"Wait... stop. Let's just take a moment to acknowledge how awesome it is that, after all this time, we still get to get together and go see our favorite band. And they're at the peak of their powers!" Review is HERE
Mick Underwood
Sunday 28 July, 2024 marked the passing of a great drummer, Mick Underwood.
Mick and I were in two groups together, Episode Six and later Gillan, and it was he who recommended me as a singer to Deep Purple, a generous act for which I am eternally grateful.
Mick was highly admired by all of us, in particular, his contemporaries and peers in the world of drums.
R.I.P.
Huge Respect, ig
Photo: Jim Rakete Out now via official DP store:HERE
Deep Purple: Hiroshima 17 March 2023 (Courtesy of and thanks to Robert Lio)
DEEP PURPLE ANNOUNCEMENT // FRIDAY 16th September 2022
Following the news in July that Steve Morse will be stepping back from the band, after more than a quarter of a century, Deep Purple announce that, following an abundant Summer of touring, Simon McBride will join the band permanently.
Collectively, the band stated "We are thrilled that Simon has agreed to join. Simon's playing is up there with the greats. Of course, Steve can't be replaced, the same as Ritchie, and Steve has a long legacy with Deep Purple. In Simon we have not found a replacement, but an extraordinarily talented and exciting guitarist in his own right. The reception from audiences over the Summer has already been great and we are looking forward to the forthcoming dates in the UK and Europe across the rest of the year. It is clear that Simon also holds great respect for those before him. We are all excited for what the years to come hold for the band."
Simon stated "I'm very happy to be asked to join the band, at the start of the pandemic if someone would have said to me that I was going to be the new guitarist in Deep Purple I would have just laughed, but here we are and it's happening. Deep Purple has a history of great guitarists so I'm very honoured to be asked to be part of that. They are all amazing musicians and more importantly, I have become very good friends with the guys so I can't wait to continue touring and even perhaps some writing and recording."
Steve Morse
Statement by Deep Purple
Deep Purple announces that Steve Morse will be stepping back from the band, having been its guitarist for more than a quarter of a century.
Steve’s personal circumstances have made it impossible for him to commit to the band's schedule throughout 2022 and beyond. A few months ago, Steve openly shared with the band´s fans the sad fact that his wife, Janine, is battling cancer and, in his own words, "I simply must be there with her."
Since joining the band in 1994, Steve has written and recorded eight studio albums with the band:
Ukraine- Statements by DP members about the invasion of Ukraine: HERE
DEEP PURPLE announces new album "TURNING TO CRIME", out November 26th on earMUSIC
...click above for the Turning To Crime site, click below for a vid and click to pre-order...
Ian Gillan & the Javelins
A brand new wing has been added to Caramba Towers for the Javelins.
Everything to do with the 2018 release of the mighty Javelins album can be found there.
Links where you can buy a copy included.
So, click on the image or, if you're 'image averse', you may click HERE.
Ian Gillan - Contractual Obligation
Why have one extra wing when two are possible. Everything to do with Ian's 'Contractual Obligation' tour from 2019 are similarly HERE.
Along with links where you can buy copies, should you not have done so already.
QUIZ TIME
The "Whoosh!" mission crew is looking for members! Take your chance and win a virtual interview with the band!
Joining the crew is simple:
- participate in the Deep Purple quiz and test your knowledge on the band. You will get an official crew member certificate as a reward. If it doesn't arrive immediately, don't worry. The process can take a few days.
- 50 crew members will win an exclusive collector's t-shirt.
Furthermore, we are looking for your questions for the band. Let us know what you always wanted to know from the band. Two lucky crew ambassadors will then get the chance to interview the band and get the answers to your questions!
Ian talks to Radio Rock about the imminent release of Whoosh!
The new special edition single "Throw My Bones/Man Alive" is out TODAY! Let us all celebrate this day by supporting our local record stores. Head out now and be one of the first to listen to "The Power Of The Moon"!
Little Richard
Little Richard, the great Little Richard has left the building. One of my greatest heroes has died, but he remains in my body and soul. I can still hear every note of all his great recordings on the Speciality label. But perhaps the song that impressed me and my friends the most was Jenny Jenny. Always pushing himself to the limit, Richard went beyond the point of gasping for breath on this one, he was choking the life from his lungs, drawing breathe below his knees. I saw him perform in L.A. in the '80s. and met him after the show as he blessed me from his throne. I thought at the time, 'this is better than a knighthood.'
