Deep Purple – Fireball

This song opens with a the sound of a fireball hurtling through space, kicking off the album with a futuristic fury. That’s what they were going for at least. But the sound itself is simply a recording of an air conditioner being turned on.

Video on the top is the live version from Copenhagen, Denmark 1972.
Second video is from live TV – 1971.

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Deep Purple - Fireball (1971)

Deep Purple - Fireball (1971)03:29

This improvised sound effect was the work of a young studio assistant named Mike Thorne, who was helping engineer Martin Birch on this track. One of the group turned to Martin and suggested the sound of a machine starting up would be a great way to get the song going. Martin could not think of anything suitable off the top of his head, but Thorne suggested the sound of an air conditioning unit turned on could do the trick. He duly recorded it and the band told people who asked what the sound was that it was made by a “special” synthesizer.

Deep Purple:
Ian Gillan – vocals
Ritchie Blackmore – guitars
Roger Glover – bass
Ian Paice – drums
Jon Lord – keyboards, Hammond organ