The long out of print Ashton / Lord First Of The Big Bands album is  being reissued by Purple Records in September 2010. It contains a  careful remastering of the original album from the 1974 the vinyl  production tapes, the non album single and an alternate mix of one of  the tracks.

A short history of the album can be found on the discography page which has been updated, but the booklet contains full  notes, details of the many musicians on the sessions, pictures and  memorabilia and the original cover art. The first run is in a limited  edition digi-pak as well. This is the first time the album has been  officially available on CD in Europe in over 25 years

It can be pre-ordered from the DPAS / DTB store.

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Jon Lord, Ian Paice, Don Airey, Steve Morse and Roger Glover are all special guests (mostly one track each) on a new CD by Bernhard Welz, issued in May 2010, called Stay Tuned. Part of the proceeds from the CD are destined for a children's cancer charity according to the press release. Jon's track appears to be a live recording of Child In Time from a show in 2009.

There are more details on the artrists website at: www.bernhardwelz.com

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Jon Lord is reprising his slot with Daddy and the Steamers, albeit for this first time in decades, at a German blues festival in September, and will also play alongside Maggie Bell (with whom he and Paice worked in the late 70s) and other familiar names - Zoot Money, Miller Anderson, Colin Hodgkinson and organiser Pete York.

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Jon Lord is due to visit the Keyboardtech keyboard school, Stanley Gardens, London, on April 28th to meet the students, and then present a Q&A session alongside Rick Wakeman. The Q&A are due to begin at 7pm.

To book a place for the Q&A session or for more information (such as, "can I book a place for the Q&A session?") you can call 0208 749 3131.

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Jon Lord's new album, To Notice Such Things was released at the end of March 2010 and is shipping now from dpas online. This album was recorded back in September 2009 with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and includes the lengthy new title piece, in memory of his friend, writer John Mortimer. "He was a great friend and a great inspiration to me and I hope my love and respect for him comes out in the music," says Jon. All instrumental, the album title is from a Thomas Hardy poem, and contains three further pieces. Track listing : To Notice Such Things / Evening Song / For Example / Air on the Blue String.

Gramophone Magazine says in the May 2010 issue: "We can leave the 'rock icon dipping toe in classical waters' description behind now. With several well reviewed classical albums under his belt, we can take him on his own terms. This enjoyable and pictorial new work is an affectionate (and occasionally unflinching) portrait of John Mortimer that grows in stature as it proceeds. Lovely, colourful and involving." The magazine has a full review on page 74 and a track on their cover mounted CD.

SR#jl700234 (with thanks to Michael Ball)

The Norwegian newspaper Adressavisen carride a report on 7th April that Jon Lord and the Trondheim Soloists, the Trondheim Symphonic Orchestra and metal group Opeth will perform a concert in the Nidarosdomen Cathedral, Trondheim, on Sunday 23rd May - the final day of the Trondheim Rock festival. The news article reports that Jon Lord will be playing selections from 'To Notice Such Things' along with a few Deep Purple tunes.

Gary Moore and Glenn Hughes have already been confirmed for the festival, with both due to appear on Saturday 22nd May as part of the 'classic rock' night.

MM#jl700235 (with thanks to Hans Peter Jenssen) photo: Manfred Stoffer

Jon Lord's vocalist Steve Balsamo reports on his forum :

"Jon Lord and I went into Metropolis studios in London this week and recorded piano/vocal versions of the songs we wrote. The titles are All Those Years Ago and After A While. Jon told me that George Harrison played him a song once with the cool title and he made a mental note. Not sure when/where/what version they will become.."

'All Those Years Ago' was originally recorded by George Harrison for his 1981 album Somewhere In England. The lyrics reflected the tragedy of John Lennon's recent murder. Both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr contributed to the song.

NY/TS#7002321 (photo: Marcin Zalewski)

Jon Lord and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra are due to perform the Concerto for Group and Orchestra on 16th June 2010.

According to the Liverpool Daily Post website "Last year (Jon) joined forces with the RLPO to record a new CD of his classical works inspired by his friend, the late John Mortimer.(see the 'To Notice Such Things' news item below) That will also be on the pops concert programme."

