Quiet Resort Town Gives Birth To Hard Rock Masterpiece:
Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple are credited by many as the third jewel in the British hard rock crown. At the suggestion of their accountant, Deep Purple would look to save some money by recording their 1972 album Machine Head outside of the UK tax jurisdiction and in the quiet resort town of Montreux, Switzerland.
The events that transpired before and during the recording of Machine Head are legendary, immortalized in the band’s iconic song “Smoke On The Water” which details the massive fire that destroyed the venue where Deep Purple were set to record. Singer Ian Gillan and bassist Roger Glover share with IN THE STUDIO host Redbeard the story that has become Rock and Roll folklore, resulting in Deep Purple leaving Switzerland with a career-defining album.
“We have always had a kind of aversion to recording studios, for various reasons. We are not very good studio workers. We We are quite naive about studio technique and technology. We concentrated very much on the music.” - Ian Gillan
“It (Montreux) was a very small sleepy town in the early Seventies. It was the place you retired to. And we’re lookioking for somewhere we can make a lot of noise in the middle of the night. That’s a pretty tall order.” - Roger Glover
