Hi Jim,

Yes, you are correct, I did work on some songs that I abandoned before I adopted the concept idea. The Eyes of Omega was the alternative title for Elements. The Third Rings Watery Flow was originally going to be a song called Alice Nowhere until I decided that I couldn't sing it. I used that particular recording but there are still four half-finished recordings which reside somewhere in my dusty vaults. I listened to them a while ago and considered finished them but I am too busy with new songs. Maybe I'll listen to them again one day. They are fairly basic - Simon Phillips on drums, Mickey Lee Soule on piano and myself on bass, and with no vocals except for an occasional rough guide.

RG

Hi Joe,

the song in question is saffron Dormouse and Lizzie Bee and it is part of a project of mine called The Butterfly Ball.

RG

Hi Mark,

She has not recorded much before but I'm sure that will change soon.
RG

Hi Simon,

Yes, I do write entire songs by myself but as far as DP is concerned, we all write together, usually from a jamming situation. It seems to have become our tradition - the backing track gets written and recorded with only a vague idea of what the vocals will be and then IG, alone or sometimes with me, will figure out what to put on top.

RG

Hi Nobody,

I used an ARP 2600.

RG

Hi Dave,

Liza Strike, Helen Chappelle and Barry St.John did the vocals on Butterfly Ball. As far as arrangements are concerned, they would have listened to what I wanted and then done "head arrangements" on the spot, sorting out their own harmonies; professionals to the core.

RG

Hi Marcin,

Yes, I usually listen to the others' solo albums but I don't recognize anything that would suit DP. DP is more of a collaborative effort. As to what I think of them... well, I don't get involved with opinions, we each have our own.

RG

Hi Joerg,

Most musicians can be contacted if you go through their management. In the case of Dr. John, I think the contact was made through Andy Newmark, our drummer on the album, who happened to know him. Long term preparations are helpful when it comes to musicians who do a lot of studio work or are on tour for long spells. "Can't Believe You Want To Leave" was one take. Chet is a good friend of both Ian and I. He's a professional diver with whom we've dived many times in the Caribbean. He was visiting our bus on a DP tour one time and observed a phone in the toilet - after much laughter about what he thought was an absolute luxury (the phone was only to speak to the driver, not an outside line) we wrote the song there and then, on the bus.

RG

Hi Dana,

Thank you very much for the kind words. As far as airplay is concerned I am in agreement with you, they?d sound great on the radio and I?d also love to hear them there. The problem is that American radio these days bears little resemblance to the radio I used to love in the 70s, when they played such a eclectic and entertaining mix of music. Now it?s so dictated to by consultants (read ?accountants?) who are only interested in one thing; advertising dollars. Radio in other countries I don?t really know much about since I?ve lived in the States for so many years. Word of mouth is the only way ? tell a friend, please!

RG

Hi Joanna,

Thanks for the good word. No, I?m afraid I don?t know any Polish jazzmen. I like some jazz but I?m more interested in song writing. Randall played the sax on that song and he did it in one take - incredible playing and such empathy with the mood of the song. I?m lucky to work with such good musicians.

RG

Hi Jo,

Thanks, I’m glad you like Snapshot. The reason Gillian is only on one track is that I had finished a lot of the album before I even thought about inviting her. It was an experiment to see if she would ‘click’ on this old song that I’d had lying around for decades. I was proud of what she did and you can be sure that on the next solo album she will appear more. If I had the time I’d love to do an entire project with her. It is also good for her to make her own steps in music and not just be tagged on to me. She has a good voice and I encourage her as much as I can to do her own thing, which she is doing. I thank you on her behalf.

RG

Hi Brian,

I am constantly embarrassed by how late I am in replying to these questions; the US tour you mention was last year! Sorry. Thank you for your good words. I do believe that as good a past as we have had, that the band is actually playing better and functioning as a unit better now than ever. Usually, the more one does something, the better one gets. I have started the process of trying to get Mask and Elements available. Dealing with old record companies can be tough. I’ll sign your bass any day, thank you. Good luck.

RG

Hi Dave,

Thanks my friend, great to hear from you. We will be touring the US sometime
next year so I hope to see you then. I wish you all the best of luck.

P.S. For anyone reading this (and even for those who may not), the person
to whom this reply is being directed is a very fine guitarist; Dave and I
worked together on MASK, where he pulled out some unbelievable solos and
improvisations. I'll never forget the first (and only) take of Faking It ?
almost knocked me off my chair, bending the neck like that!

RG

Hi Joanna,

Believe it or not, it ain’t right just because it’s in black and white, or any other colour for that matter. We had done some writing in 2001 but had not completed any recording. Anyway, by now you may well know that we have a new album out, you may well have heard it, and you may well have also managed to obtain Snapshot. If so I hope you liked it/them. I have no way of knowing how available our records may be in Poland but when we tour there in December I hope to have Snapshot available at the concerts. I’ve done a few telephone interviews with various journalists there and I gather that distribution of my record has been less than adequate but I am working to rectify that.

RG

Hi Jauke,

My Spanish level is even naughtier!

The availability of my albums in Spain is probably nil. Your best bet is to enquire on the Internet. I hope to be able to have Elements and Mask available again through my own website some time in the not too distant future.

THE BUTTERFLY BALL (1974) is a collection of songs by various artists and intended as a soundtrack to a full length animated movie based on the book of the same name (it was never made). The music is quite varied. It can be found around, I believe.

ELEMENTS (1978) is mostly instrumental music featuring drums, bass, piano, saxophone, violin and a large orchestral string section (I wanted to make an album without using electric guitar). This is relatively hard to find.

MASK (1984) is a collection of songs most of which were written by myself and featuring a small band of friends. It is hard to categorize the music except to say that it was what I was into at the time, and also hard to find.