Thank you Little Richard for all you gave us, absolutely amazing.
ig
Unforeseen farsightedness
The advantage of our lofty Caramba Towers is that we have the ability to see so so very clearly, all down the years.
This from 1997 - Anecdotage 25:
..."Hello, 'ello, what's this the?" says the lab tech. to his supervisor.
" I dunno, it's a weird looking little item of some chromosomal value. Put it into one of the 'anomaly pending' jars."
"Yippee! free at last" yells the new life form. "This town ain't big enough for the two of us!"
Within a week or two the human race embarks on a worldwide bout of sneezing, coughing and aaarrgghhing .......
.....end of another micro-intelligence.
Caramba Legal also wish to make it very clear that rumours circulating that Caramba is primarily a Time Travel research facility are wholly without foundation, or at least it was when we last looked.
Gnus bulletin from IG
For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction...well, not exactly in this case; more cause and effect, where the latter is often greater than the former.
Production lines (the physical manufacture of CDs, vinyl, cassettes (?) etc) and retail outlets are closed until The Dreaded Lurgy* gets indigestion.
Therefore, as there are still so many of us who love to hold a new record in our hands, and following advice from our magnificent label, we have decided to delay the release of Whoosh until August.
During my quarantine I'm listening to a lot of music and guessing that it's the same for many of us during this scary disruption to our lives.
We know, don't we, that music will play a big part in our celebrations as we step back into the light.
But, health comes first, so I must stuff my excitement about sharing Whoosh with you back into a box for a little while.
The single is accompanied by a music video that pushes the boundaries of time and place. It is an invitation to take a step back and see the bigger picture, a call for action and an invitation to observe the planet and the current situation on earth.
Deep Purple's brand-new studio album "Whoosh!" follows their worldwide chart-topping albums "inFinite" (2017) and "NOW What?!" (2013). For the third time, Deep Purple joins forces with producer Bob Ezrin, and together they created the most versatile album in their collaboration, "stretching out in all directions" without any limitation, letting their creativity go.
"Deep Purple is putting the Deep back into Purple" was the half-joking motto in the studio after the first songs made it clear that Ezrin and Purple were on a path to creating an album pushing the boundaries of time, while voicing their resentment about the current situation of the world and addressing all generations.
"Whoosh is an onomatopoeic word that, when viewed through one end of a radio-telescope, describes the transient nature of humanity on Earth; and, through the other end from a closer perspective, illustrates the career of Deep Purple." - ig
"Whoosh!" will be available as Limited CD+DVD Mediabook (incl. the 1h feature "Roger Glover and Bob Ezrin in conversation" and, for the first time, the full live performance at Hellfest 2017 as video), 2LP+DVD Edition, Limited Boxset and Digital on June 12th, 2020 on earMUSIC.
Already the content of the Limited Box Set has been revealed yesterday. It will contain the 2LP Gatefold, the CD+DVD Mediabook, three 10" vinyls containing previously unreleased live recordings from Deep Purple's performance in Rio 2017 "The inFinite Live Recordings, Vol. 2", an exclusive Deep Purple Collector's T-Shirt as well as three Art Prints.
Ian Gillan, presenter Sir Tim Rice, Vicky Lord, Ian Paice & Roger Glover.
The Ivors 2019 photo Mark Allan
Answers to almost any question. A new Q&A debuts.... November 2018
Dear Friends,
The Javelins
Dear Friends,
Here's a picture of me with The Javelins, in 1964.
We have a new record out at the end of August, comprising songs from our old set list, by Howling
Wolf, Ray Charles, Bo Diddley, Chuck Berry, The Coasters, and others of that era..............
SPECIAL: A History of The Javelins by Tony Tacon. HERE
Gillan on vinyl
Demon Records has announced the release of a new must-have Gillan vinyl boxset on 2nd September. 'The Vinyl Collection 1979-1982' will feature 5 chart albums - 7 LPs in total - including Mr Universe (1979), Glory Road (1980, 2 LPs, with bonus disc 'For Gillan Fans Only'), Future Shock (1981), Double Trouble (2 LPs, 1981) and Magic (1982).
Ian Gillan was delighted with the vintage feel of the finished product: "It's a wonderful thing, vinyl... Best held in two hands and treated with respect, as you place it carefully upon the turntable. You just bought something significant, not easily disposable. And look at the sleeves" - he comments, observing one of the records - "aren't they cool. Read the lyrics and enjoy the artwork, while you are in the groove. No computers involved in the making of this music…enjoy".
