Deep Purple performed in front of a full house at Arena 8888 Sofia, performing songs from over five decades on stage. The show was the British band's seventh appearance in Sofia and its 11th appearance in Bulgaria.
Frontman Ian Gillen chatted with the audience between performances. Before the song "Mitzi Dupree," he told of meeting a flight attendant named Mitzi on a flight. When she asked him what he did, Gillen replied that he sang in a band. When asked which band it was, he joked: “Black Sabbath“.
Simon McBride is the newest addition
Guitarist Simon McBride has been part of Deep Purple since 2022, when he replaced Steve Morse. The change was also commented on by a fan before the concert: “The new guitarist is very good and gives a slightly different and new sound, although we from the old generation want to hear the old songs“.
Ian Gillen introduced keyboardist Don Airey as the “maestro“. In his solo performance, Airey included the Bulgarian anthem “Mila Rodino“, which caused a strong reaction in the hall, as well as the rhapsody “Vardar“ by Pancho Vladigerov.
Songs that have crossed generations
After the concert, fans said they left the hall charged with the experience. “Dinosaurs on the music scene have no value. They are priceless“, said one of them. Another shared: “At the first concert, I cried when I saw Gillan. I just grew up with Purple songs“.
The stories of the first encounter with the band's music showed the difference between the generations. One of the younger fans said that he first heard “Smoke on the Water“ as a Nokia phone ringtone, while others recalled the 1970s, when albums arrived via people traveling abroad and were re-recorded and shared.
Deep Purple was formed in the UK in 1968 and is among the bands associated with the development of hard rock in the early 1970s. Among their most recognizable albums is 1972's “Machine Head“, which included “Highway Star“, “Lazy“, “Space Truckin“ and “Smoke on the Water“.
“Smoke on the Water“ was inspired by a fire in a casino in Montreux in December 1971. Deep Purple were in the Swiss city to record “Machine Head“ when a fire broke out during a concert by Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. The smoke over Lake Geneva gives the song its title.
Ian Pace remains the only musician to have played in all of the band's lineups. After the concert in Sofia, the European leg of the “Splat!“ tour continues on October 1 in Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Sources: BTA