Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow

GRAHAM BONNET: Responds To Return Of Ritchie Blackmore

Posted by aliblackdiamond on November 9, 2015

Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: Graham Bonnet, Ritchie Blackmore Returns, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. 3 Comments

Vocalist Graham Bonnet has made a statement via his official Facebook page about the return of Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW. You can read what Graham said below:

“I’ve decided to make a public statement in reference to Ritchie Blackmore’s return to rock so that nothing I say can be taken out of context. I read a piece a few days ago that twisted my words a bit and I want to be clear….. no one is happier than I about Ritchie’s return to rock. I’m excited to see the band he has chosen as he has introduced so many amazing musician’s to the world and I am sure that this will be no different. To this day, I thank Ritchie for giving me a career in an area of music that I might otherwise have missed. To be clear, I would be thrilled to play with Ritchie again but in all honesty, if there were ever to be a Rainbow reunion, the vocalist position would belong to Ronnie James Dio. Unfortunately, Ronnie left us all too soon and that is no longer possible.

I share in Ritchie’s excitement introducing a new band as I also have a new project with a great group of musician’s (Conrad, Beth-Ami and Mark) that share in my vision for new music as well as my past catalog that includes Rainbow, MSG, Alcatraz and my solo material. We have tours in the UK, Australia/New Zealand and other points in Europe from January through August of 2016. In addition, my band will be releasing an album of new material as well as a bonus disk of re-recordings at the beginning of the year. I hope each and everyone of you can make it to one of our shows. I look forward to seeing all of my friends!

I promise to keep it in my pants!

Graham Bonnet”

Check out Graham‘s UK tour dates on the poster below.

Graham Bonnet

RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW: Touring Line-Up Announced

Posted by aliblackdiamond on November 6, 2015

Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: Ritchie Blackmore Returns, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Touring Line-Up 2016. 4 Comments

Ronnie Romero

Promoter Alan Day has confirmed the lineup for the three exclusive RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW shows in 2016, according to classicrock.com. The band will consist of Blackmore, LORDS OF BLACK singer Ronnie Romero, STRATOVARIUS keyboardist Jens Johansson, Blackmore’s Night drummer David Keith and bassist Bob Nouveau.

Guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore will play two Monsters Of Rock Festival appearances in Germany on 18th June and Loreley, Freilichtbühneon on Friday 17th June, as well as one UK date on 25th June at Birmingham’s Genting Arena.

Check out an example of Ronnie‘s vocals:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUBjVvLoRoY

Guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore will play two Monsters Of Rock Festival appearances in Germany on 18th June and Loreley, Freilichtbühneon on Friday 17th June, as well as one UK date on 25th June at Birmingham’s Genting Arena.

Blackmore recently told Billboard.com about his plans to revisit RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE classics: “I’m now 70, so I just felt like playing some rock ‘n’ roll for a few days. I’m doing it for the fans, for nostalgia, and the singer I found is very exciting; he’s a cross between [Ronnie James] Dio meets Freddie Mercury. So this will mean exposing a new singer to the masses, and I’m sure he’ll become pretty famous because of his voice.”

RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW: UK 2016 Show Sold Out

Posted by aliblackdiamond on November 6, 2015

Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, Uk Show 2016. Leave a comment

The official Ritchie Blackmore Facebook page have announced that the one-off RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW UK show in Birmingham is sold out. Tickets for the show, scheduled on Saturday 25th June 2016 at the Genting Arena went on general sale today, Friday 6th November, but many were already sold during the pre-sale which started on Wednesday.

Fans are eagerly awaiting for the line-up to be announced for the show, which is one of only three rock shows taking place in 2016. Guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore will also play two Monsters Of Rock Festival appearances in Germany on 18th June and Loreley, Freilichtbühneon on Friday 17th June.

Blackmore recently told Billboard.com about his plans to revisit RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE classics: “I’m now 70, so I just felt like playing some rock ‘n’ roll for a few days. I’m doing it for the fans, for nostalgia, and the singer I found is very exciting; he’s a cross between [Ronnie James] Dio meets Freddie Mercury. So this will mean exposing a new singer to the masses, and I’m sure he’ll become pretty famous because of his voice.”

Blackmore declined to reveal the other musicians that will participate in the shows because contracts are still being negotiated, but said that none will be known names from his previous groups. He plans to film and record the performances for future release.

Stay tuned for more news!

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow: Revealed UK Show Date

Posted by Stargazer on November 2, 2015

Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: RITCHIE BLACKMORE, Ritchie Blackmore Returns, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. 1 Comment

The king of heavy rock is back! As previously announced the legendary Ritchie Blackmore will be back to the magnificent stage of rock in 2016 with only 3 shows. Two shows in Germany have already been confirmed and announced, taking place at the Monsters Of Rock Festival 2016 on 18th June and Loreley, Freilichtbühneon on Friday 17th June.

Now, the British fans of Ritchie Blackmore can be happy, as the manager has just announced the final and only show in the UK, which will take place on Saturday 25th June 2016 at Genting Arena, Birmingham. According to the manager, tickets will be on sale 6th November.

Blackmore recently told Billboard.com about his plans to revisit RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE classics: “I’m now 70, so I just felt like playing some rock ‘n’ roll for a few days. We’re going to do four or five dates” — most likely in England, Germany and Sweden — “of just playing the old rock stuff, PURPLE stuff and RAINBOW. I’m doing it for the fans, for nostalgia, and the singer I found is very exciting; he’s a cross between [Ronnie James] Dio meets Freddie Mercury. So this will mean exposing a new singer to the masses, and I’m sure he’ll become pretty famous because of his voice.”

