Deep Purple

Sheffield Arena - 09/11/04

Deep Purple's final leg of their eighteen month world tour that has seen them visit thirty odd different countries while promoting their latest album called Bananas came to the Sheffield Arena on 9th November 2004. The venue, which was cut into half to accommodate a smaller but enthusiastic audience, gave a perfect setting to a bill that not only included Purple but also a strong supporting line up of Peter Frampton and Thunder.

Frampton enjoyed success with bands such as The Herd and Humble Pie in the 60's and 70's and later had hits on his own in the mid seventies with Baby I Love Your Way and Show Me The Way and also had a successful live album entitled Frampton Comes Alive during the same period. Today, the long blonde hair has long departed to be replaced by a balding grey shorthaired look but the quality of his music lives on with his ability on guitar. Playing a selection of his classic hits along with some new numbers, Frampton closed the set with a brilliant version of the Beatles classic While My Guitar Gently Weeps, which acts as a great appetizer for what is to come next.

Purple take to the stage with a line up that now features former Rainbow keyboard player Don Airey. Jon Lord left the band in 2002 because he felt that he was not willing to commit to the band's gruelling schedule at an age of 60 something.

Purple played a set that included many old favourites such as Perfect Strangers, Knocking at Your Backdoor, Space Trucking, Demons Eye, Highway Star along with a number of tracks from the album Bananas including a number called Contact Lost. The inspiration for this number came out of the band's contact with the ill-fated Columbia Space Shuttle. Ian Gillan explained that while recording the Bananas album the band had exchanged a number of e-mails with the Space Shuttle while Columbia was on it's mission and the band wrote the track Contact Lost following the loss of the spacecraft. He also dedicated the song to former England and Liverpool captain Emlyn Hughes who died at his home in Sheffield on the day of the show.

With a set that lasted in excess of 90 minutes Purple ended the show with Smoke on the Water and Speed King as the encore. A great night of nostalgia and great music.