For full details on the programme and tickets, visit www.liverpoolphil.com

NY#700232 (photo: Marcin Zalewski)

Ian Paice is set to appear at the 11th International Percussion Festival, to be held at the Richer Hall, Győr, Hungary on 26th March 2010. In addition, Jon Lord is being lined up to play at the same venue the night before, alongside rock band Cry Free and the "Philharmonics of Győr" orchestra. For more information see livesound.hu

NY#700231 (photo: Marcin Zalewski)

Fans of Jon's classical work may wish to hot-foot over to the Classic FM website, where voting is taking place this month for the 2010 Hall Of Fame. Durham Concerto was the highest new entry in the top 300 last year, with Boom Of The Tingling Strings also well placed.

update: Voting finished at the end of January. To hear how Jon's work fared, the final 300 (!) countdown is due to be aired by Classic FM between 2nd-5th April 2010.

Classic FM Hall of Fame

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Jon Lord's album WINDOWS reissue is at last out. The album was recorded at a special concert in Munich in June 1974. Jon Lord, felllow Deep Purple musicians David Coverdale (vocals) and Glenn Hughes (bass), and a host of rock luminaries including Ray Fenwick, Pete York and Tony Ashton took part.

The album was issued on Purple Records back in 1999 but has been unavailable for several years. This reissue has been newly remastered to celebrate the 35th anniversary of the concert and comes initially as a limited edition digipak with 12 page booklet. It can be ordered at DPAS Mailorder and DPAS members get an automatic discount.

It is a SINGLE CD. One major on-line store is advertising it as a double disc set which has caused confusion. Purple Records says 'don't blame us, we have nothing to do with them and it's not the first time this particular outfit have pulled this sort of trick,' before going off on a rant about shopping local and only buying from companies who trade fairly... It's also worth noting that there are several pirate Jon Lord CDs about on the Fruitgum label, with artwork stolen from Purple Records.

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It looks like Jon Lord will be issuing a new CD of work before too  long, using the Royal Liverpool
Philharmonic (who also appeared on the Durham Concerto, two years ago). The album has been recorded at the Friary in Everton, and includes the piece inspired by writer John Mortimer which has been performed at  some recent concerts (including Lichfield).

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Jon Lord's performance of Concerto for Group and Orchestra in Edinburgh takes place at the Usher Hall on October 5th. Tickets are on sale now price £20-£25. Bookings can be made at www.usherhall.co.uk / 0131 228 1155. It will enlist the help of students at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama Glasgow, and local school children are also being invited to take part. Keyboards are due to be handled by Fraser Mitchell, 18, of Livingston. The performance will be conducted by Paul Mann, who conducted Deep Purple's September 1999 Concerto shows at the Albert Hall.

The show poster / flyer is at our poster gallery.

See also our Jon Lord tour dates.

SR#jl7002243 photo:Kevin Dixon

Dougie White joined Jon Lord and Orchestra in Plovdiv, Bulgaria for the outdoor concert on September 1st, standing in for Steve Balsamo for this show only.

According to novinite.com "the two-hour concert marked the official opening of Plovdiv's Fall Arts Salon. All seats as well as the steps and the grass area of the splendid Plovdiv Antique Rome Theater were filled to the top with fans, who came from all over Bulgaria to hear the legendary Deep Purple keyboardist and composer."

Aside from Jon Lord , Dougie White, and vocalist Kasia Laska, the musicians for the evening were from Bulgarian band TE and the Plovdiv Philharmonic Orchestra, directed by Naiden Todorov. The music performed included Concerto for Group and Orchestra and a selection of solo and Deep Purple tracks, including 'Soldier Of Fortune' and 'Child In Time'.

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"To celebrate The Sunflower Jam 2009, Planet Rock will be auctioning off a unique Epiphone Les Paul Special II signed by the crčme de la crčme of rock royalty." The 39 signatures iinclude Purple people such as Jon Lord, Ian Paice, and Joe Satriani, as well as the likes of Jack Bruce, Steve Vai and Carl Palmer.

The auction begins 10th August at 10am. All money raised will go to the cancer charities supported by The Sunflower Jam 2009.

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Jon performed at an 'Armed Forces Day' show at Fawley Hill, Henley, on June 27th, as part of a band of local musicians. The setlist was:

All Right Now / Let's Work Together / Little Queenie / Call Me The Breeze / Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On / Miss You / Honky Tonk Women / Gimme Some Lovin' / Born Under A Bad Sign / Smoke On The Water / Instant Karma. The band:- Jon Lord - Hammond organ and piano, Steve Balsamo - lead vocals, Micky Moody - guitar(+ lead vocals on Call Me The Breeze and Let's Work Together), Joe Brown - guitar (+ lead vocals on Little Queenie & Whole Lotta Shakin'), Nick Fyffe - bass, Steve White - drums, Sam Brown - vocals, Aitch McRobbie - vocals.

