Purple's fans left in raptures

Deep Purple

NEC ARENA, Birmingham

So no matter how much the Deep Purple of 2007 want to introduce their latest music to audiences they know full well that, at the end of the day, it's the likes of Highway Star, Strange Kind of Woman and, oh yes, Smoke On The Water that will really get the fans punching the air.

Which in a way is a shame, as the band's recent run of albums, including Purpendicular, Bananas and the wonderful Rapture Of The Deep, follow a similar pattern which is vital yet relaxed, assured yet challenging and well worth exploring.

That also is a pretty good description of the band's show, which rolled into Birmingham like a mini-classic rock festival, featuring support acts Styx and Thin Lizzy, minus of course one Phil Lynott.

Ian Gillan's laid back approach on stage is underpinned by the fire and thunder of his Purple bandmates, Roger Glover on bass, drummer Ian Paice, keyboardist Don Airey and guitarist Steve Morse.

For many, Morse is most in the spotlight, as despite him being in the band for 13 years now, the shadow of the legendary (and moody and inconsistent) Ritchie Blackmore still looms large.

For all that, Morse looks like he's having the most fun on stage, his guitar playing fluid and melodic as he pulls riffs from Blackmore's top drawer and colours them his own shade of Purple.

The band played over half of the classic Machine Head album, Gillan comically crossing his eyes after hitting one of his trademark squeals during the opening Pictures Of Home. Relaxed and often waving to familiar faces in the audience, he sounds and looks in incredible shape.

In fact despite the grey hair around the stage there's a real youthful swagger about the band which puts many newer bands to shame.

For the inevitable Smoke On The Water, the band was joined by former Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden, who traded guitar licks with Morse during Purple's most celebrated classic, and showed he still has a nimble set of fingers.

Other set highlights included Lazy, Fireball, Hush, Black Night and the gorgeous When A Blind Man Cries.

There was only one new track, Rapture Of The Deep, for the most up-to-date hardcore fans, plus a dive into relative obscurity with The Battle Rages On, but this is still a group at the top of its game.

Earlier Thin Lizzy opened the show, with guitarist John Sykes filling in vocal duties in place of the legendary Phil Lynott, who died in 1986.

If Steve Morse has it hard "filling in" for Blackmore then Sykes' job would appear to be an even harder one, but he fulfils his role with aplomb. While he doesn't try to do a Lynott impersonation, his vocal range and delivery are incredibly close.

Dedicating every single track to Lynott, the band raced through the likes of Jailbreak, Waiting For An Alibi, Cowboy Song and, of course, The Boys Are Back In Town, with Sykes' and Scott Gorham's guitars melding in that joyous twin-guitar attack.

While many fans may think Lizzy will never be Lizzy without Lynott, the 2007 version still does a credible job, with Marco Mendoza filling in on bass guitar duties, although for these ear Tommy Aldridge's drumming is too heavy metal for Thin Lizzy's more fluid style.

Next up was Styx, the legendary American rock band who will always be associated with the sacharine sweet ballad Babe, but who went all out to prove that in 2007 they are rockers, not balladeers.

They too have a replacement member who has divided the fans - Lawrence Gowan in place of Dennis De Young, who either enchants or enrages as he prances around the stage or around his spinning keyboard.

But with guitarists Tommy Shaw and James "JY" Young taking care of front of stage duties, Styx delivered a streamlined one-hour set, which was slick rather than raw but which still highlighted the best of their hard yet melodic rock.

Blue Collar Man and Miss America provided the solid backbone, along with the likes of Grand Illusion, Come Sail Away and Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man) and a superb cover of the Beatles' I Am The Walrus.

They looked like they were having a ball too, ending their set by thowing out a stream of Styx plectrums, beach balls, towels and frizbees.

And they didn't play Babe!

By Ian Harvey