Moreover, this new single is part of a special four-track bundle that includes two previously unreleased live performances recorded in Milan, Italy in 2022: ‘When A Blind Man Cries’ and ‘Uncommon Man’. The physical pre-sale for ‘Pictures Of You’ starts today.

The single will be available on CD and 12” vinyl starting June 28th, 2024. Both formats are strictly limited to a worldwide release of just 5,000 copies each, with every copy individually hand-numbered.

It’s hard to find enough words to truly honor Deep Purple’s monumental impact on rock music. With over 100 million albums sold and countless global arenas packed for years, their influence is undeniable. The mysterious album title =1 symbolises the band’s ethos of unity within complexity, offering a record that deeply resonates with their five-decade-long hard rock heritage. Once more produced by the legendary Bob Ezrin, =1 delivers the quintessential classic Deep Purple sound without leaning on nostalgia.

In celebration of the new album, Deep Purple will perform more than 60
concerts worldwide this year during their ‘=1 MORE TIME’ tour.

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At the helm is none other than Ian Gillan—his voice has become synonymous with an era—and he’s not alone. The band boasts talents like Roger Glover on bass guitar, Ian Paice delivering thunderous drum solos, Don Airey weaving magic on keyboards and Simon McBride captivating crowds with his exceptional guitar skills. Since becoming part of Deep Purple in 2022, Simon McBride has performed for audiences totalling over half a million fans worldwide. Together they promise an unparalleled auditory odyssey.

With more than 100 million albums sold globally and having paved the way for generations of hard rock and heavy metal bands to follow suit, Deep Purple continues to dominate concert venues internationally while producing chart-topping records. Their latest studio effort from 2020 titled Whoosh! soared up the charts reaching number four in the UK—their most successful position in nearly five decades—which speaks volumes about their enduring appeal. Alongside previous releases such as Now WHAT?! (2013) and Infinite (2017), these albums have solidified their status as one of hard rock’s top-selling acts with sales surpassing one million units.

Since forming back in 1968, Deep Purple has been relentless on its global touring schedule—a testament to their evolution through various genres and lineups—cementing themselves as nothing short of a national treasure within Britain’s rich musical heritage.

Buy tickets here from Friday 22^nd March 2024, 10 am.

=1 MORE TIME TOUR dates

NOVEMBER 2024

Mon 4: Birmingham, Resorts World Arena

Wed 6: London, The O2

Thurs 7: Leeds, First Direct Arena

Sat 9: Manchester, AO Arena

Sun 10: Glasgow, OVO Hydro

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Who were these artists? Well Paice and Blackmore from Deep Purple of course; Chas Hodges may be better known as half of Chas and Dave, but was a skilled and in-demand session bassist for most of the 60s. Tony Ashton was a raconteur who was the principle in Ashton, Gardner and Dyke (all together now… ”Do The Resurrection Shuffle”); Albert Lee is the renowned and classy guitarist who played with many bands and has a successful solo career. Big Jim Sullivan is a ‘guitarists guitarist’ and actually taught Blackmore in his early days and was so in demand for session work, his guitar has appeared on over 750 hit singles and he’s worked with artists from Bowie to Zappa. Matt Fisher is best known as the keyboard player with Procol Harum but also produced artists like Robin Trower. Rod Alexander played rhythm guitar on a couple of tracks and I know him from the brilliant album Guts by ‘obscure’ British band, Jodo. Finally, Earl Jordan provided the vocals. He was a member of the Les Humphries (around the same time as John Lawton who passed away recently) and was much admired by Lawrence and you can hear why.

It all started as a whim of producer Derek Lawrence who gathered what was essentially a bunch of mates who he got together in Kingsway Studios and let rip on a set of blues-rock standards and one instrumental. 

That instrumental was called ‘Bullfrog’ and is an instru-mental wig-out that, on the sleeve is attributed to Derek because of those legal issues. It was actually a Blackmore riff that the rest piled in on… to brilliant effect. Purple fans will recognise the ‘Jam Stew’ or ‘John Stew’ track as it takes its cues from this. Just listen to the harmonies as they play together and the completely different styles as they solo and to top it off, Tony Ashton shows he knows his way around an overdriven Hammond too. A glorious seven minutes of instrumental wizardry and worth buying for this alone.

Elsewhere it tends toward the bluesier side of rock and shows how Blackmore was a master of this too, even if it rarely showed with Purple. 

My vinyl copy has eight tracks, but the CD reissue included a couple of ‘missed’ tracks and the highlights, apart from that superb instrumental are: ‘Lawdy Miss Clawdy’, the classic given a brilliant treatment with a genius solo from Blackmore – ‘I’m a Free Man’ with solos of sheer quality from Sullivan, Lee and Blackmore. ‘Lovin’ You Is Good For Me Baby’ is a great slow blues showing why Chas was in demand as a bassist as well as more superb guitar solos. ‘I Want You’ has even more guitars but just listen to Ian Paice playing such complex rhythms without ever losing time…amazing.

