Hard rock pioneers Deep Purple have vowed that they will not cancel their upcoming performance in Lebanon, despite the fact that the country is currently under attack from the Israeli armed forces.
Whilst the future of the Baalbeck Music Festival on July 28 remains clouded, Deep Purple have declared that if the festival goes ahead, they will be there.Baalbeck is one-and-a-half hours east of Beirut, near the Syrian border. It is considered a Hezbollah stronghold, and is reported by news agencies to be under constant fire. The Swedish newspaper Sydsvenskan reported that a taxi driver refused a $US1000 fare to drive from Baalbeck to Beirut, declaring it too dangerous.
But Deep Purple remain unperturbed. In a statement, the band proudly declared, "The band has never cancelled a show and has no intention of doing so. If the festival promoter decides to cancel the show as a result of the current conflicts, Deep Purple will vow to reschedule in the near future."
