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David Bowie Helped Keep Deep Purple From Imploding

04/08/2016
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(TeamRock Radio) Glenn Hughes says David Bowie helped him through Deep Purple's rocky lineup changes while they lived together in mid-70s New York. Though former bassist Hughes was only in Deep Purple from 1973 until 1976, he helped the band through critical transitions after Ian Gillan, Roger Glover and then Ritchie Blackmore left.

He says Bowie, who was writing Station To Station at the time, encouraged him and keyboard player Jon Lord to stay and hire new-look guitarist, the late Tommy Bolin.

He tells UCR: "He was always telling me, 'Keep f***ing changing. Never stay the same. Never. Stay. The same. Throw those leather pants away. Throw those boots away. Let me cut your f***ing hair.' He was all about forever changing, and I've always done that, really. Some people don't get it, and some people do.

Hughes continues: "When Ritchie left the band, I gotta be honest with you, I wanted to go back to Trapeze and reform the band. Bowie was in my house, and he said, 'You should go get a new guitar player who sounds way different to Ritchie, and maybe looks different.' He kind of convinced me. I think Jon and I were going to throw the towel in.

"But then David Bowie drove me down in his Mercedes to audition Tommy. So Bowie had a lot to do with me going down there that day. And I fell in love with Tommy the moment I saw him, you know? I knew before he switched his f***ing amp on that he was going to kick my ass." Read more here.

TeamRock Radio is an official news provider for antiMusic.com.
Copyright TeamRock Radio - Excerpted here with permission.

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