The 180g heavyweight vinyl records will all be exact replicas of their first pressings; Future Shock, Gillan's highest scoring album, reaching No.2 in the UK chart, will include the same 16-page booklet as featured in its original release. An exclusive edition available via Amazon here http://smarturl.it/IanGillanExclusive will also contain a bonus 7" single for Spanish Guitar.
There I was, minding my own business on a diving holiday with my family in Grand Cayman in 1984 (I think; thereabouts anyway), when I bumped into Steve Jarrell and Sons of the Beach; a fine band who were performing a season of great sunshine music at the Treasure Island Resort on Seven Mile Beach.
They invited me to step up and do a 'couple of tunes' which I was happy to do and ended up with half an hour on a hand held camera which Steve Jarrell showed me when we met up again in Nashville on the DP tour 2015. He has very kindly given us permission to put it up on Caramba first as an exclusive for CTV.
I was surprised to get an invitation to address the Institute for Cultural Diplomacy (ICD) in Berlin on 14th December 2012. It caused great hilarity in the band dressing room; Roger actually burst into spontaneous laughter; not sure if it was the cultural or diplomatic bit that set him off. Probably both.
When the director asked for the title and a copy of the speech I told him it would be entitled 'The Parallax Effect on Long Hair' and that it would be off the cuff, so to speak.
Basically it's about perception or how things are viewed differently, depending on where you're standing.
I was a little nervous to start with as it was unscripted and I'd never spoken publicly before, apart from the usual gibberish delivered on stage each night with DP before being gloriously interrupted by a drumist not known for his patience.
But I did enjoy it and may do another, one day.
ig
Rhino Poo Alert
RTL (a large TV station) announced the start of the sale for the Deep Purple tour in autumn 2012 in Germany. The message said that this will be the last tour of DP in Germany and therefore the last chance to see them live. what a shock! Is that true??? Is that an official/confirmed statement?
Yawning response from ig: "I must say that is an impressive heap of rhino poo!"
Coffee Kiev Some things in life should just be simpler
Deep Purple, Ian Gillan, Gillan, Gillan Glover....
Yes, all of them but the usual proviso of 'in due course' applies, of course. Such is the speed of this 'information age' that we could all know everything immediately but where would the fun be in that?
These don't replace the Wordographies, which also continue apace.
Perfect Strangers
'One Eye To Morocco' - the lyrics
Caramba takes the greatest of pleasure in unveiling the complete lyrics for all editions of 'One Eye To Morocco'.
These don't in any way replace the Wordographies, as these are winging their way to your screen at a speed significantly slower than the speed of light.
These biographies may be used by journalists.
This has been updated to include edel's latest biog. This way for.... biographies.
Deep Purple's official website. Click above.
On sending things in to be signed:
A number of people have over time sent unsolicited stuff into either Ian's or DP's management to be signed and returned. Such things can so easily get mislaid or just simply lost in a very busy organisation, which can be very upsetting for those who have sent their items in. Please don't do this as no-one wants to feel responsible for having lost what can be, for the owner, very precious items. Thanks. Steve/ED.
Can't be bothered to use the drop down menus above or the text menus below? Use the search engine, it doesn't bite very often. Mind you, if I could give it teeth I would.
Now, who was it who asked the poor old search engine this question: "could you sing burn". Search engines cannot sing. Take a moment and reflect.
And now......"can you sing in far away places". This search engine still cannot sing. This is clearly a failure in some people's evolution........
At least the latter was asking about the search engine's capability whilst the former, clearly somewhere further down the evolutionary ladder, assumed the capability was there...... ed.
Caramba in translation
Caramba is gradually being translated....
Click on the image above to access all the releases previously on this page. Go on, do it....
Gyumri Music School & WhoCares
Previous material on the Gyumri Music School and WhoCares makes itself available on a separate page, a page accessed by clicking on the above image.
Chopin's Story
Likewise, in an abovewise fashion, everything on Ian and Chopin's Story is available by clicking the above pic in time-honoured fashion.
an occasional series of random pics
Click on the above for the full glory of the photographic moment of truth or HERE if you're feeling lazy and/or curmudgeonly.
"There is nothing in the world that can prepare you for an interview with Ian Gillan! The British singer can’t stop surprising you, even if the topic is WhoCares the fund raising project he is handling the vocals, while Tony Iommi, Jon Lord, Nicko McBrain and Jason Newsted fill the rest of the spots. Our talk went beyond the music, and ended up in a rather impressive, and up to date approach about the political situation in Greece, for which the singer seemed completely informed.
A collection of various interview links which have appeared on this page. So, in the usual Caramba way of doing things, it's this way for the ... Interview Archive-orama
