JON LORD Remembers DEEP PURPLE's First Manager

November 14, 2010

Tony Edwards, DEEP PURPLE's first manager, died on November 11 at The London Clinic at the age of 78.

Former DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord has released the following statement via his official web site regarding Edwards' passing:

"A few days ago — fittingly, on Remembrance Day — I lost a friend. He was my manager from 1968 to 1976, my daughter Sara's Godfather and the man who was instrumental in helping me to realize, in 1969, the dream which defined my musical life — that of a Concerto for Group and Orchestra.

"Tony Edwards was a good man and a man also of deep-seated enthusiasms. He had a passion for, and a great interest in, DEEP PURPLE and its various members' careers, as well as a genuine enjoyment of the band's music. He was the reason that Ritchie [Blackmore] and I were able to get together at the end of 1967 and the sole reason too for our being able to form the band that changed our lives. Without him and this early financial and emotional support, there would have been no DEEP PURPLE. He was a rock and a firm foundation on which we could build our musical house. It still stands, and it stands as a monument to him."

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