This is so bad it’s good. Or maybe, as the charÂacÂter played by ThoÂra Birch deadÂpans in a memÂoÂrable scene in TerÂry ZwigofÂf’s film Ghost World, “This is so bad it’s gone past good and back to bad again.”
In any case once it gets going you may find it hard to resist watchÂing this clip from the SepÂtemÂber 23, 1968 episode of Hugh HefnÂer’s synÂdiÂcatÂed TV proÂgram PlayÂboy After Dark. It looks like it came straight out of an Austin PowÂers movie. The show was choreÂoÂgraphed to repÂreÂsent the hippest, grooviÂest cockÂtail parÂty ever.
The musiÂcal guests that night were the British rock group Deep PurÂple, who had formed only nine months earÂliÂer and were still in their origÂiÂnal lineÂup, which feaÂtured Rod Evans on vocals and Nick SimÂper on bass (both of whom left the band less than a year latÂer) along with Jon Lord on organ, Richie BlackÂmore on guiÂtar and Ian Paice on drums.
LookÂing debonair in his black tie and jackÂet, HefnÂer fakes interÂest in a brief guiÂtar lesÂson from BlackÂmore before chatÂting awkÂwardÂly with Lord (who died last month) and askÂing the group to play their first hit, “Hush” (writÂten and origÂiÂnalÂly recordÂed by Joe South, who also died recentÂly), which had just made it to the top five in the AmerÂiÂcan pop charts around the time of the broadÂcast. Says Hef: “I think it would realÂly groove the kids if you’d do that.”
This is so GOOD apart from the pipe-smokÂing square dude who slipped in with the chicks, whoÂevÂer he is or was.