Woman from Tokyo

"Woman from Tokyo" is a song by the English rock band Deep Purple. It was first released on their 1973 album Who Do We Think We Are, and later as a single that became a hit, as it reached No. 6 on the Dutch MegaCharts.[1][2] The song peaked at 16 in Germany and 23 in Belgium.[3] It was a modest success in the U.S., reaching no. 60 on the charts there.[4]

Deep Purple was one of the first rock bands to perform in Japan in the early 1970s. As a tribute, the band wrote the song "Woman from Tokyo." It was one of the final songs to feature singer Ian Gillan, who departed in 1973 to pursue a solo career.[5] The song features Japanese imagery such as "the rising sun" and "an Eastern dream," and its lyrics are about a Japanese woman whose charms fascinate the narrator. "Woman from Tokyo" grew to be one of the band's most popular songs and received heavy radio airplay. Despite this, the band did not like the song much and only began playing it live when they reformed in 1984.[4]

The admiration of Deep Purple for progressive rock is reflected in the long dreamy break that occupies the middle of the track.[5] This break appears only on the album version and is missing from the single, which explains the sharp difference in duration between both versions.

The song was featured on the 2011 DVD Deep Purple with Orchestra - Live in Montreux where Deep Purple Mk 8 (Gillan - Paice - Glover - Morse - Airey) with a full symphony orchestra conducted by Stephen Bentley-Klein.[6]