some of them fairly regularly, others I have lost touch with. Things change.

10) Both. There is nothing wrong with giving something away. Taking it without permission is stealing, there's no other word for it.

11) Yes, time permitting.

RG

I love that song too. I can’t say how he gets that sound, it really is in how he plays the guitar. It's not a special guitar or a souped up amp that gets great sounds, it's in the fingers. The time we recorded Weiss Heim he did a couple of passes just playing great stuff but a little too busy in my estimation. I suggested that he play slower and it just sort of worked. Space is the answer!

RG