As the Boeing 707 touched down at Los Angeles International Airport we all felt a sense of excitement that we had never experienced before! Accompanied by John Coletta, Derek Lawrence and road manager Ian Hansford we couldn’t quite believe that we were actually in America! On arrival we were met by Tetragrammaton representatives, including label boss Artie Mogul, with flashbulbs popping, to be shepherded to two huge stretched limousines, which were to be our transport for the next few weeks.

Soon we arrived at our apartment block called the Sunset Marquis (pronounced marquee) close to the famous Sunset Boulevard. As we checked in, I noticed a large framed photograph of actor Van Heflin behind the front desk. When I remarked to the concierge that he was one of my favourite actors he replied “Oh you will soon meet Mr Heflin, he lives here!” It all seemed rather unreal as we walked past the swimming pool to be shown to our quarters. In the large apartment that Jon and I were to share, a meeting convened with agent Jeff Wald who would be looking after us on the road. Jeff explained that we had a busy schedule ahead of us but we were also going to have a lot of fun!

It was still with a sense of disbelief that we woke up in Hollywood, to blue skies and intense sunshine. Rod Evans and I were up early and so we walked down the palm tree-lined street until we came across a diner called Ben Frank’s. There we sampled chilled melon, pancakes and bacon which tasted so much better than the greasy-spoon cafés that we were used to back home. Ben’s was to become a regular favourite of everyone. That evening we were taken to the famous Whisky-a-go-go club where we were introduced to Murray Roman, the hottest anti-establishment comedian who was also on Tetragrammaton records. He asked if there was “anything that we needed”, only to be amazed that we were not interested in any of the fashionable drugs available, only a cold beer or scotch and coke!

The next day we received an invitation to attend the latest broadcast of a popular TV show called Playboy After Dark. Hosted by Playboy boss and founder Hugh Hefner, this was a popular show that we were soon due to appear on. The show consisted of a mock party where host Hefner would introduce various guests to perform. We took our seats in the studio, watching the proceedings (and the Bunny Girls) with great interest.

It was here that Ritchie and I were reunited with our old boss, Screaming Lord Sutch. Dave had relocated to America some months before, shipping over his Union Jack-painted vintage Rolls-Royce car, complete with Marshall amplifier adverts and a portrait of Queen Elizabeth II in the rear window. For a while he had fooled the USA that he really was the 5th Earl of Harrow (a title he had invented at the start of his career) becoming a regular on TV chat shows, and milking several gigs for himself along the way. Somehow Dave had got wind that we were there and joined the proceedings until a sharp-eyed producer spotted him and promptly had him ejected.

After the show we were invited to join Hugh Hefner at a party on the top floor of the Playboy Club which was almost next door to the Sunset Marquis. Imagine our surprise on arriving to find Screaming Lord Sutch already there! True to form he had found his way in!

During the next few days we were entertained at the Tetragrammaton office, meeting the staff and the bosses, including Roy Silver, Artie Mogul and of course, Bill Cosby, who at the time was riding high as America’s favourite comedian. The suite of offices was sumptuously decorated with antiques and fresh flowers, whilst a cordon bleu chef was on hand to cater for staff and visitors. At the front entrance visitors were allowed to take a free pair of purple tinted sunglasses from a large basket, helping to promote the Shades of Deep Purple album. The whole place just reeked of huge expense. It would not take very long to realise that Deep Purple were almost exclusively funding this over-the-top extravaganza!!

With the first gig fast approaching, Ritchie and I were asked to check out our amplification. Ritchie suddenly succumbed to flu-like symptoms so I set out alone taking my bass and Ritchie’s Gibson to give the amps the once-over. The chosen brand was called Acoustic and proved to be more than adequate for the job, being both extremely powerful with a very good sound.

That evening we were taken by the female office staff to a popular restaurant called Sneaky Pete’s, where free peanuts were provided. It was the custom to throw the shells onto the floor which was permanently carpeted in the crunchy material! As the only driver in the band I was given the use of a Ford Mustang, and I thought I was quite the business as I cruised down Sunset Strip.