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Jon Lord has been lined up to appear at the 'Baden-Württemberg musiziert' show at the Kreuzeiche Stadion, Reutlingen, Germany, on July 24th 2009. He will apparently be performing a movement from the Concerto, playing alongside the Württembergisches Philharmonic Orchestra and students from the Mannheim Pop-Akademie.

MK#jl700227 (with thanks to www.jonlord.org)

photo: Bryan Greene

According to the Crawley Advertiser, Jon Lord has written a new piece especially for the closing night of the Shipley Arts Festival, to be performed on Sunday July 5th at 6.30pm at St Andrew's Church, Nuthurst, Sussex. The new 20-minute piece is called To Notice Such Things and will be performed by Jon Lord on piano, with flute and a 17-piece string orchestra.

Also performing will be The Bernardi Chamber Orchestra, composer/conductor James Whitbourne and pianist Maria Marchant. Other music lined up includes Henry Purcell's Chaconny in G minor, Handel's Zadock The Priest, Gerald Finzi's Eclogue and excerpts from Benjamin Britten's St Nicolas. The evening will bring to a close the eighth year of the Shipley Arts Festival. Tickets £15. Box office: 01403 750220. Tickets are also available on line from the Capital Theatre, Horsham: /www.esro.thecapitolhorsham.com.

NY#jl7002261 (with thanks to Richard Breese)

It only seems a while ago that we were all enjoying the 30th Anniversary of Deep Purple's Concerto. To mark the 40th Anniversary Jon Lord is planning to perform the work again, this time in The National Concert Hall, Dublin, on September 24th.

The show follows the current pattern, with the Concerto, one or two pieces from his solo albums and Deep Purple's Child In Time.

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Steve Harley's online diary mentions his ChildLine encounter with Jon:

"ChildLine Rocks rocked. Jon Lord is a friendly chap. A cool and unaffected sort of guy. He played a clever set with Steve Balsami singing to the Lord Hammond B3. They travel to European cities, just the two of them, and meet there with a full orchestra and rock band, comprised of local players, rehearse for a day and then play big cross-over concerts to 3,000 or so people. I thought it all sounded a little nerve-wracking, like arriving to find your backside has gone south for the winter, as the leader calls the first beats. Jon Lord is made of the sort of stuff that makes a man a man, for all tha’. No, he said, it’s exciting. And I understood: the adventure, the gamble, the risks all make it worthwhile. And it probably seldom, if ever, fails to score."

DB#jl700228, with thanks to Tony Bilny and www.steveharley.com (photo: Bryan Greene)

ChildLine Rocks, the rock concert that aids the ChildLine charity, will take place on June 1st at the IndigO2, London. The line-up (with more names to be announced), currently looks like this: Uriah Heep / Jon Lord / Glenn Hughes / Hot Leg / The Pretty Things / Sons Of Albion / Steve Balsamo / Andy Newmark / Mollie Marriott. The show was recorded for a CD release.

Also, Jon Lord and band will perform the Concerto in Sao Paulo on May 2. 2009 an open air concert 'for free'..! As Jose Ricardo Diniz (who told me about this) says, "its cool, giving a chance to people who can't buy expensive tickets watch a great piece of music."

DPAS live reviews: ChildLine Rocks 2009

SR/SH#jl7002261 (photo: Denis Zürcher) with thanks to Stuart Hamilton

Jon Lord is taking the long-view and has added two more combined Lord / Concerto shows:

DECEMBER 6 2009 – Kieler Schloss, Kiel, Germany. Concerto for Group and Orchestra, The Telemann Experiment, One From the Meadow, Sarabande, Wait a While, Gigue. Performed by Jon Lord with DCRS (Hagen), Steve Balsamo (vocals) and Kasia Laska (vocals) and the Kiel Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Mr. Fritzsch

JANUARY 23 2010 – Nikolaisaal, Potsdam (near Berlin), Germany. Concerto for Group and Orchestra and more. Performed by Jon Lord with Demon's Eye, Kasia Laska (vocals), Bernd Martin (vocals) and the Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg (Babelsberg being the long-time centre of the German movie industry) conducted by Scott Lawton.

