In the Absence of Pink

In the Absence of Pink
Live album by Deep Purple
Released	1991
Recorded	Knebworth Festival, UK 22 June 1985
Genre	Hard rock
Deep Purple chronology
Scandinavian Nights (1988) In the Absence of Pink (1991) Gemini Suite Live (1993)

In the Absence of Pink is a live album released by Deep Purple. It was originally recorded by BBC Radio on Purple's triumphant return to their British home soil at the Knebworth Festival on June 22, 1985 after reforming in 1984 and was broadcast shortly thereafter. The original 2CD version was released in 1991.

"Under the Gun" for some reason was not recorded by the BBC and with a short version of "Woman from Tokyo" were the only omissions from the normal set-list performed on the world tour. Although "Child in Time" was sometimes featured, it was not performed at this concert. 'Difficult to Cure' is an adaptation of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" from the 9th Symphony and was recorded by Blackmore's Rainbow some years earlier.

The title is taken from the words of Ian Gillan introducing a song. Referring to the rain and the technical problems that delayed the start of the set, he states "What we all need now is a tremendous amount of pink. But, in the absence of pink, here's some blues".

Track listing

All songs written by Ritchie Blackmore, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover, Jon Lord and Ian Paice except where indicated.

Disc one

1. "Highway Star" - 6:57
2. "Nobody's Home" - 4:08
3. "Strange Kind of Woman" - 8:47
4. "Gypsy's Kiss" (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover) - 6:20
5. "Perfect Strangers" (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover) - 6:54
6. "Lazy" - 7:03
7. "Knocking at Your Back Door" (Blackmore, Gillan, Glover) - 9:10

Disc two

1. "Difficult to Cure" (Ludwig van Beethoven, Blackmore, Glover, Don Airey) - 9:23
2. "Space Truckin'" - 14:49
3. "Speed King" - 10:12
4. "Black Night" - 6:43
5. "Smoke on the Water" - 10:24

Personnel

Deep Purple

• Ritchie Blackmore - guitar
• Ian Gillan - vocals
• Roger Glover - bass
• Jon Lord - keyboards
• Ian Paice - drums