Funky Junction
Encyclopedia
Funky Junction were an Irish
rock
band formed in 1972 specifically to record a single album of songs made famous by British
band Deep Purple
, which was released as Funky Junction Play a Tribute to Deep Purple in January 1973.
The project was brought about by a German
businessman named Leo Muller, who contacted Irish group Thin Lizzy
to record the album. The group were not enthusiastic, as they were trying to forge their own style and identity, but they needed the money. Thin Lizzy's vocalist, Phil Lynott
, decided that he was unable to sing like Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan
, so restricted himself to playing bass guitar
and singing back-up. The band brought in Benny White, singer with the Dublin group Elmer Fudd, because they generally performed Deep Purple covers during gigs. Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey
referred to White as "really an Ian Gillan clone". Thin Lizzy did not have a keyboard
player in their lineup, so Elmer Fudd's keyboardist Dave "Mojo" Lennox, later in Blodwyn Pig
, was also asked to participate. Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell
stated that White and Lennox were each paid "around £60" to travel to De Lane Lea Studios
in London to record the album.
The makeshift band rehearsed for "two or three hours", according to Downey, before recording the whole album in one day. Nine tracks were recorded, with five being Deep Purple covers. Three others were loosely improvised instrumentals; "Dan" – a version of "Londonderry Air
" or "Danny Boy
" by Bell in a Jimi Hendrix
style; "Rising Sun" – a cover of "The House of the Rising Sun
" made popular by The Animals
; and the original composition "Palamatoon". The last track on the album was "Corina", credited to Leo Muller, as were the other non-Deep Purple songs.
The album was released in the UK and the USA on the Stereo Gold Award label, and on the Sonic Records label in Germany. For the German release, the band's name was changed to "The Rock Machine" with the album title being changed to "The Rock Machine Play the Best of Deep Purple". In its original edition, the album was available at Woolworths
for 50p.
Thin Lizzy were paid £1000 for the recording but their name was entirely omitted from the album, and a photo of a different band was featured on the cover, namely Hard Stuff
, who were signed to Deep Purple's own label.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
band formed in 1972 specifically to record a single album of songs made famous by British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
band Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
, which was released as Funky Junction Play a Tribute to Deep Purple in January 1973.
The project was brought about by a German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
businessman named Leo Muller, who contacted Irish group Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy
Thin Lizzy are an Irish hard rock band formed in Dublin in 1969. Two of the founding members, drummer Brian Downey and bass guitarist/vocalist Phil Lynott met while still in school. Lynott assumed the role of frontman and led them throughout their recording career of thirteen studio albums...
to record the album. The group were not enthusiastic, as they were trying to forge their own style and identity, but they needed the money. Thin Lizzy's vocalist, Phil Lynott
Phil Lynott
Philip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy....
, decided that he was unable to sing like Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan
Ian Gillan is an English rock music vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple. During his career Gillan also fronted his own band, had a year-long stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath, and sang the role of Jesus in the original recording of Andrew Lloyd...
, so restricted himself to playing bass guitar
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
and singing back-up. The band brought in Benny White, singer with the Dublin group Elmer Fudd, because they generally performed Deep Purple covers during gigs. Thin Lizzy drummer Brian Downey
Brian Downey (drummer)
Brian Michael Downey is an Irish drummer.Downey is the drummer and a founding member of the rock band Thin Lizzy, and a friend from childhood of co-founder and frontman Phil Lynott. Along with Lynott, Downey was the only constant member of the pioneering hard rock group until their break-up in...
referred to White as "really an Ian Gillan clone". Thin Lizzy did not have a keyboard
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
player in their lineup, so Elmer Fudd's keyboardist Dave "Mojo" Lennox, later in Blodwyn Pig
Blodwyn Pig
Blodwyn Pig were a British blues–rock group founded by guitarist–vocalist–songwriter Mick Abrahams, after he left Jethro Tull in 1968 due to a falling-out with Tull leader Ian Anderson.-Career:...
, was also asked to participate. Thin Lizzy guitarist Eric Bell
Eric Bell
Eric Robin Bell is a Northern Irish rock musician and guitarist, best known as a founder member and the original guitarist of the rock group Thin Lizzy.-Early career:...
stated that White and Lennox were each paid "around £60" to travel to De Lane Lea Studios
De Lane Lea Studios
De Lane Lea Studios is a recording studio, currently based in Dean Street, Soho, London, England, UK. Although the studios have mainly been used for dubbing feature films and television programmes, major artists such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Pink...
in London to record the album.
The makeshift band rehearsed for "two or three hours", according to Downey, before recording the whole album in one day. Nine tracks were recorded, with five being Deep Purple covers. Three others were loosely improvised instrumentals; "Dan" – a version of "Londonderry Air
Londonderry Air
Londonderry Air is an air that originated from County Londonderry in Ireland. It is popular among the Irish diaspora and is very well known throughout the world. The tune is played as the victory anthem of Northern Ireland at the Commonwealth Games. "Danny Boy" is a popular set of lyrics to the...
