A striking snapshot of the swagger and chaos that defined the golden age of big 70s rock. At the California Jam festival of 1974, Deep Purple commanded the stage before a crowd of 250,000. Ritchie Blackmore, frustrated with the early daytime slot, smashed an expensive television camera with his Fender Stratocaster and set part of the stage ablaze before slipping away by helicopter. The moment stands as a raw, undeniable symbol of rock excess and ambition, captured live for a generation hungry for more than music alone.
“Ritchie was unhappy about performing so early in daylight and the pressure showed. The stage plans were unclear, and the situation was shocking,” recalls a crew member who followed the show closely. Bassist and singer Glenn Hughes, then in his twenties and now 71, reflects on the moment with enduring awe as he prepares to celebrate a milestone: the 50th anniversary of his debut with Deep Purple, a tour focused on the Burn era set to play this week at Razzmatazz. In a Zoom conversation from his Los Angeles home, he frames the tour as a tribute to an era and notes that few of his peers remain to celebrate such anniversaries. “It’s a celebration of an era,” Hughes explains. “And it’s special because most of them aren’t here anymore; I’m among the few who can mark a 50-year moment on a Purple album.”
without Paul Rodgers
Hughes’ journey with Deep Purple began in 1973 when the famed Mark II lineup dissolved, and he, alongside David Coverdale, stepped in to replace Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. The transition followed a period when the band’s ties to Trapeze became irresistible in its own right. Yet the plan included the possibility that Paul Rodgers, newly separated from Free, would take the lead vocal role. “The idea of singing with him was exciting. Rodgers was a good friend,” Hughes notes. Rodgers, however, formed Bad Company and left the microphone to Coverdale, a disappointment for Hughes who valued singing and composing as a solo artist. Still, joining Purple proved to be the right move, and Coverdale would become Hughes’s soulmate onstage and in life within the band.
Hughes describes Deep Purple Mark III as almost a new band. “It would have been a mistake to keep Gillan and Glover, wanting something different and a two-singer approach created a fresh dynamic,” he observes. The addition of Jon Lord’s keyboards added a new color, with Hughes calling Lord a genius and a key catalyst for the band’s evolving sound. The presence of synthesizers broadened the sonic palette and helped shape what would follow in the mid-70s.
a funky touch
There’s also a noticeable funky undertone in the lineup’s evolution. Hughes suggests that Blackmore sought a more classic rock direction that would eventually lead him to form Rainbow. Looking at Lord and Paice, Hughes believes their path was a natural progression that kept the band evolving. He downplays recollections of the abrupt onstage incidents, explaining that Burn and the follow-up Stormbringer featured memorable, groovier tracks. Blackmore’s departure left its mark, yet the group pressed on, crafting a distinct identity in the new era.
In contemporary times, Hughes’ current tour serves as a homage to Mark III and the Burn era, with careful attention paid to the songs he helped shape. He hints at past contractual mysteries that delayed full recognition of his authorship until years later. Among the arrangements, songs like Sail Away and Might Just Take Your Life stand out, though Burn remains a centerpiece for fans and performers alike.
As Deep Purple continues to tour worldwide, the classic trio of Gillan, Glover, and Paice remains the anchor of the live experience. Hughes reflects on watching Deep Purple from afar, acknowledging that he has not kept up with their latest iterations beyond the era of Perfect Strangers, and wonders how the present sound compares to the older recordings. The enduring influence of the band underscores the appeal of their mid-70s evolution and the people who helped shape it, even as new generations discover the music through different means and memories. This account draws on archival interviews and retrospective writings about Deep Purple and the California Jam performance.