TONY ASHTON AND FRIENDS
'ENDANGERED SPECIES LIVE AT ABBEY ROAD'

cd details

The Tony Ashton Testimonial show held at Abbey Road in June 2000, in the presence of the man himself, is at last on CD. Guests of especial interest to Deep Purple fans include Jon Lord and Ian Paice, with Pete York, Eddie Hardin, Neil Murray, Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody also being names familiar through their connections with the band. Other guests from the rock field include Who bassist John Entwistle and drummer Zak Starkey, as well as Wishbone Ash guitarist Laurie Wisefield. Names such as Zoot Money, Chris Barber, Howie Casey and Geoff Whitehorn will also be familiar.

The idea for this special and unique evening came from Jon Lord and Pete York, and it was held at Abbey Road Studio One in London to show support for their friend Tony Ashton, a rock musicians whose credits include The Remo Four, Ashton, Gardner & Dyke, Family, Paice Ashton Lord and many more.

The CD edition (which has a special booklet with pictures from the gig) includes a great three track set from Tony Ashton and friends, a six track set from the old Whitesnake wrecking crew (minus David Coverdale), including a stripped down version of “Here I Go Again” done by just Bernie and Jon, and a track from Who man John Entwistle.

Perhaps the most unique feature of the CD is the first and only Paice Ashton Lord reunion, right down to the brass and female backing singers (with Neil Murray standing in for Paul Martinez). Originally formed from the ashes of Deep Purple in 1976, the band only recorded one album and played just a handful of shows before splitting when Lord and Paice joined Whitesnake. This is the first time the players had been back together since. They do two album tracks and then close with a rousing version of “Resurrection Shuffle” (with Jon and Tony swapping keyboard riffs across the stage).

Sadly the event turned out to be Tony's last night of rock and roll - he died just a year later. This release has been mixed from recordings made by the legendary Geoff Emerick (who engineered The Beatles) and prepared with the full co-operation of his wife Sandra - a great souvenir of what was a very enjoyable and moving occasion. A special DVD is also being prepared for release on T2 later in the year (see under forthcoming).

CDTrack list

TONY ASHTON BAND : Tony Ashton / keyboards - vocals, Pete York / drums, Laurie Wisefield / guitar, Len Skeet / bass, Chris Barber / trombone.

[1] One Room Country Shack [2] Mercy Mercy [3] No Money Down.

JOHN ENTWISTLE BAND : John Entwistle / bass, Zak Starkey / drums, Gary Nuttall / guitar, vocals.

[4] Shake, Rattle & Roll.

The COMPANY OF SNAKES : Ian Paice / drums, Jon Lord / organ, Bernie Marsden / guitar, vocals, Micky Moody / guitar, Neil Murray / bass, Robert Hart / vocals.

[5] Ain't Gonna Cry No More [6] Walking In The Shadow Of The Blues
[7] Ready An Willing (Sweet Satisfaction) [8] Ain't No Love (In The Heart Of The City) [9] Here I Go Again.

PAICE, ASHTON, LORD : Tony Ashton, Ian Paice, Jon Lord, Bernie Marsden, Neil Murray, Howie Casey / brass, Geoff Whitehorn / brass, Jeanette Casey, Sheila Casey / backing vocals.

[10] Ghost Story [11] Sneaky Private Lee [12] Resurrection Shuffle

Introduced by : Ewan McGregor.