" or "Danny Boy
Danny Boy
-Background:The words to "Danny Boy" were written by English lawyer and lyricist Frederic Weatherly in 1910. Although the lyrics were originally written for a different tune, Weatherly modified them to fit the "Londonderry Air" in 1913, after his sister-in-law in the U.S. sent him a copy. Ernestine...
" by Bell in a Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
style; "Rising Sun" – a cover of "The House of the Rising Sun
The House of the Rising Sun
"The House of the Rising Sun" is a folk song from the United States. Also called "House of the Rising Sun" or occasionally "Rising Sun Blues", it tells of a life gone wrong in New Orleans...
" made popular by The Animals
The Animals
The Animals were an English music group of the 1960s formed in Newcastle upon Tyne during the early part of the decade, and later relocated to London...
; and the original composition "Palamatoon". The last track on the album was "Corina", credited to Leo Muller, as were the other non-Deep Purple songs.
The album was released in the UK and the USA on the Stereo Gold Award label, and on the Sonic Records label in Germany. For the German release, the band's name was changed to "The Rock Machine" with the album title being changed to "The Rock Machine Play the Best of Deep Purple". In its original edition, the album was available at Woolworths
Woolworths Group
Woolworths Group plc was a listed British company that owned the high-street retail chain, Woolworths, as well as other brands such as the entertainment distributor Entertainment UK and book and resource distributor Bertram Books...
for 50p.
Thin Lizzy were paid £1000 for the recording but their name was entirely omitted from the album, and a photo of a different band was featured on the cover, namely Hard Stuff
Hard Stuff
Hard Stuff was an English hard rock group, which included John Du Cann and Paul Hammond, formerly of Atomic Rooster...
, who were signed to Deep Purple's own label.
Album track listing
- "FireballFireball (song)"Fireball" is the opening song of the album of the same name by the English hard rock band Deep Purple. It was Deep Purple's second single release in 1971....
" (Ritchie BlackmoreRitchie BlackmoreRichard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore is an English guitarist and songwriter, who was known as one of the first guitarists to fuse Classical music elements with rock. He fronted his own band Rainbow after leaving Deep Purple where he was unhappy because his favourite musical style wasn't adequately...
, Ian GillanIan GillanIan Gillan is an English rock music vocalist and songwriter, best known as the lead singer and lyricist for Deep Purple. During his career Gillan also fronted his own band, had a year-long stint as the vocalist for Black Sabbath, and sang the role of Jesus in the original recording of Andrew Lloyd...
, Roger GloverRoger GloverRoger David Glover is a Welsh bassist, songwriter, and record producer. Glover is best known as the bassist and lyricist for the hard rock band, Deep Purple.-Early career:...
, Jon LordJon LordJonathan Douglas "Jon" Lord is an English composer, pianist and Hammond organ player.Jon Lord, also known as 'Hammond Lord', is a classically trained piano player. He is recognised for his Hammond organ blues-rock sound and for his pioneering work in fusing rock and classical or baroque forms...
, Ian PaiceIan PaiceIan Anderson Paice is an English musician, best known as the drummer of the English rock band Deep Purple. As of Jon Lord's departure in 2002, he is the only founding member of the band who never stopped performing with the group, and the only member to appear on every album the band has...
) - "Dan" (Leo Muller)
- "Black NightBlack Night"Black Night" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple, first released as a single in June 1970 and later included on the 25th Year Anniversary version of their 1970 album, In Rock. The song became a hit following its release, peaking at #2 on UK charts, and to this day remains Deep Purple's...
" (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice) - "Palamatoon" (Muller)
- "Strange Kind of WomanStrange Kind of WomanStrange Kind of Woman is a song by British rock band Deep Purple that was originally released as a follow up single after "Black Night" in early 1971. The song also became a hit, peaking at #8 on UK charts, and later appeared on the re-release of their 1971 album Fireball...
" (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice) - "Hush" (Joe SouthJoe SouthJoe South is a multi-talented American singer-songwriter and guitarist.-Career:...
) - "Rising Sun" (Muller)
- "Speed KingSpeed King"Speed King" is a song by British hard rock band Deep Purple from their 1970 album Deep Purple in Rock. The song is one of the loudest from the album, and featured some of the band's greatest amount of improvisation in a studio recorded song, on both the original version and later live versions...
" (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice) - "Corina" (Muller)
Personnel
- Eric BellEric BellEric Robin Bell is a Northern Irish rock musician and guitarist, best known as a founder member and the original guitarist of the rock group Thin Lizzy.-Early career:...
- guitarGuitarThe guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... - Phil LynottPhil LynottPhilip Parris "Phil" Lynott was an Irish musician who first came to prominence as a founding member, principal songwriter, and frontman of the Irish rock band Thin Lizzy....
- bass guitarBass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... - Brian DowneyBrian Downey (drummer)Brian Michael Downey is an Irish drummer.Downey is the drummer and a founding member of the rock band Thin Lizzy, and a friend from childhood of co-founder and frontman Phil Lynott. Along with Lynott, Downey was the only constant member of the pioneering hard rock group until their break-up in...
- drums - Benny White - vocalsSingingSinging is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
- Dave Lennox - keyboardsKeyboard instrumentA keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...