ACCIDENTALLY ON PURPOSE (1988) by myself and Ian Gillan is a collection of songs we wrote while having too much fun. It is not impossible to find.

SNAPSHOT is the most recent album. It came out this year and features some friends old and new. As with all of my other solo albums, it is not the work of a hard rock bass player but of a songwriter. You won’t find anything that sounds much like Deep Purple on these albums so if that’s what you are looking for, be warned. They do, however, contain songs I have written from my heart. Open ears.

RG

Hi Marc,

Thank you for the good thoughts. You can find the personnel in the Snapshot section of this site. Apart from picking the players, choosing the technical guys, booking the studio, writing most of the songs, playing bass and other instruments, singing one of the songs, fathering the singer of one of the other songs, co-producing the recording and designing the cover, I didn’t have much to do with it. 😉
My involvement was that it was my album. It’s good to be the king!
Glad you enjoy it. Les Binks – haven’t seen him in yonks, I hope he’s well - he plays great.

RG

Hi Fabian,

Thanks for good thoughts about Snapshot. The set list is probably close to religion as far as causing a fight is concerned; everyone wants to hear something different. I favour looking at new ideas and I can assure you that there will be a lot of Bananas played on the next tour. (If you didn?t know the name of the album you?d read that twice, wouldn?t you?) I can?t predict what exactly will be played as we don?t know until a day before the tour, or ten minutes before we hit the stage, whichever comes first!

RG

Hi Stu,

I have been threatening a book for a few years now and if I keep talking about it then maybe I'll get down to finishing it (I have actually started it but I've got a long way to go - I've numbered the pages!!!). Thanks for the enthusiasm.

RG

Hi Michael,

Happy birthday, you must be a Sagittarius. Butterfly Ball has shown that it has a life of its own and there has been some interest over the years to turning it into a musical, a movie, a cartoon, something or other. The only problem is money. To stage a Broadway style musical would take several million and for that one has to have backers. It could be done on a smaller scale but as yet there is nothing but the music - a lot of work would be needed to turn it into a piece suitable for it to be staged , even on a small scale. Right now I am really pressed for time although I did do a pilot manuscript a few years ago. No takers yet though. It will happen one day.

RG

Hi Peter,

I think Steve could be persuaded but that's not who has to be - it's the promoters and agents again. (That would be an interesting board game, Promoters And Agents - I can think of several scenarios that could turn up on a wild card!)

To my knowledge IP has never missed a gig.

I'd love to tour Snapshot everywhere but I have to take it one pond at a time.

RG

Hi Theresa,

I would love to tour with The Guilty Party and we are looking at the possibilities. However , it's dependent on two things; the business (it would cost money and I would need an agent and promoters to be convinced that we could generate enough interest) and time constraints (I am in another band right now). Time will tell. If enough airplay happens in the States then it would look promising.

RG

Hi Marianne,

Thank you for the Snapshot thoughts. J The site is coming along, there'll be a lot of changes along the way. I'd love to tour the world, arenas everywhere, but reality hurts. It probably would be clubs and smaller venues but finance is the thing; all the musicians on the album live in the States, so much less expensive to do, at least at first. If there is a good reason, ie. a hit album, then Europe, or anywhere else, could be a possibility. I would like that a lot and I know I'd see plenty of old friends in the audience.

RG

Hi Derek,

Thanks for the Mask comment. I didn?t really pick Connecticut, it just sort of happened, like most things in my life. It was at a time when my first marriage was ending and I was joining Rainbow, 1978/9). I had nowhere to live and asked Bruce (Payne, my manager) if I could stay with him for a few weeks. Three years later he casually inquired if I was ever going to move out, so I decided that I might as well stay in the area that I'd come to know.

RG

Hi Sasha,

Possibilities and probabilities are endlessy intertwined. I know that there are tapes somewhere and someone, probably Louie Austin, must have even mix ed them for the film way back then. I’m not sure of the quality though, the whole thing was done on a shoe string (just look at that appalling video..... on second thoughts, don’t!). It all boils down to what a sales projection it might have and whether anyone cares enough to finace the project and do the work, either record company or individual. I know I don’t have the time or inclination right now. Maybe I’ll get to it when I retire, which is planned for 2045. 😉

RG

Hi Jon,

> why did u only sing one track in your recent SNAPSHOT album? I used to listen to your old songs in THE MASK album. And I love them so much.

I've always been wary of singing things myself when they could sound so much better sung by someone else. Thanks for the boost though, maybe I'll sing more in future.

> Paul Mc Cartney. He is nice guy, but technically underrated!

I think you might mean overrated. However, I've always liked his playing, and sometimes his writing. His simplicity is his strength. What he plays on Something, Paperback Writer, Lucy In The Sky, etc. is superb, tasteful and melodic. IMHO

RG

HI Catrin,

I believe Love Is All has been in the French charts three times now, it was a hit when it first came out, it was a hit for Sasha Distel (who used my backing track), and it was a hit after the commercial a few years ago. Maybe it's been a hit again more recently, I don't know. I don't know why I didn't mention it, probably I supposed everyone knew.

> Which soft drink (and why wasn’t it used in other parts of Europe)?

No idea.

> Did they ask you for using it or was it a straight record company deal?

The latter. No one asked me.

> Why is it “Eddie with Roger”

Because it's his album and he can. The writing really was a joint effort (no seriously!)

> Anything else?

The first time it was out in it went gold, in Holland, I think. I didn't realize until last year that Ronnie James Dio was very miffed back then because it was his first gold record - and his name wasn't even mentioned on it! I felt bad and vowed never to do that again with a guest vocalist. Public apologies to Ronnie, (I've already made it up to him as best I could - I bought him a drink or two).

RG