METALLIAN - Rainbow

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow – 1975 – Polydor
On Stage – 1977 - Polydor
Rising – 1976 – Polydor
Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll – 1978 – Polydor
Down To Earth – 1979 – Polydor
Difficult To Cure -1981 – Polydor
Straight Between The Eyes – 1982 – Polydor
Bent Out Of Shape – 1983 – Polydor
Live In Germany - 1976 – 1990 - Connoisseur Collection
Stranger In Us All – 1995 – RCA
Live In Munich 1977 – 2006 – Eagle
Live In Koln 1976 – 2006 - AFM
Live In Dusseldorf 1976 – 2007 – AFM
Live In Nurenberg 1976 – 2007 – AFM
Black Masquerade – 2013 – Eagle
Denver 1979 – 2015 – Purple Pyramid/Cleopatra
Long Island 1079 – 2015 – Purple Pyramid/Cleopatra
Down To Earth Tour 1979 – 2015 – Cleopatra
Live In Japan - 2015 – Chaos Reigns
Monsters Of Rock Live At Donnington 1980 – 2016 – Eagle
Boston 1981 – 2016 – Purple Pyramid/Cleopatra
Memories In Rock – Live In Germany – 2016 – Eagle Rock
Live In Birmingham – 2017 – Eagle Rock
Memories In Rock II – 2018 - Ward

Members

Vocals

The Vegas Kings, Ronnie And The Rumblers, Ronnie And The Redcaps, Ronnie Dio And The Prophets, The Electric The Elves, Elves, Elf>>Ronnie James Dio [Ronald James Padavona]>>Black Sabbath, Dio, Heaven & Hell – The Blue Sect, The Graham Bonnet Set, The Marbles, Southern Comfort>>Graham Bonnet>>MSG, Alcatrazz, The Party Boys, Impelitteri, Forcefield, Taz Taylor Band, Solo, Bonnet, Parga & Heavenstone, Ezoo – Fandango>>Joe Lynn Turner>>Solo, Yngwie Malmsteen, Deep Purple, Mother’s Army, Brazen Abbot, Michael Men Project Made In Moscow, Hughes Turner Project, Purple Rainbow, Over The Rainbow, Legacy X, Rated X, Sunstorm, Cem Koskal – La Paz, Midnight Blue, Praying Mantis, Pink Cream 69>>Doogie White [Douglas White]>>Corner Stone, Yngwie Malmsteen, Tank, Demon’s Eye, Empire, La Paz, MSG, John Steel , Alcatrazz, Long Shadows Dawn, – Santelmo, Voces Del Rock, Nova Era, Lords Of Black, Aria inferno, The Ferrymen, Walter Giardino Temple, Destinia, Vandenberg, MSG, Coreleoni, Sunstorm>>RONNIE ROMERO>>Lords Of Black, Destinia, Vandenberg, The Ferrymen, Walter Giardino Temple, MSG, Coreleoni, Sunstorm

Guitar

Bobbie And The Dominators, The Outlaws, Screaming Lord Sutch, Lord Cesar Sutch &The Roman Empire, Neil Christian &The Crusaders, The Trip, Roundabout, Deep Purple, Green Bullfrog, Blackmore’s Night, Candice Night>>RITCHIE BLACKMORE [RICHARD HUGH BLACKMORE]>>Deep Purple, Green Bullfrog, Blackmore’s Night, Candice Night

Bass

Elf>>Craig Gruber>>Gary Moore, The Rods, Black Sabbath, Paris, Bible Black, Ed3n, Raven Lord, Zvekan – Key, Street Noise>>Jimmy Bain>>Wild Horses, L.A. Law, WWIII, 3 Legged Dogg, Last In Line, Sledge Leather – Stan Webb Band, Mungo Jerry, Widowmaker>>Bob Daisley>>Blizzard Of Ozz, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, Yngwie Malmsteen, Planet Alliance, Stream – Episode Six, Deep Purple, Marlon, David Coverdale, Solo>>Roger Glover>>Deep Purple, Gillan & Glover, Solo – Wendy O. Williams, Devias, Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Red Dawn>>Greg Smith>>Alice Cooper, Vinnie Moore, Tonto Tonto, Blue Oyster Cult, Dokken, Van Helsing’s Curse, Ted Nugent, Picture Me broken, Hellion, The Cowsills, The Turtles, The Wizards Of Winter, Tyketto, AD 2020, Renaissance, Rock orchestra – Blackmore’ Night>>BOB NOUVEAU

