Deep Purple master tapes head back to Abbey Road

Last week, I returned from a trip to England where I had been visiting my friend Simon Robinson for a couple of weeks. Many Deep Purple fans will be familiar with Simon's name in connection with numerous DP archival releases over the years.

Few people were aware that the bulk of the DP audio archives had actually been in storage under Simon's care in Sheffield for many years. During the time that I was visiting, the archives were in their final stages of cataloguing in preparation for their return back to London.

During the first few days of my visit, I helped Simon to catalogue the last few tapes and also gave him a hand as he photographed each tape box. In the meantime, I also got to snap a few photos of some boxes that I found particularly interesting. I'll post a few pics if people are interested.

The Sheffield Star just ran a story about the tapes earlier this week. The article is located here: http://www.thestar.co.uk/community/the-diary/a-deep-dark-secret-1-4915939


A Deep, dark secret
By Colin Drury
Published on Tuesday 11 September 2012

THEY have sold more than 200 million records worldwide, are credited with inventing heavy metal and were once listed by the Guinness Book of World Records as “the planet’s loudest band”.

But here’s something global rock gods Deep Purple have managed to keep quiet for almost 30 years...

Their entire archive of early recordings – some 250 master tapes featuring original albums, live tracks, rarities and out-takes – have been stored in an old Sheffield grain store since 1985.

The extraordinary collection, now valued at up to £1 million, was left with a city super-fan after he simply asked the band’s managers if he could look after it.

“Things were a bit more lax back then,” shrugs Simon Robinson, who has since stored the tapes at the renovated Aizlewood Business Centre in Nursery Street.

“Before I was given responsibility they were being kept in this leaking warehouse where the door was left unlocked all day. I couldn’t believe it. You wouldn’t leave The Beatles master tapes like that – and Deep Purple are just as important to rock fans.

“I said ‘Let me look after them properly’, and the management company agreed. Simple as that really.

“I remember driving back up to Sheffield with them in the back of an old Ford Escort van. They were so heavy the back axle was scraping on the ground.”

The tapes – dating from 1968-76 – contain about 200 hours of early recordings by the band, formed in London in 1968 and still going today.

Several rare versions of their most famous hit, Smoke On The Water, are among the collection’s highlights.

“It’s a strange story really,” says Simon, 57, of Stannington. “Basically I wrote to the management company as a fan and told them I didn’t think much of their plans to re-issue some of the early material.

“I had a small record label at the time and they wrote back and asked what I thought they should do. We got talking. I went down to their offices and when I saw the state these early master recordings were being left in I asked them to let me look after them properly. When I said it would probably save them some money, I think that swung it.”

And that’s what he’s done for the past 27 years, only taking the tapes out of storage when a new re-release was being made.

“A new generation has discovered the band through computer games like Guitar Hero,” says Simon. “That means there are things constantly being re-released so I get to listen to them often enough.”

And now?

After the death of both the band’s former managers the tapes have been returned to the estate of the firm as agreed.

Global music giant EMI will store the tapes at a dedicated facility at Abbey Road Studios.

“It’s nice to know I’ve done my bit and helped preserve the originals,” says Simon.

 

A few pics of some of the tape boxes...

 

Great story! Thanks for the pics. It's unbeleivable that these tapes were stored that way for so many years. Makes me wonder about the state of so many other precious masters.

 

Thanks for sharing. Always great to see pics like this.

 

Awesome, awesome pics. I'm speechless.

 

A few more pics...

 

Oh my!

 

Wow!

 

Great pics!

 

Quad, anyone?

 

Thank goodness for dedicated fans. Awesome story!

Can anyone imagine the ridicule of anyone today who wrote off to the artist/manager/record co. to suggest they handle safe storage of recorded material???

 

One of my favourite notations on a tape box...



Close-ups...

 

The "William Tell" is a highlight of the 1996 UK
Fireball CD.

 

Awesome thanks for sharing the pictures

 

Here is an odd one. Purple used the Rolling Stones Mobile a number of times. This 2" 16-track tape box has some interesting stuff written on it. The original text is crossed out and DP info written under it. The crossed out info regards the original tape that was housed in the box. It's a series of jams by the Rolling Stones dated December 1974 with Glyn Johns producing. These jams were from the sessions for the Black and Blue album.



Close-up...

 

Another oddity. Inside a tape box for a Purple session there was the usual track assignment sheet. Stuck to the back of it was a sheet from somebody else's session. Apparently, Fleetwood Mac were using the studio at the same time recording their album Then Play On.

 

Amazing story, Chris. Thanks for sharing. Sounds somewhat like the stories Steve used to tell about Ian Anderson keeping master tapes in his garage.

 

Really cool, thanks for sharing, especially the pictures.

 

Only on the Hoffman forums. Thanks!

 

Thanks for the comments, folks. I'm glad to be able to share the story and the photos. Also, thanks to Simon for allowing me to post them.

I've had the opportunity to look through the archives a few times over the years. In addition to the DP tapes, there were also dozens of tapes by the likes of Ashton, Garner & Dyke as well as many tapes by various Purple label recording artists. Lots of amazing stuff!

Cheers,
Chris

 

I want to hear Smelly Botty!

Any Mk 3 or 4 tape pics?

Simon did a great job reissuing Purple. Aside from some dodgy Peter Mew masterings they've done a nice job reissuing all this stuff. Probably one of the best reissue campaigns ever.

 

Thanks for sharing...

 

Oh man! Anything having to do with the Mk 1 and Mk 11 editions of the band will get my instant attention. I hope some unreleased stuff from those periods will see the light of day.

 

From Burn...



From Stormbringer...



Stormbringer was the "lost" DP album. The masters appeared to have disappeared. Simon found a couple of unlabelled tapes and brought them down to Abbey Road to audition. They turned out to be the missing Stormbringer tapes. The new track listing sheet on this box is Simon's writing.