Artwork for album covers is frequently produced by people one rarely meets as a musician, meaning that all one knows about them is a name and their artwork. Ioannis Vasilopoulis was a first-rate graphic artist and designer whose studio in Orange, Connecticut was not far from where I lived, so I worked with him and his brother Theodoros on three Deep Purple albums along with several tour programmes.
I trust everybody survived the preceding festivities with nothing more than indigestion. After being away on tour for a large part of the year, I finally returned home to spend Christmas, etc. with my family. The tour was one of the best, we all agreed on that. So massive thanks to our heroic crew and a huge thank you to all who supported us last year, the year of =1.
Mick Underwood was a lovely man. I was deeply saddened to learn that he had died. It’s taken me a while to digest the news and put in perspective what he meant for Ian Gillan and me. When he joined Episode Six, he brought a new sense of professionalism to the band and the live performances took an immediate upturn. That said, it can’t be denied that we’d been chasing that elusive lucky break for so long that we’d just about run out of steam.
The emergence of the Internet in the 80’s revolutionised social and business connections on many levels, particularly the new relationship the band found with fans. Prior to that, fans were in another world to us – now we’re in the same world. The early chat rooms were a revelation but when it evolved into The Highway Star, not only did I become aware of like-minded people but made some stimulating friends.
Sadly, one of the greatest promoters has passed on. Mr. Udo was not only a superb businessman but a deeply passionate advocate for music in Japan. He could always be counted on as a dignified and sincere presence in our lives. He and his remarkable team supported Deep Purple and many others with professional courtesy and generosity over decades of touring in Japan.