Deep Purple Burn: five candles, five faces, one test shot
Five wax heads glowing in the dark, each with a flame on top, purple smoke rolling around them. The new Deep Purple, literally burning at both ends.
Five heads in the dark, each one a candle, each one lit. Long hair, a beard here and there, one of them in a tall hat, all of them glowing orange while pink and purple smoke rolls in from below. Above them, the word Burn in big blue and violet letters. It is a band portrait and a joke at the same time: Deep Purple, quite literally melting.
A test shot that stayed
The photo was taken by Fin Costello, who worked a lot with the Deep Purple family in the seventies. The story goes that the picture was only a quick mock-up, made so the band could see how the candle idea would look. Everybody liked it as it was, and the mock-up became the real sleeve. On the back of the original album the same candles appear again, blown out and half melted, with the band's real faces behind them.
Real wax, real moulds
The candles were not trick photography. They were made specially by a British candle company and were never sold in shops. The moulds survived, and decades later, in 2005, the Deep Purple Appreciation Society arranged a small collectors' run of candle sets cast from the original moulds, sold only as complete sets of five. Finally, fans could put the band on the mantelpiece.
A brand new band
There is a reason the cover shows five fresh faces. Burn was the first album by the Mark III line-up: Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Jon Lord on keyboards and Ian Paice on drums, joined by two newcomers, the then unknown singer David Coverdale and bassist and singer Glenn Hughes. It was Coverdale's first ever record with the band.
They recorded it in November 1973 in Montreux, Switzerland, with the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio, the same truck they had used for Machine Head, and with Martin Birch at the desk. Reportedly the sessions went smoothly, at roughly a track a day. Burn came out on 15 February 1974, and the new line-up had its first hit album straight away.
About the poster
This is the Burn sleeve printed as a large 55 × 75 cm (22 × 30 in) portrait poster, from 2023. It is an original magazine insert, never hung, with no staple holes, folded three times as issued. The sheet is double-sided, with Sepultura "Chaos" on the back.
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Quick answers
Who took the Deep Purple Burn cover photo?
Fin Costello. The story goes that it was meant only as a mock-up to show the idea, and it became the final sleeve.
Are the candles on the Burn cover real?
Yes. They were made specially for the sleeve by a British company. In 2005 a limited run of candle sets was cast from the original moulds for collectors.
When was Burn released?
On 15 February 1974. It was the first album with David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes, recorded in Montreux in November 1973.
How big is the poster?
55 × 75 cm (about 22 × 30 inches), portrait. It is a separate insert, so it has no staple holes, and it is folded three times as issued.
What is on the other side?
Sepultura "Chaos A.D.". The sheet is double-sided, so you choose which cover goes on the wall.