It is a great joy, but also an enormous honor, when legendary rock/metal bands like Deep Purple visit our country. The legendary British hard rockers included Greece in their tour in support of their latest album, “Splat!”, with the big concert scheduled for October 13, 2026, at Telekom Center Athens. Myth of Rock was there to witness Deep Purple’s performance and brings you all the details of what happened that night.
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
photos by Iro Kalligeri (@irokalligeriphotography)
The promoter’s decision to hold the concert indoors proved to be absolutely right and successful, as the Purple’s show coincided with bad weather. This Autumn evening in Athens was rainy, which would have caused considerable inconvenience for everyone. So, on Tuesday afternoon, we headed to the concert equipped with an umbrella and soon found ourselves inside the venue. Although it was a regular working day, quite a few people had already gathered in the arena and the stands of Telekom Center. Nothing was going to stop the fans from enjoying Deep Purple, and the venue soon filled up, as we will see below.
The opening act was Jayler, an English band from the West Midlands, formed in 2022, who released their debut album, “Voices Unheard”, just a few months ago. From the moment they stepped on stage, it was clear that they play hard rock influenced by the ’70s and the giants of that unforgettable era! With a look and sound inspired by bands such as Led Zeppelin, Aerosmith, Free, AC/DC and others, the quartet delivered a fantastic performance and played really well. Their songs, some simpler and others more adventurous, were thoroughly interesting, while their performances, full of passion and a rebellious spirit, transported us back to the days when hard rock was flourishing. It was as if they had travelled from the past to the present in a time machine! Jayler proved to be the ideal band to open for Deep Purple! We had a great time with them, they really warmed us up, and I have to say I would have loved to hear them play for quite a while longer!
After the pleasant surprise that the young guys in Jayler had been for us, our minds turned back to the evening’s great headliners. The last time we had seen Deep Purple, they had been really good, and Simon McBride had been a revelation. We were hoping they would deliver the same kind of performance again and that Purple would be in good shape. And that’s exactly what happened! When the intro started playing on the video wall behind the stage, an entire arena felt the chills. Slowly, Deep Purple appeared before us, and the place went wild! “Highway Star” was chosen as the opening song, and the concert couldn’t have got off to a better start. Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Ian Gillan, Don Airey and Simon McBride were standing right in front of us, and you can imagine how emotional the moment was! However, it was clear that Gillan was struggling. At first, his voice wasn’t particularly strong or in great shape, but he gradually warmed up and improved considerably as the show went on. Glover and Paice were the ultimate rhythm section, McBride impressed us with his flawless playing and Airey painted beautiful musical pictures with his keyboards! The setlist was superb, featuring many of the band’s classic songs, as well as tracks from their latest album. Among others, we heard “Into the Fire”, “Smoke on the Water”, “Space Truckin’”, “Lazy”, “Sometimes I Feel Like Screaming”, “Perfect Strangers”, and more. The crowd sang, danced, went crazy, and gave the hard rock veterans the adoration they deserved. The instrumental solos were fantastic (Airey once again paid tribute to us by playing the theme from “Zorba the Greek”), the five musicians were full of energy, and the whole concert had a festive, magical atmosphere! The production was also top-notch, with flawless sound and lighting. And so, the concert came to a triumphant end, with Deep Purple bringing down the curtain after “Black Night”.
And so, a great concert took place, one that has already been written in golden letters in the concert history of our country. Deep Purple were magnificent, delivering a performance worthy of their immense legacy and legendary name! Deep Purple forever!