Drum

Elf>>Gary Driscoll>>Dakota, Bible Black, Thrasher – The Sorcerers, The Ace Kefford Stand, Youngblood, Big Bertha, Bedlam, Jeff Beck’s group, Solo, Strange Brew>>Cozy Powell [Colin Trevor Flooks]>>MSG, Whitesnake, Solo, Phenomena, Black Sabbath, Robert Plant, Peter Green Splinter Group, Emerson, Lake & Powell, Brian May, Tony Martin, Yngwie Malmsteen – Samantha>>Bobby Rondinelli>>Aerosmith, Solo, Warlock, Doro, Quiet Riot, Sun Red Sun, Black Sabbath, Riot V, The Lizards, Blue Oyster Cult, Axel Rudi Pell, Pyramid, Purple Rainbow, Over The Rainbow, Zebra – Fandango, Brand-X, Balance>>Chuck Burgi>>Meat Loaf, Blue Oyster Cult – Fandango, Brand-X, Balance, Meat Loaf, Blue Oyster Cult>>Chuck Burgi>>Blue Oyster Cult, Tokyo Motor Fist - Jack Starr, Joe Lynn Turner>>John O’Reilly>>Blue Oyster Cult, Blackmore’s Night, TSO, The Wizards Of Winter – Mission Zero, Blackmore’s Night>>DAVID KEITH>>Mission Zero, Blackmore’s Night

Keyboard

Elf>>Mickey Lee Soule>>Ian Gillan Band – Tony Carey>>Planet P Project, Tony Carey, Purple Rainbow, Over The Rainbow, Zed Yago – David Stone>>Arapacis, Social Disorder – Hammer, Colosseum II, Ozzy Osbourne>>Don Airey>>Ozzy Osbourne, Jethro Tull, Gary Moore, Cozy Powell, The Cage, Quartermass, Strawbs, Deep Purple, Solo, Ten, Silver, The Rage, Empire, Living Loud – David Rosenthal>>Billy Joel, Happy The Man, Faith Hill, Hammerhead, Vinnie Moore - Doro, EZ Livin’>>Paul Morris>>EZ Livin’, TSO, Angus Clark, Doctor Butcher, Jurgen Blackmore And Friends – Silver Mountain, Yngwie Malmsteen, Dio, Stephen Ross, RAF, Jens Johansson, Ginger Baker, Deadline, Dave Nerge’s Bulldog, Stratovarius, Mastermind, Bakteria, Cain’s Offering>>JENS JOHANSSON>>Stratovarius, Mastermind, Bakteria, Cain’s Offering

History & Biography

Rainbow is the hard rock and AOR band of guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. The Briton was a known quantity and in-demand session player in the United Kingdom prior to joining Deep Purple and eventually founding Rainbow. The band was initiated when the virtuoso guitarist’s Deep Purple band-mates rejected his desire to record a cover version of the Quartermass song Black Sheep Of Family. Mick Underwood of Quartermass had been in the Outlaws with Blackmore. The Hill would also record this song in the same year as Quartermass. Deep Purple and Elf had previously toured together. The latter band’s singer, Ronnie James Dio, was recruited by Blackmore to sing. The result was a success and Blackmore, who was disenchanted with Deep Purple’s new funk tendencies, left to focus on Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow.

Blackmore is a master of the six strings, but is also a volatile personality often associated with ego, arrogance and moodiness. Despite Dio claiming the band being an ensemble and not merely Blackmore’s project the band ended up undergoing as many membership changes, style re-dos and general upheaval as Donald Trump utters lies. Be that as it may, Rainbow, especially in its early iterations, ended up producing some classic music and delivering superb musical moments worthy of Blackmore and his superior recruits’ talents. As such, Rainbow has been responsible for the introduction of several well-known talents and careers of multiple musicians including singers Ronnie James Dio (1975-1978), Graham Bonnet (1978-1980), Joe Lynn Turner (1980-1984) and Doogie White (1994-1997). With the exception of Dio, those made famous by Rainbow invariably do two things: they begin a tour of a thousand bands including also being recruited to MSG, Blue Oyster Cult and Yngwie Malmsteen (although Malmsteen and Dio did record together).

The band was active between 1975 and 1984, at which point Deep Purple’s Mark II reunited, and between 1994 and 1997 when the act managed one album. Blackmore and his wife went on to concentrate on the medieval folk band Blackmore’s Night before the rock itch brought the act back, albeit with yet another line-up, in 2015

The first iteration of Rainbow was essentially Elf sans the latter band’s guitarist Steve Edwards. The monicker was inspired by the Los Angeles club Rainbow Bar And Grill. The members were fired after the debut and Blackmore and singer Dio assembled a new line-up. Ironically, keyboardist Mickey Lee Soule would become a Deep Purple roadie later. This was also the official departure of Blackmore from Deep Purple. He was replaced by Tommy Bolin in Deep Purple. The new line-up of Rainbow featured Scottish bassist Jimmy Bain (later in Dio’s solo band), English drummer Cozy Powell and American keyboardist Tony Carey. This band recorded the Rising album and heavy touring ensued. The band’s concerts were accompanied by a giant 15-meter long electric rainbow spanning the stage. Everyone would be fired sooner or later. Carey departed in 1977 and moved to Germany and began multi-decade career as a solo artist, playing in the Planet P Project and producing bands.

