In my “tour guide” series, I’ll be setting up guides to certain tours by certain bands. This is an aspect of a project I have been undertaking in some form or other since the summer of 2017, with some collaboration. I hope it’s useful to fellow music historians and aficionados!
Deep Purple’s first-ever tour was something of an aberration as far as debut tours go. The band toured outside its native England, with relatively little press. Its first album had not yet been recorded, and would not be released for another two months after its conclusion. They hadn’t even settled on the name Deep Purple yet!
All the same, this first tour is a critical part of the history of one of rock ‘n roll’s most enduring bands. Their taking to the stage so early in their development set a precedent for their prioritizing live performance above everything else. Furthermore, their decision to perform outside of their native England first foreshadowed their global popularity, reaching far beyond the anglosphere despite their inherent Britishness.
The Tour
I have seen it noted somewhere that the group performed a total of eleven concert dates, plus a recorded TV performance. However, there are currently only seven known dates, leaving the story of five other dates unknown. I have heard that some of these were performed in Sweden. As I find more information out, I will add it to this site. For now, this is all that is known.
None of these dates outside the TV broadcast are known to have been recorded. As such, this historically important first tour of one of rock ‘n roll’s mainstays remains shrouded in relative mystery. I hope that by sharing information here, I can provide a point to gather information. Perhaps we will one day have a clearer picture of Deep Purple’s first steps onto the live stage, where they have remained to this day.
Most of Purple’s first concerts took place in small clubs in and around the Copenhagen area. On most nights, they shared the stage with other small bands, none of whom have achieved the stature that Deep Purple one day would.
| Date | Location | Recorded? | More Info |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968-04-20 | Vestpoppen Parkskolen Club, Taastrup, Denmark | No | Here |
| 1968-04-25 | Nimb Hotel, Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark | No | Here |
| 1968-04-26 | Nimb Hotel, Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark | No | Here |
| 1968-04-27 | Danish TV “Toppop”, Copenhagen, Denmark | Yes | Here |
| 1968-04-28 | Beat Hall, Roskilde, Denmark | No | |
| 1968-05-03 | Store Sal, Copenhagen, Denmark | No | |
| 1968-05-04 | Club Dynamite, Store Heddinge, Denmark | No | |
| 1968-05-05 | Beat House, Ringsted, Denmark | No | Here |
Thank you so much for reading. If you enjoyed this post, please consider donating on my ko-fi page or becoming a patron on my patreon. I appreciate your help!