Above thanks to Nigel Young.

JANUARY 28 2010 - MANCHESTER FREE TRADE... Sorry, just Simon day-dreaming. And anyhow they pulled all the interior out and built a hotel in it. As you do..

SR#jl700230 photo: Marcin Zalewski

Jon Lord is scheduled to open the Fall Arts Fest in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, on September 1, performing with the Bulgarian Opera Philharmonic Society.

In response to our report that the show will be made up of two parts, consisting of Deep Purple music and Jon's solo work, Jon says "There will be two - possibly three - Purple numbers it is true, but the concert consists mainly of Concerto for Group and Orchestra in the 1st half and music from my solo work in the second. Just didn't want people turning up expecting an evening of Deep Purple classics with orchestra!"

NY#jl7002281 photo: Peter Rossen

The original Hoochie Coochie Men live CD recorded in February 2003 is coming out again in May (the third edition in five years by our reckoning!). It comprises the original double live CD plus a bonus disc of odds and ends, including various interviews, a couple of rehearsal tracks, guide vocal tracks from their studio album (the originals before Gillan and Barnes were dubbed on), etc. There has been no advance notice of this, but dpas online will stock it.

The excellent studio album (see below) is still available as well.

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Jon Lord is lined up for the Lichfield Festival on July 17th 2009. The full line-up for this year's event has been released, and the festival programme is available to download (in PDF format) from www.lichfieldfestival.org . Early tickets were available for members of the festival association, and opened for the rest of us on April 17th, also from the event's dedicated website. Lichfield is just north of Birmingham.

According to the Lichfield festival director's blog, Jon Lord visited Lichfield on March 31st to have a go on the cathedral organ in preparation for his performance.... "Now, having heard a bit of what the cathedral organ can do, he's gone off to plan how best to use it in his event."

With a lot going on at the festival, it's easy to miss the fact that Jon Lord will also be "in conversation" at the Lichfield Garrick on the morning of the concert. 10.30am in fact. Has anyone told Jon? Tickets are £5.50, it lasts around an hour.

Also

SR#jl7002253 (Thanks to Nigel Young for the tip-off, Richard Breese and Mick Wilkinson)

Jon had variety of live appearances lined up for Switzerland in December and January (and not just on the slopes). He performed a selection of music from the Durham Concerto at the Kaiserball (Deb's Ball) on Saturday December 13th alongside the 100 piece Nota Bene Symphony Orchestra. The music was also due to be interpreted by the 'Dance Prom' dancers with choreography by Kinsun Chan.

Jon then had two concert dates with Nota Bene, at the Tonhalle, Zurich on January 10th, and KKL Lucerne on January 12th. The programme for the shows comprised solo album selections including 'Wait a While', 'Telemann Experiment', 'One from the Meadow' , and 'Gigue', followed by Part III of the Durham-Concerto ('Rags & Galas' and 'Nocturne'). Other musicians appearing at the latter shows included Gotthard singer Steve Lee, and Coverdale Page bassist / comedian Guy Pratt.

DB #jl7002201 (with thanks to Denis Zürcher)

DPAS Review : Jon Lord : Tonhalle, Zurich. January 10th 2009 new

Visit our poster gallery to see a larger version of the January poster (pictured opposite)

On Saturday November 8th, the Trondheim Soloists (who have worked together with Jon on several occasions recent years) celebrated their 20th Anniversary with a concert in the Olav's Hall in Trondheim with a number of guests including Jon Lord. He played a piece on piano ( 'For Example (EG)') together with the orchestra, (a newspaper review referred to it as 'soft music'!) Also, the new CD by Norwegian singer / songwriter Espen Lind came out in August 2008, and as mentioned in the last Darker Than Blue magazine has Jon participating on two tracks; 'Sweet Love' and 'The Music Takes You There'. Jon's Hammond sound is clearly audible on both, but there are no solo spots. The Trondheim Soloists are also on the album, which fits into the (huge) sector of the pop /rock / acoustic genre. It is issued on Universal Music Norway.

