Rainbow (also known as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow or Blackmore's Rainbow) are a British
rock supergroup, formed in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
and
Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...
in 1975 by guitarist
Ritchie Blackmore. Established in the aftermath of Blackmore's first departure from
Deep Purple, they originally featured four members of the band
Elf, including their singer
Ronnie James Dio, but after their
self-titled debut album, Blackmore fired these members, except Dio, recruiting new members, including drummer
Cozy Powell. The band recorded their second album ''
Rising
Rising may refer to:
* Rising, a stage in baking - see Proofing (baking technique)
*Elevation
* Short for Uprising, a rebellion
Film and TV
* "Rising" (''Stargate Atlantis''), the series premiere of the science fiction television program ''Starg ...
'' in 1976, while ''
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll'' (1978) would be the last album with Dio before he left the band to join
Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy metal music. The band helped def ...
in 1979.
Rainbow's early work primarily featured mystical lyrics with a
neoclassical metal style, then went in a more pop-rock oriented direction following Dio's departure from the group.
In 1979, Blackmore and Powell revamped the group, recruiting three new members —singer
Graham Bonnet, keyboardist
Don Airey and another then-former
Deep Purple member, bassist
Roger Glover—and this line-up gave the band their commercial breakthrough with the single "
Since You Been Gone" from their fourth studio album ''
Down to Earth''. With
Joe Lynn Turner, who replaced Bonnet in 1980, with Powell departing at the same time, Rainbow recorded three more albums—''
Difficult to Cure'' (1981), ''
Straight Between the Eyes'' (1982) and ''
Bent Out of Shape'' (1983)—that had commercial success similar to the band's previous albums. The band split in 1984, when Blackmore and Glover re-joined Deep Purple for their reunion. In 1993, after leaving Deep Purple for a second time, Blackmore reformed Rainbow with a new line-up, fronted by a then-unknown
Doogie White, which recorded their eighth and last studio album to date ''
Stranger in Us All'' (1995). Blackmore's change in direction, from rock to Renaissance and medieval-influenced music, led to Rainbow's second dissolution in 1997. He revived the band once again in 2015,
and they performed live occasionally within the next few years.
Over the years Rainbow went through many personnel changes, with each studio album recorded with a different line-up, leaving Blackmore as the band's only constant member. In addition to Blackmore, Rainbow's current line-up includes
Ronnie Romero on vocals,
Jens Johansson on keyboards,
Bob Nouveau on bass and
David Keith on drums.
Rainbow were ranked No. 90 on VH1's ''100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock''. The band have sold over 30 million records worldwide.
History
Formation (1975)
In 1973, Blackmore steered
Deep Purple through a significant personnel change, with
Ian Gillan and
Roger Glover being replaced by
David Coverdale and
Glenn Hughes. However, the new members were keen to add their own musical influences into the band's sound, some of which were not to Blackmore's taste. During the sessions for the 1974 album ''
Stormbringer''. Blackmore found his request to record the
Steve Hammond-penned "Black Sheep of the Family" turned down by the band.
On the subsiquent tour, Deep Purple were supported by American band
Elf, with Blackmore being especially impressed by their singer
Ronnie James Dio. Still wishing to put his interpritation of "Black Sheep of the Family" to record, he decided to record the song as a single, accompanied by four members of Elf, Dio, bassist
Craig Gruber, drummer
Gary Driscoll
John Gary Driscoll (18 April 1946 – 8 June 1987) was an American R&B-style rock drummer who performed in a number of successful bands from the 1960s until his unsolved death by murder on June 10, 1987.
He first entered the music scene when ...
, and keyboardist
Mickey Lee Soule. The sessions went so well that a full album began to take shape, with Blackmore and Dio collaborating on original songs. The album, ''
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'', was recorded between February and March 1975 at
Musicland Studios in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and ...
,
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwee ...
.
The band name was inspired by the
Rainbow Bar and Grill in
West Hollywood, California
West Hollywood is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Incorporated in 1984, it is home to the Sunset Strip. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, its population was 35,757. It is considered one of the most prominent gay villages in ...
.
The style was partly inspired by classical music since Blackmore had started playing cello to help him construct interesting chord progressions, and Dio's lyrics reflected medieval themes and imagery. Dio possessed a powerful and versatile vocal range that encompassed hard rock and lighter ballads. Blackmore commented that when he heard Dio sing, "I felt shivers down my spine." Although Dio never played a musical instrument on any Rainbow album, he is credited with writing and arranging the music with Blackmore, in addition to writing all the lyrics.
Blackmore and Dio also found a common ground in their sense of humour. The band, said the singer, "was my opportunity to show my wares. I thank Ritchie for that all the time. Ritchie Blackmore is the one who gave me my opportunity to show what I was worth."
Following the positive experience of recording with Dio, Blackmore decided to leave Deep Purple, playing his last show with them in Paris in April 1975.
