Mark McLaughlin
Edinburgh Evening News
October 3, 2009
IT was devised as a huge rock-orchestra fusion in the days when terms like "progressive rock" were a statement of intent rather than a buzzword for indulgent muso introspection.
In 1969 a fledgling British rock band called Deep Purple approached the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra to accompany them on their grandly named new composition Concerto for Group and Orchestra.
Buoyed by the success of their breakthrough single Hush, Deep Purple's classically trained keyboard player Jon Lord composed an hour-long work that fused classical instruments and electric guitars and led his five-strong band of young musicians - complete with eccentric guitar virtuoso Richie Blackmore and their new falsetto singer Ian Gillan - out in front of a 100-piece orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall.
Now, four decades on, Lord, below, is set to do the same again with a new band of young musicians from Stevenson College, who will be joining him onstage for a revival of his magnum opus at the Usher Hall on Monday .
"I see echoes of myself in a lot of young musicians I meet and these guys are no exception," says Lord, 58, who was set to arrive in Edinburgh for the final rehearsals this morning.
"I admire the enthusiasm that these guys have shown for the project. They have that clear-eyed belief that what they're doing is right and exciting and I hope these guys go on to have some kind of success from this."
Performing at The Usher Hall with a rock legend and a 100-piece orchestra from Glasgow's Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama is definitely an ideal place to be for these seven young men hoping to make their name.
The core of the band comprises teenage prog-rockers Grant Kilpatrick, 19, a guitarist from Mid-Calder, saxophonist Christopher Hartles, 19, from Corstorphine, and Bo'ness bassist Ryan Anderson, 18, who are set to release their debut EP Barriers under the name A Torn Mind later this year.
They will be joined by Bruntsfield singer Grant Barclay, 18, a hard-rock fanatic with a voice - and an ego - big enough to fill Ian Gillan's mighty shoes.
"We let Jon Lord join our band for the day," says Barclay, who's also working to get his own band Backlash off the ground.
"Ian Gillan is widely regarded as one of the greatest singers in rock, and after the Concerto we'll be performing Deep Purple classic Child in Time."
While A Torn Mind are influenced by prog-rock bands such as Pink Floyd, Rush and Mars Volta, Barclay is an all out rocker in the mould of Ian Gillan, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant and AC/DC's Brian Johnson.
With a combination like that - joined by keyboard player Fraser Mitchell, 18, of Livingston, and second guitarist Thomas Temple, 18, of West Calder - it's going to take a strong backbone to hold it all together.
Luckily, they will be backed by bearded Sardinian drummer Oscar Mannoni, 24, who also pounds the skins for an eclectic mix of city bands.
The band was brought together by Stevenson College head of music and drama Ken Thomson, who came up with the idea of reviving Deep Purple's Concerto as an educational project to introduce rock musicians to classical music.
Lord's Concerto still has a questionable place in rock history as the precursor of the 70s Pomp perfected by acts such as Queen and Led Zep, but which would also spawn a hoard of overblown also-rans that were satirised in 80s mockumentary Spinal Tap.
"I did recognise elements of Deep Purple in Spinal Tap but that was true of most bands of my time," laughs Lord. "The problem with putting young men in the spotlight is that people start to become interested in what you say, and they ask your opinion on things you don't necessarily know enough about to form a coherent sentence on the spot so it usually comes out as pretentious twaddle."
* Jon Lord in Concert, Usher Hall, Monday, 7:30pm, call the box office on 0131 228 1155 0131 228 1155
'Pompous' piece that became timeless
"I HAD no conception that what I had written could be viewed as pompous in 1969," says Lord, who was only 26 when he created Concerto for Group and Orchestra. "I was brought up listening to orchestras as a classically trained pianist, and while rock 'n' roll came along later I never lost that love of orchestral music.
"I mentioned it to the guys on the road and I think they just said yes to shut me up. Three months later we had the Albert Hall booked but Ian Gillan still didn't have any lyrics, so he scribbled them up on the afternoon of the performance.
"Reception to the Concerto was split. Most of the rock generation loved it, but the older classical musicians despised it. It's 40 years old this year and I can't believe how well it's aged. Deep Purple brought it back in 1999 and it was so successful we took on the road.
"People can't seem to get enough of it."
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