Deep Purple performed on this day in 1968 at the Electric Circus. As with the previous eight days, they performed two shows.
The band appeared with The Mighty Tornadoes and Sirocco to ring in the new year. Neither of the concerts are known to have been recorded. I’ve spoken about the venue at which the band performed here.
You might wonder why I’ve chosen to cover eight days’ worth of pretty much identical concerts when there’s no new information. From a practical perspective, they serve as good individualized placeholders for the day when I finally get to talking to people who were there, whether onstage or in the audience.
Secondly, having all of these here brings home in a small way how hard this group worked in 1968, during the week of Christmas Eve to New Years’ Eve, no less. I’ve mentioned here and there that they were paying their dues and laying the groundwork for the multi-decade success enjoyed by the whole Deep Purple family. This is what it would have looked like.
Finally, there’s a bit of a personal reason. I’m currently in the same age group as four of the band members would have been in at this point in their careers, and it’s hard not to empathize with a group of young people having to work quite hard on a holiday week. It’s quite impressive.
With this concert, Deep Purple finished up a wild first year of their existence. From here, they went on to 1969 and all that that year brought…