The album met a positive critical reception and was a top 20 UK and top 30 US hit. Blackmore's departure from Purple was announced on 21 June.
First world tour and initial success (1975–1978)
Blackmore was unhappy about carrying the Elf line-up along for live performances, and so after Mickey Lee Soule quit the band, he fired the remaining members except Dio, unhappy with Driscoll's style of drumming and the funky bass playing of Gruber.
Blackmore would continue to dictate personnel for the remainder of the band's lifetime, with drummer and former bandmate Ricky Munro remarking "he was very difficult to get on with because you never knew when he would turn around and say 'You're sacked'." Blackmore recruited bassist
Jimmy Bain, American keyboard player
Tony Carey and drummer
Cozy Powell, who had previously worked with
Jeff Beck and had some solo success.
Powell also greatly appealed to Blackmore in their mutual fondness for
practical jokes.
This line-up commenced the first world tour for the band, with the first date in
Montreal
Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...
on 10 November 1975. The centrepiece of the band's live performance was a computer-controlled rainbow including 3,000 lightbulbs, which stretched 40 feet across the stage. In 1976, the band's name was shortened to Rainbow, and a second album, ''
Rising
Rising may refer to:
* Rising, a stage in baking - see Proofing (baking technique)
*Elevation
* Short for Uprising, a rebellion
Film and TV
* "Rising" (''Stargate Atlantis''), the series premiere of the science fiction television program ''Starg ...
'', was recorded in February at Musicland. By the time of the European dates in the summer of 1976, Rainbow's reputation as a blistering live act had been established. The band added Deep Purple's "
Mistreated" to their setlist, and song lengths were stretched to include improvisation, as displayed on the live album ''
On Stage'', released in the summer of 1977. Carey recalls rehearsing the material was fairly straightforward, saying "We didn't work anything out, except the structure, the ending ... very free-form, really progressive rock." The album art was designed by American fantasy artist
Ken Kelly, who had drawn
Tarzan
Tarzan (John Clayton II, Viscount Greystoke) is a fictional character, an archetypal feral child raised in the African jungle by the Mangani great apes; he later experiences civilization, only to reject it and return to the wild as a heroic adv ...
and
Conan the Barbarian
Conan the Barbarian (also known as Conan the Cimmerian) is a fictional sword and sorcery hero who originated in pulp magazines and has since been adapted to books, comics, films (including '' Conan the Barbarian'' and ''Conan the Destroyer''), ...
.
In August 1976, following a gig at Newcastle City Hall, Blackmore decided to fire Carey, believing his playing style to be too complicated for the band. Unable to find a suitable replacement on such short notice, Carey was quickly reinstated, but as the world tour progressed on to Japan, he found himself regularly being the recipient of Blackmore's pranks and humour. Blackmore subsequently decided that Bain was substandard and fired him in January 1977. Carey quit the band shortly after, after getting tired of Blackmore's pranks. Blackmore, however, had difficulty finding replacements he liked. On keyboards, after auditioning several high-profile artists, including
Vanilla Fudge's
Mark Stein,
Procol Harum's
Matthew Fisher and ex-
Curved Air and
Roxy Music
Roxy Music are an English rock band formed in 1970 by Bryan Ferry—who became the band's lead vocalist and principal songwriter—and bassist Graham Simpson. The other longtime members are Phil Manzanera (guitar), Andy Mackay (saxophone ...
man
Eddie Jobson, Blackmore finally selected Canadian
David Stone, from the little-known band Symphonic Slam. For a bass player, Blackmore initially chose
Mark Clarke
Mark Clarke (born 25 July 1950 in Liverpool) is an English musician, bass player and singer, best known for his work with Colosseum and Mountain, as well as brief stints with Uriah Heep and Rainbow.
Career
After seeing the Beatles and many ...
, formerly of
Jon Hiseman
Philip John Albert "Jon" Hiseman (21 June 1944 – 12 June 2018) was an English drummer, recording engineer, record producer, and music publisher. He played with the Graham Bond Organisation, with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and later ...
's
Colosseum
The Colosseum ( ; it, Colosseo ) is an oval amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, just east of the Roman Forum. It is the largest ancient amphitheatre ever built, and is still the largest standing amphitheatre in the world ...
and
Uriah Heep and, but once in the studio for the next album, ''
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll'', Blackmore disliked Clarke's fingerstyle method of playing so much that he fired him on the spot and played bass himself on all but four songs: the album's title track, "Gates of Babylon", "Kill the King", and "Sensitive to Light". Former
Widowmaker bassist
Bob Daisley
Robert John Daisley (born 13 February 1950) is a retired Australian bass guitarist. He has collaborated on several occasions with Ozzy Osbourne, for whom he contributed bass, backing vocals, co-production and songwriting. He has also worked wi ...
was hired to finish the album, completing the band's next line-up.