The Playboy TV show was a pleasure to do, playing Hush live as the Bunny Girls and guests danced around us, providing a film clip which is still a YouTube favourite over half a century later!

Bill Cosby was also on the show, promoting his latest LP on which he parodied well-known soul hits with his often hilarious lyrics. His backing group sounded extremely impressive, and I chatted to his bassist, Jimmy Mack, backstage. I told him how I loved his drummer and asked for his name, nearly falling off my chair when he answered “Louie Bellson”. Only one of the greatest jazz drummers in the world!

Once again, we were invited to the evening party on the top floor of the Playboy building. Hefner was a charming host, handing each guest a plate and showing us into the sumptuous kitchen where chefs waited to carve as much meat as you could eat. The drinks were equally as generous resulting in Ian Paice ending the evening rather the worse for wear. As Ian and I staggered to our apartments I just managed to grab him before he fell into the swimming pool. What a night!!

Arriving at the Los Angeles Forum to soundcheck for the first show we were amazed to find ourselves in a huge 20,000+ seater, a rather daunting prospect after the dance halls and theatres back home. This was our first experience of huge PA systems and bone-shaking volume. The Acoustic amplifiers were the loudest that we had ever heard. Also on hand were a team from Sunn amplifiers, used by Jimi Hendrix and reputed to be the loudest in the world. Ritchie and I both felt Acoustic had the best sound and the offer to use Sunn was politely declined. I hit it off though with their representative, an amiable fellow named Bob Lefevre, and we became quite friendly during our stay in the U.S. Well, the LA Forum was to be our baptism of fire, and the first stadium that any of us had played in. This was to be the opening of the farewell tour by Cream, the supergroup formed by Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce and Eric Clapton. Every night would be a sell-out and we were lucky enough to have landed the supporting spot. I felt that it would be great fun with two London-based groups on the same bill, but Cream kept their distance and didn’t show their faces to say “hello”. As the time to play approached we were all a bit apprehensive; after all, no one knew us, although Hush was a huge hit record. In the event though, we were well received and ended up getting a terrific response from the crowd. The Tetragrammaton gang were absolutely ecstatic with our performance and whisked us away for a celebration with food and drink. Of course, the ubiquitous David Sutch appeared, trailing a young companion named Rodney Bingenheimer. Rodney (later to become a radio DJ) appeared to be Sutch’s personal photographer and many pics were taken.

Still flushed with our success we were taken the next day to check out the smart clothes stores in Rodeo Drive. Imagine our delight when we were approached by a group of people who proclaimed that we “blew Cream away last night”! They also described our show as “real heavy”, a strange American saying that we were soon to get used to. Anything that was good, nice, cute etc. was “heavy”. Several years later it seemed to disappear, being resurrected eventually to describe a particular style of music.

Later that day we went to the record company office where they had the luxury of a small movie theatre on the premises. Together we watched the film of our performance, which wasn’t half bad! In the future this film became lost for some time, then was rescued in a very poor state from a box of rubbish. The sound survived though and has since been released on disc as a bootleg and in official form in varying levels of poor quality, but at least still remains as a little bit of rock history!

Prior to our second gig at the Forum, we guested on a banal TV show called the Dating Game, later to be resurrected in Britain as Blind Date. Slightly overconfident with my U.S. driving ability I had decided to drive myself to the studio, but of course got lost and arrived very late. As it was a lip-synched performance, the run-through had started without me, with a rostrum being reserved for me at the front. This resulted in some great photos appearing to show me as the group’s front man!

 

After our performance the toe-curling dating quiz began. Jon was selected as one of the three “dates”, but sadly failed to win the prize of an exotic trip with a beautiful girl!

Our second show at the Forum saw us a bit more relaxed and less nervous which helped us to perform a lot better. I was happy to be supporting Jack Bruce and Ginger Baker who, along with their old boss Graham Bond were amongst my favourite musicians. Whilst slightly nervous at their awesome ability I knew that this was more than balanced with Ritchie’s capabilities, of which I was sure that Eric Clapton was well aware. Once again, we were extremely well received by the crowd and went down the proverbial “storm”!

