Deep Purple and Lynyrd Skynyrd Surprisineg enottgh. ('ousin 11 hour the :\tltl;tllls l-'anii|_\ didn't pla_\ lead guitar —- this is just one of l .} mrd 8k} tisrd's mum guitarists lle\ing his si\- string tnttseles in front ol‘ tens ol' thousands ol lra//led. sunhurned. roek fans. This was the 7().s. the lirst golden age ol‘en~massed stadium roekin'. While the Grateful Dead alums led the \\a_\ in sheer stamina. knoeking out sets that went on for da_\ s. literal/r. these hlues} gods ol' the South \\ ere headhand and shoulders aho\ e the rest l'or sheer quantit} when it eame to ntnnhers on stage. l'nalraid to line tip tour or lixe guitarists in the eternal
quest of the perfect stadium lilling rill. the) l’slltk‘l’sk‘tl out epie renditions ol'
their elassie ‘l'ireehird' \\ hieh \\ ere tip to Ill-minutes long.
Deep Purple were. and still are a suitahh ostentatious otitlit too. taking up tnantle ol prog long hel‘ore it “as e\ en imented. 'l‘he} \\ ere among the first mainstream roek aets to hook up \\ itli elassieal musieians and massed singers in the late (ills for the ostentatioush titled ‘(‘oneerto tor (iroup and ()rehestra' tour.
Both Skynyrd and Deep Purple hear seant resemhlanee to the hands that ll‘tlilblttlL‘tl in the late (ills and earl_\ 70s, This is due ltlostl} to \ttt‘totis line- up shullles and tall outs. \shile in the l'ormer’s ease. an air erash iii ()etoher
1977 killed three of their numhet' and one ol' their ereu including their
original singer and eentral st\11g\\l‘llL‘l‘ Ronnie \an /.andt. The argument is. ho\\e\er. that the spirit of hoth aets remains haeks may he slightl} stooped and the l’louing manes thinning hut the
willingness to wring ottt just another solo in er ‘Smolte oti the Water" or
‘Sweet Horne :\lahama’ remains unahashed o\ er time. I [Jeep Purple and I._\‘Ir\'n/ .Silx‘YHl-Itl/lhl-V Slat '( ‘. (i/usurm, Her/35111;).
24 THE LIST ‘ i.
lllL‘ll'
As four decades worth of acts who have earned their chips rocking on a humongous scale return to Scotland. so we salute the joys and pains of stadium rock.
Mark Robertson
Q 0
Bon Jovi
(ieorge ()r\\ ell \xas rigltt
roelx‘n‘roll. 'l‘hat l'atel'ul war. a ptmel'llll heast reared its head lor the lirst
time: solt I'Uk‘l’s. .r\nd its most e\pert e\ponents'.’ \one other than Hon .lox i. l.ed h} ehiselled .\'e\\ .lerse} eoxxpolse .loii Hongimi. the spande\ and
WM \\ould he a dark time. espeeiall} lot
hairspra} demons emerged in NM. hut their assent to the summit ol \lotmt Roek eante in WW) \\ itli Slip/ten ll'lien lli'l.
\Vith eightmillion eopies sold. .lon eelehrated h_\ attaehing \sires onto guitarist Riehie Samhora and s\\ inging him ahm e the audienee during gigs \shile indulging in p}t'oleeltttie shows that \sottld put a (‘hinese New Year eelehration in the shade.
like the roek dinosaurs that roamed _\ears helore them. theirs uas a real speetaele. similarl} ostentatious hut less ahout muso isms and more ahout part_\ing. hursting as the} were \xith air punehmg. lighter \xaung anthems, 'l'he hand sported datigerottsl} tight. laus \tildts est eoutttre and enio}ed some e\pansi\e hair aetion. the lows here heing on h\in' Ilargei on a pra_\er. e\ en il}ou \\ ere \santed idead or ahxei and gi\ itig lo\e a had name
all at the same lithe.
lime has heen kind to Hon .lo\i. 'lhe hair ma} he less hottllant hut the slaelss remain slsin~tight. the anthemie posturing is as eoeltsure as e\ er and the} remain as hlatantl} uneool hut oddl} entieing as the} did ll _\ears ago. 'l‘he_\ are still a eolossal pull worldwide the will} hand to haxe pla_\ed to more people on a single tour are the Rolling Stones. ‘lhe onl} ni_\ster} remains that it the} eaii sell thousands ot tielxets in Seotland. uh} \son‘t anyme admit to hu_\ing them.’
I Ii’un .loi i/i/m Ilnm Slut/rum. (i/uxgon, 81013311111.