Tony was the driving force of Deep Purple’s management in the early days. My first impressions of him when I joined the band in July 1969 – a man of ideas, an intellect, a man of taste, a man of action. I remember him rubbing his hands together with enthusiasm and saying, “Now what can we achieve today?” He was the kind of man who could think of something and then turn it into reality with his drive and passion.
Frequently, I’m at a loss for words, but when I recently discovered that I’d left my computer on the security table at Heathrow Airport, I suffered no such deficiency – I found the exact words to express how I felt. Fuck, fuck… and oh fuck!
Immediately my brain goes into overdrive, the scene of the crime is replayed many times over and analyzed down to the nanosecond.
I was saddened by the tragic and untimely death of Steve Lee, the singer of Gottard, a great band that we have worked with many times over the years. He was passionate about his singing and had a vitality that brightened any room. This is a huge loss. Our thoughts go out to Brigitte, his family, and his band mates.,
RG
Stresa, Italy, 21st July 2010
The occasion; lunch in a secluded restaurant under a roof of vine leaves, slivers of sunlight dappling bright patches on the dozen or so customers – a random cast of characters, tourists, locals, mostly couples. It is a family-run business, waiters quick and efficient, sure-footedly dispensing breadbaskets and menus with practiced hands and seasoned smiles.
Diners and their secret lives; young and old, thick and thin, bellies, shorts, summer dresses, muffled conversations, occasional laughter.
Who’s complaining?
Let’s face it; life traveling with a band on the road can be pretty boring at times. The sudden transition from banality to mind-searing, adrenaline-pumping activity is reward in itself; a purging of the endless hurry-up-and-wait tedium that characterizes this nomadic way of life. We each have our own ways of dealing with this and I honestly don’t know what others get up to in their time off the stage but for me (when I’m not complaining) it’s a mixture of reading, Internet, television, food or exploring the vicinity.