In fact, it’s easier to just say that if you love masterful guitar playing centred around blues-rock, then this is essential listening. It brings new dimensions to the blues-rock genre as the musicians seamlessly blend their different styles into a cohesive and professional whole… plus, you can tell they’re having a good time and you will too.

It isn’t listed as currently available, but CDs are still showing on the usual auction sites as well as some streaming sites; vinyl copies occasionally see the light of day but aren’t cheap.

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Come an’ Get It, which was recorded at Startling Studios in England, boasts a musically superb line-up consisting of the dangerously cool guitar duo of Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody, the inhumanly skilled combo of Deep Purple virtuosos Ian Paice (drums) and Jon Lord (keyboards and Hammond), the four-string magician Neil Murray, and, obviously, THAT voice, Mr. Coverdale himself. What could possibly go wrong? Judging from the quality of Come an’ Get It, absolutely nothing.

A quick glance at the Whitesnake discography reveals that Coverdale hardly ever stayed still following the demise of Deep Purple in 1976 and that he kept busy in the late 70s. His two somewhat low-key solo LPs, namely White Snake and the atmospheric and melancholy Northwinds, came out in 1977 and 1978, respectively. David then launched the first proper version of the band Whitesnake and released the Snakebite EP followed by the delightfully bluesy and wildly exciting Trouble in 1978, both of which were recorded in a small, sweltering studio in London’s Tin Pan Alley. The next few years saw the group release Lovehunter (1979), Ready an’ Willing (1980), and the phenomenal Live…in the Heart of the City, which is unarguably one of the greatest concert performances ever committed to tape.

Come An’ Get It also marks Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice’s second studio album appearance with Whitesnake, and what can be said about the legend that has not already been said? Nobody plays the drums like Paicey – that is just a fact and something akin to a law of the universe. When speaking to Eon Music, David Coverdale remarked that “[Ian Paice] and Neil Murray, dear god, they nailed it, as you can hear on ‘Ready an’ Willing’ (1980), and ‘Come an’ get it’ (1981) . . .”.

Although one could argue that Come an’ Get It is neither the strongest nor most potent Whitesnake album in existence and that there are other works by these guys that are even more extraordinary and memorable, it is an amazingly fine and classy slab of bluesy hard rock with plenty of colour and finesse to it. But is it a classic or merely a hugely entertaining LP then? Well, to these ears it most certainly warrants the status of being a classic in that its compositions possess a timeless sense of groove and swagger that is as invigorating and spirited as it was forty years ago. The material still holds up well today and sounds marvellous; the epic ‘Child of Babylon’, the funky ‘Girl’ and ‘Hot Stuff’, and the gritty delight that is ‘Hit an’ Run’ are the stuff that rock ‘n’ roll dreams are made of. The moving, melancholy pieces that are ‘Lonely days, Lonely Nights’ and ‘Don’t Break My Heart Again’ are stunning too. Again, Come an’ Get It might not be as raw and vibrant as Trouble or as ridiculously memorable as Ready an’ Willing, and it is undoubtedly a more polished and poppy affair than its predecessors, but make no mistake; it is way up there with some of the best hard rock releases from the early 80s. As is always the case, not every critic or fan agrees; Classic Rock’s Neil Jeffries stated that ”After 1980’s double Live… In the Heart Of The City European hit ’Snake might have gone global – but 1981’s Come An’ Get It just failed to deliver, despite the single and subsequent live favourite ‘Don’t Break My Heart Again’ reaching Number 17 in the UK. That, ‘Child Of Babylon’, ‘Would I Lie To You’ and even ‘Wine Women And Song’ (now there’s a DC mission statement) aren’t bad songs but the others simply slither by rather sink their fangs.”

Come an’ Get It reached a respectable position in the UK charts and as guitarist Bernie Marsden says, “I thought that the album itself was pretty fine. It went straight in at No. 1 here in the UK. An instant success; No. 1 the day it came out, so that’s kind of hard to disregard” (Popoff, 80). Actually, that is not entirely correct as it was in fact number two in the charts, but you get the picture. Bassist Neil Murray has also stated that he is quite proud of the record: “. . . as far as favourites go, it’s hard for me to choose between Ready an’ Willing and Come an’ get it. I like them both a lot . . . But for my own enjoyment I would probably choose Come an’ Get In” (Popoff, 83). Going back to Marsden’s assessment of the LP, let us end with a quote of his: “With Come an’ Get It, we were probably at our peak creatively” (Popoff, 87). You know what to do – play this one loud!

Works Cited

• Jeffries, Neil. “Every David Coverdale album, ranked from worst to best.” Classic Rock Magazine, 1 October 2020, https://www.loudersound.com/features/every-david-coverdale-album-ranked-from-worst-to-best. Accessed 21 March 2021.
• O’Neill, Eamon. “David Coverdale Whitesnake eonmusic Interview October 2020.” Eonmusic, October 2020, https://www.eonmusic.co.uk/david-coverdale-whitesnake-eonmusic-interview-october-2020-part-1.html. Accessed 20 March 2021.  
• Popoff, Martin. Sail Away – Whitesnake’s Fantastic Voyage. Soundcheck Books, 2015.

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