 

The following day we drove down the California coast to San Diego near the border with Mexico. Imagine our delight on arrival at the venue to see our name lit up in the same size lettering as Cream. Although well aware that Cream were the attraction, we were also starting to feel equal to them, and our show was even better than the previous one. The next day the repercussions happened.

 

Apparently Cream and Ginger Baker in particular were incensed at being given serious opposition by the support band, and equally angry at the size of our name at the venue. The outcome of this was that we were fired from the tour; a big disappointment, a huge financial loss, as well as missing out on valuable exposure. At the same time we were pleased that we had held our own with a huge name band such as Cream. As our producer Derek Lawrence put it – “I guess that you went down too well!!” Tetra’s Jeff Wald now started feverishly booking us out, often as the headline act. Often we joined multiple bills, appearing regularly with such bands as the Chambers Brothers, Canned Heat, the Turtles, and occasionally with Procol Harum when Ritchie and I were reunited with old friend Matthew Fisher, the man responsible for the haunting organ of Whiter Shade Of Pale and, like us, a one-time member of Lord Sutch’s Savages.

Apparently Cream and Ginger Baker in particular were incensed at being given serious opposition by the support band, and equally angry at the size of our name at the venue. The outcome of this was that we were fired from the tour; a big disappointment, a huge financial loss, as well as missing out on valuable exposure. At the same time we were pleased that we had held our own with a huge name band such as Cream. As our producer Derek Lawrence put it – “I guess that you went down too well!!” Tetra’s Jeff Wald now started feverishly booking us out, often as the headline act. Often we joined multiple bills, appearing regularly with such bands as the Chambers Brothers, Canned Heat, the Turtles, and occasionally with Procol Harum when Ritchie and I were reunited with old friend Matthew Fisher, the man responsible for the haunting organ of Whiter Shade Of Pale and, like us, a one-time member of Lord Sutch’s Savages.

The tour gradually worked its way around the U.S. with us often taking several connecting flights to more remote areas. Flying in 1968 was a lot more fun than it is today. Security and the rules were far more relaxed, occasionally the pilots would take off with the flight deck door open, and on several occasions we found ourselves the only passengers on the plane! We toured Northern California for a week, using two station wagons, Jeff Wald driving one and myself the other. It was a joy to drive with the luxuries of air-conditioning, power steering and power brakes which were still rare in Britain. We usually had the radio on and never tired of hearing Hush played regularly. The U.S. playlist was as eclectic as at home but we were usually hearing the tunes long before they arrived at our shores. The two most memorable for me were Glen Campbell’s Wichita Line Man and I Heard It Through The Grapevine by Marvin Gaye.

Halfway through the tour a huge party was held in honour at a ranch in the Hollywood Hills, although apart from Eric Burdon and Lord Sutch we didn’t know most of the guests, who happily enjoyed unlimited drinks and barbecued food. The evening ended during a massive jam session on the front porch when three menacing police officers with guns turned up and ordered us to stop after complaints were received from several miles away! As the party broke up it came to our notice that Deep Purple were picking up the bill, so Jon suggested that we load all the remaining booze into our car, which was then ferried back to the Sunset Marquis. During the tour we all improved our fitness levels by swimming every day as all hotels had large pools. When not on the road we used the apartment block pool, and it wasn’t long before I got acquainted with actor Van Heflin who also enjoyed a regular swim. We often chatted about his movies, most of which I had seen. He dismissed many of them as “turkeys” until I mentioned “Shane”. He was quite rightly very proud of starring in what is still rated as the best western film ever made. Van was filming “Airport” at the time, sadly to be his last film as he was shortly to die of a heart attack whilst swimming in that very pool.

During the tour we received complaints from Tetragrammaton bosses about our stage clothes. Made in London at considerable cost, they were thought too showy and flamboyant. The current trend was for bands to perform in T-shirts and jeans, most of them playing in their daytime clothes. Most of the group complied for a while but I insisted on dressing up for every gig which led to a bit of friction! I refused to look like a member of a blues band, and eventually the others agreed, and so the record company backed down. I always felt, and still do, that a performer should dress for the occasion!