Hans Peter Jenssen / DB/NY #jl7002181

BBC's "Friday Night with Jonathan Ross" on 3rd October featured an interview with Faye Dunaway and showed a clip of newsreel from November 1967 when she came to Carnaby Street to promote the 'Bonnie and Clyde' movie. "Don't worry about the weapons being handed out" announced the commentary as the film showed ... Jon Lord, in gangster garb. (For the last Artwoods single they had tried changing their name to St Valentine's Day Massacre) The show is repeated tonight (Saturday - well, the early hours of Sunday really at 1.30am). The newsreel clip last turned up on a BBC game show back in 1999.

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The Jim Capaldi tribute concert at the Roadhouse in London, January 2007 is out both as a twenty track double CD, and DVD. Jon  Lord is listed as playing on three tracks, alongside Pete Townshend, Yusuf Islam, Joe Walsh, Dennis Locorriere, Steve Winwood, and Paul Weller, among other),

Both CD and DVD are shipping now from dpas online.

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Two years after it was first scheduled, "Tony Ashton & Friends - Endangered Species Live At Abbey Road" is now in production, albeit having moved to a German label. Ian Paice and Jon Lord appeared as part of a reunited Whitesnake and PAL, at the special show staged in EMI's Abbey Road studio back in 2000, along with Bernie Marsden and many more.

Full track listing at dpas mailorder where pre-orders can be placed. SR#jl700226

Purple Records have announced the release of Jon Lord's Gemini Suite original studio album on CD at long last. This album, never issued on CD in the UK before, had been held back in order not to clash with any of Jon's new albums. In addition to the regular jewel case version, there is a limited edition in a gatefold digipak case, with a selection of three different covers reproducing the rare American covers.

This title (and the limited editions) are shipping now from dpas mailorder

Read more here.

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The third Sunflower Jam, organised by Ian Paice's wife Jackie in aid of charity, will take place at The Porchester Halls in London on September 25. 2008. Deep Purple are now confirmed as playing and will be joined by Jon Lord as a guest for some numbers. As before the price is prohibitive at £300 a ticket, with only a very few individual places available. Otherwise the price is £3,000 (sic) for a table seating ten folk. Mind you there is champagne and dinner thrown in! If you've just won the lottery then tootle over to thesunflowerjam.com, but be quick as the place is booking up. 

SR#jl700223 (Jon's thought about the evening are at www.jonlord.org. With thanks to Daniel Bengtsson)

Jon Lord and The Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra performed Durham Concerto (a classical piece to celebrate Durham University’s 175th anniversary) on 20th October 2007 inside Durham Cathedral. A university spokeswoman said that: "the work has been specifically composed for Durham University by Jon Lord." The event was open to the public, and Peter Judd has sent us a review:

DPAS Live Review: Durham Concerto, 20th October 2007

The Durham Concerto was due to be recorded in Liverpool with The Royal Liverpool Symphony Orchestra at the end of July 2007. There is a website at http://www.durhamconcerto.com/, which contains more information and also samples of the music.

Jon Lord's Durham Concerto was performed again on April 5th 2008 at Liverpool's Philharmonic Hall with the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra, alongside Michael Nyman's new work GDM (a celebration of the London Routemaster doubledecker bus), and Django Bates' "genre-mingling" What It's Like To Be Alive, a piano concerto. An eclectic evening indeed!

DPAS Live Review: Durham Concerto, 6th April 2008

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Jon Lord's work for piano and orchestra 'Boom of the Tingling Strings', was performed on December 7 / 8 2006, with pianist Nelson Goerner, and the Odense Symphony Orchestra conducted by Paul Mann. The concerts took place in the Carl Nielsen Hall of the Odense Koncerthus in Denmark as part of the main subscription concert series of the Odense Symphony Orchestra, of which Paul Mann is principal conductor. The concert programme also included music by Weber and Carl Nielsen.

The following week, EMI Classics recorded Boom of the Tingling Strings (Nelson Goerner, piano), and Lord's work for string orchestra Disguises (Suite for String Orchestra) with the Odense Symfoniorkester, Paul Mann conductor. Please note Jon Lord does not be play on the album. 

The last movement is apparently fiendishly difficult, described in a tongue-in-cheek way by Jon as his ‘revenge on concert pianists’, whom he has always envied for their keyboard talents. Former EMI Debut artist Nelson Goerner is said to rise admirably to the challenge, moving Jon Lord ‘to tears’ at the recording sessions with his deftness of touch and sensitivity.

This title can be ordered at dpas mailorder and is shipping now. (clever of them to pick a bank holiday for releasing it!).

See also the EMI press release.

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