Deep Purple – Grabsplatter

Welcome, time traveller!
You’ve stumbled upon an authentic relic from October 1997.

Grabsplatter is an uptempo instrumental guitar / organ work-out with a very varied and confusing history. I have no idea what “grabsplatter” means though I believe Ian Gillan came up with the name.

A track known as John Stew (sometimes shown as John’s Stew and also Jam Stew), which was 3:50 minutes long, was recorded on 31 October 1969 for the Stuart Henry BBC radio show broadcast on the 9th November 1969. John Stew had some improvised vocals about “a mean-eyed woman”.

John Stew lyrics

Words & music by Blackmore, Gillan, Glover, Lord, Paice

Oh yeah
Came the morning, did you see my light
Oh yeah, I said now
Came the morning, did you see my light

I wanna know
You such a mean-eyed woman, yeah I almost died of fright
I did, you know I did
You such a mean-eyed woman, I almost died

Organ solo

Ha ha alright, yeah, oh well
Came the day-time, did you see my light
I said
Came the day-time, did you see my light
Well didya
You such a mean-eyed woman, yeah you know I did it right
Yes I did
You such a, such a, such a mean-eyed woman, you know I did it right
Yeah, yes I did

Guitar solo

Based on lyrics sourced from Obscure Lyrics page at The Highway Star

An instrumental song entitled Grabsplatter (4:32 minutes long and sounding very similar to John Stew) was released as a track on the New, Live and Rare Volume 3 EP (extended play single) in October 1980. It was stated as being a BBC recording from between September 1969 and February 1970. Some references state: autumn or late 1969 (autumn in Europe is September / October). The excellent Deep Purple Diary website by Nigel Young, had the recording date for this track as 23 September 1970 which is the correct date. This same track was later released on The Anthology album in 1985. When this album was reissued on CD in 1991 the track listing was changed and all rare tracks including Grabsplatter were sadly omitted.

An instrumental track entitled Bullfrog (7:17) and credited to the band Green Bullfrog was released as an album track in 1971. Green Bullfrog was a one-off jam session band consisting of Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Paice, Albert Lee, Big Jim Sullivan, Chas Hodges, Rod Alexander, Earl Jordan, Tony Ashton, Matthew Fisher and produced by Derek Lawrence. The liner notes from Ritchie’s solo retrospective CD Rock Profile Volume 2 state that this track is based on a riff originally entitled John or Jam Stew. It also sounds very similar to Grabsplatter!

A track titled Jam Stew (2:30) was released on the 25th Anniversary CD reissue of In Rock. It was stated as being a previously unreleased instrumental track. The sleeve notes indicate that this track was recorded in November 1969 and was also sometimes known as John Stew. (Are you still keeping up?)

I’m Alone released as the b-side to Strange Kind Of Woman in 1971 owes it’s basic song structure to Grabsplatter. I’m Alone was also released on the Deep Purple Singles A’s and B’s compilation album and as a bonus track on the 25th Anniversary edition of Fireball.

Slow Train released as a bonus track on the 25th Anniversary edition of Fireball also owes a lot of it’s basic song structure to Grabsplatter.

Grabsplatter itself remained unavailable on any official CD release until… the Listen, Learn, Read On 6CD Box Set from EMI Europe in 2002!

So there you have it, I’m surprised you managed to read this far – thanks!

References

• The Highway Star – the original Deep Purple website established in 1993
• The Complete BBC Sessions by Brian Currin (credited in the booklet for the BBC Sessions 1968–1970 2CD released in 2011)
• BBC Stew – a Japanese bootleg CD released in 1996
• Heavy Duty (LP New Zealand 1981) similar to the European album Metalmania, but Grabsplatter is replaced by Speed King
• Listen, Learn, Read On 6CD Box Set
• Deep Purple’s TV & Radio Appearances
• MASH’s Page by Martin Ashberry
• The Deep Purple Diary by Nigel Young
• Deep Purple Tour Page
• The Anthology (2LP 1985)
• Booklet by Simon Robinson for the Compact Singles A’s & B’s CD, page 13.
• Liner notes by Simon Robinson for Ritchie Blackmore’s solo retrospective CD Rock Profile Volume 2
• In Rock 25th Anniversary CD booklet.
• Fireball 25th Anniversary CD booklet, page 7.
• BBC Sessions 1968–1970 [2CD 2011]

I thought you may like to know that the track was also released on an EMI sampler entitled “Heavy Duty” here in New Zealand in the early 1980s, which also included the live “Bird Has Flown” that appeared on the “New Live & Rare Vol. 3” EP. “Heavy Duty” also included some (at that time) rare early Iron Maiden tracks & music from a few other bands that appeared briefly around the NWOBHM boom.

Euan McLeod, New Zealand, February 1999