We visited various places such as Oregon, Vancouver and Washington State, eventually landing in San Francisco. Remembering the bad feeling when we left the Flowerpot Men, Jon suggested sending them a postcard (in reference to their only hit), saying “we are here, where are you?”, but we both decided that would be in bad taste as our former band were now really struggling to survive.

One memorable gig was a double header with, of all bands, Vanilla Fudge. Naturally we were pretty nervous, particularly Jon and myself as we had already witnessed their awesome power. They themselves were also aware that people were comparing them with Deep Purple, so they were also a little nervous too. As usual they gave an awe-inspiring performance, but we managed to hold our own and were well received by the crowd. Afterwards we jammed back at the hotel and became friends, particularly with bassist Tim Bogert and drummer Carmine Appice.

I had recently purchased a new Fender bass in Chicago which was the first reissue of the 1951 Precision Bass, and renamed the Telecaster Bass. As I complained to Tim Bogert about problems I was having, he admitted that he had bought one and had the same problems. When I asked how he had fixed them he produced his bass which now had a replacement body of a standard Precision. The results looked so amazing that I resolved to do the same when we got home!

At this time discussions were had about the merits of basing ourselves in America permanently in order to cash in on our popularity. The trouble was that the Vietnam War was still raging and U.S. residency meant that all males had to be prepared to be drafted into the army. Whilst Jon, Ritchie and myself were already too old for the draft, Ian and Rod were not! We toyed with the idea of locating to Canada, but in the end the idea was dropped. A by-product of the war was a hatred of the so-called “hippies”, by the general public. The hippie movement was opposed to the war and demonstrated the fact by publicly burning their draft cards. As they all sported long hair, anyone looking similar (like us) became targets of abuse, resulting in many confrontations with middle-aged Americans who also considered long hair to be effeminate. The cries of “hippie faggots” followed us in airports and bars, but the situation was usually diffused when the aggressors discovered that we were British!

During a trip to Chicago I spotted a restaurant called the London House and so insisted that we should eat there. During our meal three musicians wandered unannounced onto the small stage and provided some of the most amazing jazz that we had ever heard. When I enquired of the waiter what the group were called, he responded “oh, the Oscar Peterson Trio, sir”, leaving us all speechless! Only in America!!

One day it occurred to me to try and contact my old acquaintance Terry Slater, formerly guitarist with the Fabulous Flintstones, but later manager of Jim Marshall’s second shop in Hanwell, West London. The Flintstones had toured Britain with the Everly Brothers and Terry had struck up a friendship with Don and Phil. Not long ago he had landed a job as the Everly’s bass player, and departed for California. Trawling through the telephone book I found his number which I called straight away. The result was an invitation to a Hollywood recording studio to meet the Everly Brothers. I got to meet Don and Phil and listen to them record a vocal track, an experience that I will never forget! They were both charming and made me feel very welcome.

During the evening of December 3rd, I found myself alone in a hotel room, sitting in front of the TV sets to watch the much-anticipated program simply called “Elvis”. Now usually referred to as the comeback show it proved to be one of the most exciting gigs ever filmed and cemented Elvis’s reputation as the King of rock ‘n’ roll! When rumours of the forthcoming shows surfaced, I was harangued by Dave Sutch to find out where it was to be held, reasoning that my new found success would open any door. Of course it was a closely guarded secret, although I did make enquiries, with no success. After the gig Elvis held a press conference where Great Britain was represented by – you’ve guessed – Screaming Lord Sutch!!

Later that month our tour headed for New York where we moved into the exotic sounding Number One 5th Ave, adjacent to Washington Square Arch. In reality it was a decrepit turn-of-the-century hotel which should have been condemned! After the heat of California the weather here was extremely cold, being difficult to breathe at times. We spent many evenings at a club called Steve Paul’s Scene where we rubbed shoulders with many of our old pals from home. I hung out with my old mate John Entwistle of the Who and particularly Mitch Mitchell who introduced me to his boss, Jimi Hendrix. Jimi was a reserved almost quiet man, unlike his stage personnel, and was already a fan of Deep Purple, thanks to Ritchie.

Several days before we had appeared on one of the biggest U.S. TV shows hosted by Merv Griffin. Merv also interviewed country music legend Jimmy Dean who remarked that he thought it hilarious to hear the English group (us) asking each other for a “fag!” (Cigarette).