Blackmore declined to reveal the other musicians that will participate in the shows because contracts are still being negotiated, but said that none will be known names from his previous groups. He plans to film and record the performances for future release.

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow Will Not Appear At Download Festival; UK Show To Be Announced Soon

Posted by Stargazer on October 28, 2015

Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: RITCHIE BLACKMORE, Ritchie Blackmore Returns, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. 5 Comments

As previously announced, guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore will be back to the magnificent stage of rock in 2016.Two shows in Germany have already been confirmed and announced, taking place at the Monsters Of Rock Festival 2016 on 18th June and Loreley, Freilichtbühneon on Friday 17th June. Indeed Ritchie Blackmore was and is a big influence and hero for German fans, as well as musicians. ACCEPT‘s Wolf Hoffmann, who is one of the most influential German guitarists and songwriters, spoke about Ritchie previously, “Me and a lot of other people in Germany growing up were heavily influenced and totally into Deep Purple and especially Ritchie Blackmore.“

The return of the king, was definitely very exciting news for many fans and those who have worshipped Ritchie and his work for decades. The news was shared on social media many times and this started discussions, guesses and rumours on Ritchie‘s next move. Especially after the announcement of the second show in Germany, a very particular rumour about Ritchie Blackmore performing at Download Festival as the UK show, started surfacing and was discussed at length by British fans. We at Metal Shock Finland also received tons of messages and questions about this matter, so we contacted Ritchie‘s management and shared your comments and questions with them.

Ritchie Blackmore‘s agent, Alec Leslie replied to us “Rainbow will only be playing three shows in 2016: two in Germany and one in the UK.” He also made it clear that “The UK performance will not be at Download Festival.” But he left a message for British fans, “the show will be announced on the 2nd November.” However we have bad news for the US and Swedish fans, as there are no shows scheduled for those countries at the moment.

Blackmore recently told Billboard.com about his plans to revisit RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE classics: “I’m now 70, so I just felt like playing some rock ‘n’ roll for a few days. We’re going to do four or five dates” — most likely in England, Germany and Sweden — “of just playing the old rock stuff, PURPLE stuff and RAINBOW. I’m doing it for the fans, for nostalgia, and the singer I found is very exciting; he’s a cross between [Ronnie James] Dio meets Freddie Mercury. So this will mean exposing a new singer to the masses, and I’m sure he’ll become pretty famous because of his voice.”

Blackmore declined to reveal the other musicians that will participate in the shows because contracts are still being negotiated, but said that none will be known names from his previous groups. He plans to film and record the performances for future release.

RITCHIE BLACKMORE’S RAINBOW AND GUESTS: Second Show Announced For 2016

Posted by aliblackdiamond on October 23, 2015

Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: RITCHIE BLACKMORE, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. 19 Comments

As recently reported, guitar legend Ritchie Blackmore will play several rock dates in 2016. Now Shooter Promotions have announced, as well as the Monsters Of Rock Festival appearance in Germany on 18th June, also a confirmation of Loreley, Freilichtbühneon on Friday 17th June:

“Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow’ live in Germany for 2 exclusive shows in Loreley and Bietigheim-Bissingen June 2016, playing the classic rock anthems of Rainbow and Deep Purple.”

Tickets for Loreley are available here and tickets for Bietigheim-Bissingen are available here.

Ritchie Blackmore Rainbow

Blackmore recently told Billboard.com about his plans to revisit RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE classics: “I’m now 70, so I just felt like playing some rock ‘n’ roll for a few days. We’re going to do four or five dates” — most likely in England, Germany and Sweden — “of just playing the old rock stuff, PURPLE stuff and RAINBOW. I’m doing it for the fans, for nostalgia, and the singer I found is very exciting; he’s a cross between [Ronnie James] Dio meets Freddie Mercury. So this will mean exposing a new singer to the masses, and I’m sure he’ll become pretty famous because of his voice.”

Blackmore declined to reveal the other musicians that will participate in the shows because contracts are still being negotiated, but said that none will be known names from his previous groups. He plans to film and record the performances for future release.

Monsters Of Rock have stated:

“A long-awaited sensation for all hard rock fans: with two new editions of the legendary Monsters Of Rock festival and Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow confirmed as headlining act, Shooter Promotions is set to present the highlight of the upcoming festival summer:

“It’s a double honour for us to bring this ground-breaking festival back to life. On the one hand it’s the festival itself, and on the other it’s the fact that Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow are an absolutely legendary band who have just been confirmed as the headlining act. Ritchie Blackmore has won worldwide acclaim as the driving force behind the likes of Deep Purple, Rainbow and Blackmore’s Night and is without a doubt one of the most important personalities in the history of hard rock.”

Now the guitarist extraordinaire is about to make history again by performing his greatest hits from the Deep Purple and Rainbow eras at those upcoming German shows (two of only three gigs worldwide!). “I’m doing it for the fans,” says the Man in Black. It has not been confirmed yet who will join him on stage, but one thing is for sure: he is planning to film and record the performances for future release. In addition, on November 20th, Eagle Vision is about to release “The Ritchie Blackmore Story”, a Blu-ray/DVD/CD package, presenting for the very first time the whole story of Blackmore’s remarkable career, featuring videos from his time with Deep Purple, Rainbow and Blackmore’s Night. It will also include extended interviews with the man himself and his colleagues and admirers, such as Brian May (Queen), Glenn Hughes, Lars Ulrich (Metallica), Steve Lukather (Toto), Joe Satriani, the late Jon Lord, David Coverdale, Gene Simmons, Joe Lynn Turner, Steve Vai, Graham Bonnet and Ian Anderson.

With the return of the Monsters Of Rock festivals, headlined by Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, the dream of a whole generation of hard rock fans is about to come true. More information to follow.”

Ritchie Blackmore