Following Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll, whose bass was partly played by Ritchie himself, the band leader decided he wanted Rainbow to become more commercial and further break the US market, which meant Dio was also out soon. Bassist Bob Daisley (later in Ozzy Osbourne, Dio and Yngwie Malmsteen) was in the band from 1977 to 1978 and the band began rehearsing with Jeff Beck's bassist, Clive Chaman. Deep Purple's Roger Glover would get the job and reunite with Blackmore. Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore would later report that singer Ronnie James Dio had departed for being upset regarding a Circus magazine cover photo with only the guitarist. Others would remember Blackmore's quest for commercialism as the reason. Dio would go from Blackmore to Black Sabbath in 1979.

Ian Gillan, Blackmore’ Deep Purple band-mate and room-mate was offered the job, but declined so the guitarist picked up The Marbles’ Graham Bonnet who lasted one album partly due to his alcohol habit and partly due to the usual personal differences. Before Bonnet, Trapeze singer Pete Goalby had been recruited for several weeks, but ended up being fired. There was a mini riot at the Wembley in London, England when Blackmore refused to play an encore. Powell also quit disliking the new music. His last show was at Monsters Of Rock which Rainbow headlined over Judas Priest, Scorpions, April Wine, Riot and Saxon. The album was the band’s bestselling thus far nonetheless. Russ Ballard-written Since You Been Gone, in particular, was a success. The band toured as openers for Blue Oyster Cult. Joe Lynn Turner lasted longer than Bonnet and had much commercial success with songs like I Surrender and Jealous Lover on the Difficult To Cure and Straight Between The Eyes albums. Drummer Rondinelli was fired in time for Bent Out of Shape. The album presented further commercialism and a hit single called Street of Dreams. Select concerts had the band perform with an orchestra. The group toured Europe with Girlschool opening. Notwithstanding that, Purple management was successful in getting the Mark II members of Deep Purple in a room for a reformation and Rainbow was upended. Deep Purple would produce and release the successful Perfect Strangers album in 1984. Rainbow was managed by Bruce Payne who would also manage the reformed Deep Purple later. Payne, incidentally, married Vixen's singer Janet Gardner. Blackmore would eventually grow bored with Deep Purple and not get along again with his band-mates and quit in 1993.

Rainbow returned in 1994. The band featured singer Doogie White. A new album was called Stranger In Us All. Rainbow toured the world. Blackmore was again not in the mood soon enough and focused on Blackmore’s Night alongside his wife Candice Night. The duo would specialize in renaissance and medieval music. Over The Rainbow was a 2008 Rainbow covers’ band featuring Joe Lynn Turner, Bobby Rondinelli, Tony Carey, and Ritchie’s son, Jurgen. The act was called Purple Rainbow at first.

Rainbow returned with a whole new line-up in 2015. Shows featuring Deep Purple and Rainbow songs were to be played live in 2016. Shows were announced for UK in June and Monsters Of Rock in Germany again in June. This put to rest Joe Lynn Turner’s then recent efforts and reports that he would front a returning Rainbow. Blackmore was 70. At the same time, Blackmore was suing Deep Purple (Overseas) and the band’s catalogue administrators HEC Enterprises over unpaid royalties. Rainbow entered the studio in the spring of 2017 to record. The regrouped version of Rainbow played at Finland’s Rockfest. Rainbow’s first new song in over 20 years was called Waiting For A Sign and included in the Memories In Rock II CD of 2018. The band had a digital single called The Storm, which was a Blackmore’s Knight cover version. The band would further cover the above-mentioned Black Sheep Of The Family. This new line-up had considered a tour, but with COVID-19 hitting the discussion was mooted. Joe Lynn Turner dropped his wig after years of hiding his condition. The former band singer criticized the most recent reformation line-up of the band prompting the act’s current live singer Ronnie Romero to take exception to the characterization. Romero asked that Turner move on after not being in the band for so many years.

Aside from the aforementioned select dates Rainbow has joined other acts like Deep Purple and Kiss and has been all about unearthing live recordings recently.

Reviews

Interviews

Rainbow