Did any of you see the fake Deep Purple back in 1980?

Did you see the fake Deep Purple?


  • Total voters
    15
I realize this has been up for a while but I did want to chime in. I did see the the Rod Evans bogus DP in El Paso TX. One of 5 dates in Texas before they got served with their cease and desist. They actually announced on KLAQ that it wasn't Blackmore, Gillan, Lord, Paice, and Glover a couple of days before the gig but the place was still full.
Ersatz Purp was actually better than I expected. They did put some effort into it. The Jon Lord impersonator had a Hammond set up to rock back and forth. You could tell though from the way it was set up in a balroom with less than professional lighting that it was "d" circuit grade stuff.
What I remember more than "BSDP" was the opening act "Facelift" who sounded like a King Crimson/Gentle Giant hybrid. I have not seen nor heard of them before of since that show. Anyway soon after they got sued and had to stop the tour.
That's my recollection of it. If anyone knows what happened to Facelift I'd be curious.
Ben Zuda
Hi Ben, a little late, but thanks so much for joining this conversation. Researching and reconstructing the Rod Evans' Deep Purple 1980 tour schedule for 30+ years, it's fascinating for me to learn that it was 5 shows they played on their early Texas tour in May. Facelift were the support act on that gigs, and also later in June at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, CA.
I know two of the shows, Amarillo (17/5) and El Paso (18/5, Rod also gave an interview there for KPAS/El Paso radio station, but I think that's been lost).
Do you perhaps remember where the other three concerts took place? Could they have been Wichita Falls, Dallas and Houston? Perhaps you could help me with that, that would be fantastic! I'll try to find out more about the band Facelift. Thanks again, Gerhard Koritnik
 
Back
Top