Rock legend Jon Lord trains young musicians for Usher Hall concert

Published on Wednesday 13 May 2009 09:57

FOR a famous rock band touring the world, it could be hard to remember every country you have visited, let alone every venue you've played.

Deep Purple legend Jon Lord, however, has no trouble recalling Edinburgh's Usher Hall, saying it had "some of the worst toilets" of any venue he has played.

For a man whose career stretches back more than 40 years and straddles the entire globe, that's saying something.

This year, Lord will return to the Usher Hall to lead a group of local music students – and a full symphony orchestra – in the Scottish premiere of his 1969 piece Concerto for Group and Orchestra.

As he launched the project at Stevenson College's state-of-the-art music academy, the Music Box, he said he was looking forward to seeing what the revamped venue would be like.

"It will be nice to play there again, especially since they will hopefully have done up the toilets, which were terrible," he joked.

"I remember they were just the worst. A few years ago, a friend of mine was conducting there and he remarked on how bad they were as well."

The A-listed concert venue is undergoing a 25 million refurbishment, due for completion this summer, including a glass- covered extension and a range of improvements inside – such as those new toilets.

The performance of Lord's work, a fusion of classical and rock styles first performed in London at the Royal Albert Hall by Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, will be among the first major events staged there.

The concert, on 5 October, has been arranged by Stevenson College and will feature more than 100 musicians from the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, the City of Edinburgh Music School and the Edinburgh Schools Symphony Orchestra.

Lord will spend the next six months working with musicians at Stevenson College who will be taking the roles originally performed by Deep Purple. City-based singer Grant Barclay, 18, keyboard player Fraser Mitchell, 18, of Livingston, guitarist Thomas Temple, 18, of Linlithgow, bass player Ryan Anderson, 18, of Bo'ness, and drummer Oscar Mannoni, 24, from Sardinia, will receive Lord's tuition.

Fraser admitted it was a little daunting playing keyboards – Lord's role in Deep Purple – but said it had so far been an incredible experience.

"I have been a bit more nervous than the others because I have to try to live up to the standard of performance that he would have produced," he said. "It has been great working with him and, while there are a few nerves, I just want to make the most of it."

The students performed the classic Deep Purple anthem Child in Time yesterday, something Lord admitted brought back fond memories.

He said he had no doubt the students would handle the pressure of playing the complicated rock-classical piece live.

He said: "It's going to require a lot of hard work, but I'm sure they will be fine."

STRIKING THE RIGHT NOTE

JON DOUGLAS LORD was born in Leicester in 1941 and studied classical piano from the age of five, with his major influences being Bach and Elgar.

In 1968, he co-founded Deep Purple with drummer Ian Paice, and the pair were the only constant band members from 1968 to 1976, and from 1984, when the group reformed, until Lord's retirement in 2002. The band's most famous hit was Smoke On The Water, which was a worldwide hit in 1973.

One of his finest works was his composition Concerto for Group and Orchestra, which was performed at the Royal Albert Hall in 1969 by Deep Purple and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. The concerto was revived in 1999 with another performance at the Albert Hall, performed by Deep Purple with the London Philharmonic Orchestra.

Since 2002, Lord has concentrated on composing. He recently said he would join Deep Purple on stage for the first time in six years at the Sunflower Jam charity event in London in September.