Hughes’ U.S. tour will make stops in 18 cities, and it will begin on August 25 at The NYCB Theatre at Westbury on Long Island; moreover, this run of the tour will conclude on September 22 at the Tarrytown Music Hall in New York. “It has been a long time coming for me. The Westbury venue is incredible. I can’t wait to get to Westbury,” he said, with a sweet laugh. “I have never done anything like this before. It is a complete daycation of the legacy of the band I was in. I am very excited about this tour.”
Affectionately known as “The Voice of Rock,” Hughes shared that he has been listening to and watching videos of the way Deep Purple arranged those songs back in the ’70s. “I am portraying the songs that we did in the arrangements of the mid-’70s,” he explained.
In 2016, Hughes was bestowed rock music’s highest honor, where he was inducted into the prestigious Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in its “Performers” category, as part of Deep Purple. “It was great to be chosen by the Committee and the Board of the Hall of Fame,” he said. “I was very honored to be a part of that evening. It was a very beautiful thing and I will never forget that evening. Unfortunately, on that same night, my father passed away in the U.K. In a way, he was looking at me from above, and he was probably thinking ‘hey, my son actually did it,’ so I dedicated that to him.”
On the key to longevity in the music business, Hughes said, “You have to stay with it. For me, it has always been about being in love with the art that I was really given as a child.”
Growing up, Hughes noted that he listed to The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. “When my mom brought me my first Elvis Presley plastic guitar, I was 12 years old and I actually slept with that guitar for a whole year,” he said. “I slept with it, polished it, cleaned it and learned how to play it. Then, my mother bought me a wooden guitar and then, two years later, I had my first real electric guitar. I was always in love with the craft of learning to play. Learning to love the art form of music, as a musician, songwriter and as a singer. Dedication.”
For his fans, he said about his “Classic Hits of Deep Purple Live” Tour, “These beautiful people and fans may be coming to see me, but I am coming to see them.”
Digital transformation of the music industry
On the impact of technology on the rock music scene, Hughes said, “You have to embrace it because things change rapidly in life. We have to accept change since if we do not, then there is going to be a problem. I am not one to live in problems these days. I like to find solutions, so I have embraced technology from the get-go. I have embraced social networks, as you may imagine, and I have a webmaster and a team of people to help me do these things. I go about my business in a modern way that needs to be done in these modern times.”
Hughes acknowledged the resurgence of vinyl in the music business. “How wonderful is that,” he exclaimed. “There has never been anything quite like vinyl. Dropping the needle on that vinyl and hearing the crackling of that. It is part of my early youth, as a pre-teen. Everybody likes to go back and have that moment in time. I absolutely adore vinyl.”
“The Voice of Rock” defined the word success as follows: “Devoted to the art of whatever you do in your life, whether it is an artist, dentist, a sports athlete, a contractor, a construction worker or a banker. We all have to love the art that we have been given. We are all on this journey together. We must embrace life and we must enjoy ourselves. I have never taken my eye off the ball. I have always been devoted to the art form of music. I am an ambassador of the Hall of Fame and I am grateful to have been inducted. I am grateful to be a part of the rock and roll industry, and I am honored to be coming to America to play.”
For more information on veteran rocker Glenn Hughes and his “Classic Hits of Deep Purple Live” Tour, check out his official website.