Bill Cosby had used his influence to secure us the chance to appear twice during the show, something normally unheard of. Unfortunately during the half hour interval between songs Ritchie had slightly overdone the hospitality and when the time came, he had launched into a totally different song to the rest of us! Somehow, he managed to cover up and no one seemed to notice. Speaking to Jimi later he also hadn’t noticed, saying it was great! Or maybe he was just being polite?

The Scene had a very good house trio in the blues/rock style, led by an excellent guitar player. One night Jimi Hendrix joined them to jam and was totally outclassed by the resident guitarist. Jimi was visibly annoyed with himself at what appeared to be a below par performance. No one knew much about this player all his name, but by the time of our return to America, everyone knew his name – Johnny Winter!

With Christmas fast approaching, and most of us feeling a bit homesick after three months away, it was decided to bring over the girlfriends of myself, Ritchie and Jon, plus John Coletta’s wife. On the morning of their arrival, Jon was nowhere to be found, and Ritchie was otherwise indisposed! Only Colette and myself were there to welcome the girls at JFK airport. Jon and Ritchie had a lot of explaining to do when we arrived back at One Fifth Avenue! The general state of the hotel led us to worry about the girls’ reaction, after all we had regaled them with stories of the fabulous Hiltons and Holiday Inns, where we had experienced (to us) absolute luxury. Luckily Jeff Wald picked up the baton on our behalf and secured two impressive bridal suites for Jon and Judith and Janet and myself. They were high up in the building, very well appointed and joined by a connecting door. Coletta and his wife were similarly upgraded, as were Ritchie and Babs, to the relief of us all.

Having played the famous Fillmore West, a rather disappointing venue, it was a pleasant surprise to enter the Fillmore East at which we were to play on December 20th and 21st. It was a lovely old acoustically designed theatre, almost like a small version of the London Palladium. The allotted time for our sound check was interrupted by the arrival of the headline act, Creedence Clearwater Revival, who insisted on being given priority. To say they had a bad attitude would be an understatement. Our road manager Ian Hansford was visibly annoyed and, being unfamiliar with their name uttered the hilarious words-“who’s this f–g Clarence Clearwater? I’ll f–g chin ‘im”!

Our performance as second on the bill came after the excellent James Cotton Blues Band. With our girls in the front row it was with some satisfaction and pride that we heard the audience still shouting our name throughout CCR’s first couple of songs. Without doubt we were becoming a brand that was not easy to follow!

On December 22 we flew to Toronto where I was reunited with my old mate Rich Bennett who picked us up at the airport. It was great to see Rich again, four years after he left England for Canada. Of course we reminisced about the Renegades, our first group, and I met his wife Ann and baby son Jeff. I could not imagine then that this toddler would travel to England some 37 years later and present me with a brand-new Fender Bass to mark my 60th birthday! That evening Rich and Ann accompanied us to Toronto’s top gig, the Rockpile, where we played to a capacity crowd.

Flying back to New York the next day we spent some time shopping, visiting the legendary stores such as Macy’s. On Christmas Day our whole entourage enjoyed a massive turkey dinner at Number One’s restaurant.

With just a few gigs remaining at New York’s Electric Circus, the tour was almost at an end. On December 28th we were surprised to find that Cashbox, one of the most important music business papers had listed us as number 4 in their top 5 most promising male vocal groups, the other contenders being the Chambers Brothers, Canned Heat, the Jeff Beck Group and the Crazy World of Arthur Brown. A nice accolade to end our first U.S. tour with.

On January 3rd a tired but happy Deep Purple arrived back in England to a press reception at London’s Dorchester Hotel. Pictures appeared in the evening papers, including Jon, Judith, Ritchie and Babs who announced their forthcoming marriages. For the first time in three months the group went their separate ways, Ian Paice and myself sharing a limousine to our respective homes. On January 25, 1969 Cashbox gave us another accolade by featuring a full-page photo of the group on their international page, listing the many countries in which we had charted. A rare honour indeed, showing how far we had come in less than one year……

Chapter 22 ←

→ Chapter 24