DEEP PURPLE Veterans Help Moscow Deputy Mayor Remake His Songs

Anna Malpas of The Moscow Times reports: Moscow deputy mayor Mikhail Men once counted himself lucky to have an album released on the Soviet Melodiya label, at the age of 43 he is now aiming higher, teaming up with producer and longtime friend Alexander Berezhnoi to hire two former members of the British band DEEP PURPLE, Glenn Hughes and Joe Lynn Turner, to record English-language remakes of his "Most"-era songs.

"The result is a unique project: Russian melodies sung with their mannerisms, their English," Men told The Moscow Times last Monday over coffee in Inna Studios, owned by his wife Inna, herself a former rock singer. "I like the music very much. In principle, I expected something of the kind, because these are superstars."

Leaning into the studio's squishy leather sofas six days after arriving from their homes in the United States, Hughes and Turner were still suffering from jet-lag, but had already completed their part of the bargain: honing the translated lyrics and recording vocals to nine "Most" songs.

Keeping his sunglasses on, Hughes spoke with a northern English accent softened by years of living in Los Angeles. He first came to fame in the 1970s as a member of TRAPEZE and DEEP PURPLE, and subsequently played with GARY MOORE and BLACK SABBATH. Now he spends much of his time performing with Turner, the New Jersey-born former vocalist of RAINBOW and, at one time, DEEP PURPLE.

"We wanted to come here. We wouldn't do this if it wasn't going to be integrally right for us creatively," Hughes said, praising Men's singing on the original record as "really good" and "passionate."

Turner and Hughes' job was simply to add their vocals to the musical tracks from the 1986 album, titled "Most", which will then be remixed by producer Berezhnoi and released in Russia and Israel this December. Men arrived from the mayor's office each evening to listen to the recordings and discuss changes to be made.

"It's Mikhail's baby. We're feeding it," Turner commented. "You've arrived, you're successful, and you can actually — shall I say the word — afford, in every way, to bring your dreams to life." Read more.