After the release of ''Long Live Rock 'n' Roll'' and it's extensive world tour in 1978, Blackmore decided that he wanted to take the band in a new, more mainstream direction, away from the "sword and sorcery" themes. Dio did not agree with this change and left the band.
In a 1979 interview with
Sounds, Blackmore said:
Commercial success (1978–1984)
Blackmore asked
Ian Gillan, also formerly of Deep Purple, to replace Dio, but Gillan turned him down. After a series of auditions,
Graham Bonnet, former singer/guitarist of
The Marbles, was recruited. Powell stayed, but Daisley was fired, and Stone quit the band to be replaced by keyboardist
Don Airey. At first the band auditioned bass players, but, at Cozy Powell's suggestion, Blackmore hired another former Deep Purple member,
Roger Glover, as a producer, bassist and lyricist. The resulting album, ''
Down to Earth'', featured the band's first major singles chart successes, "
All Night Long" and the
Russ Ballard-penned "
Since You Been Gone". In 1980, the band headlined the inaugural
Monsters of Rock festival at
Castle Donington
Castle Donington is a market town and civil parish in Leicestershire, England, on the edge of the National Forest and close to East Midlands Airport.
History
The name 'Donington' means 'farm/settlement connected with Dunna'. Another sugge ...
in England. However, this was Powell's last Rainbow gig: he had already given his notice to quit, disliking Blackmore's increasingly
pop rock
Pop rock (also typeset as pop/rock) is a fusion genre with an emphasis on professional songwriting and recording craft, and less emphasis on attitude than rock music. Originating in the late 1950s as an alternative to normal rock and roll, ear ...
direction. Then, after numerous fallouts with Blackmore, Bonnet resigned to pursue a solo project.
For the next album, Bonnet and Powell were replaced by Americans
Joe Lynn Turner and
Bobby Rondinelli, respectively. The title track from ''
Difficult to Cure'' was a version of
Beethoven's Ninth Symphony. The album spawned their most successful UK single, "
I Surrender" (another Ballard song), which reached No.3. After the supporting tour, Don Airey quit over musical differences and was replaced by
David Rosenthal.
The band attained significant airplay on
Album-oriented rock
Album-oriented rock (AOR, originally called album-oriented radio) is an FM radio format created in the United States in the 1970s that focuses on the full repertoire of rock albums and is currently associated with classic rock.
Album-orien ...
radio stations in the US with the track "
Jealous Lover", reaching No. 13 on
Billboard Magazine
''Billboard'' (stylized as ''billboard'') is an American music and entertainment magazine published weekly by Penske Media Corporation. The magazine provides music charts, news, video, opinion, reviews, events, and style related to the musi ...
's
Rock Tracks chart. Originally issued as the B-side to "Can't Happen Here", "Jealous Lover" subsequently became the title track to an EP issued in the US that featured similar cover art to ''Difficult to Cure''.
Rainbow's next full-length studio album was ''
Straight Between the Eyes''. The album was more cohesive than ''Difficult to Cure'', and had more success in the United States. The band, however, was alienating some of its earlier fans with its more AOR sound.
The single "Stone Cold" was a ballad that had some chart success (No. 1 on ''Billboard'' Magazine's Rock Tracks chart) and its video received heavy airplay on
MTV
MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...
. The successful supporting tour skipped the UK completely and focused on the American market. A date in
San Antonio, Texas
("Cradle of Freedom")
, image_map =
, mapsize = 220px
, map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name = United States
, subdivision_type1= State
, subdivision_name1 = Texas
, subdivision_ ...
, on this tour was filmed, and the resulting ''Live Between the Eyes'' also received repeated showings on MTV, and was released on home video.
''
Bent Out of Shape'' saw drummer Rondinelli fired in favour of former
Brand X and
Balance drummer
Chuck Burgi
Charles Arnold Burgi III (, born August 15, 1952, Montclair, New Jersey) is an American drummer. He has performed with many rock bands and musicians, ranging from local New Jersey/New York-area artists to international groups, throughout his pr ...
. The album featured the single "
Street of Dreams", which became another AOR hit for the group. Blackmore claims on his website that the song's video was banned by MTV for its supposedly controversial hypnosis theme, but Dr.
Thomas Radecki
Thomas Edward Radecki (born 1946) is a former American psychiatrist, founding member of the National Coalition on Television Violence and convicted criminal. He is known for his controversial views on the effects of portrayals of violence on tee ...
of the National Coalition on Television Violence criticised MTV for airing the video, contradicting Blackmore's claim.
The following tour saw Rainbow return to the UK, and also to Japan in March 1984 where the band performed "Difficult to Cure" with a full orchestra. The concert was also filmed and released on home video, in Japan only, as ''Japan Tour '84''.
Dissolution and temporary revival (1984–1997)
During the early 1980s, Rainbow's management Thames Talent had co-ordinated attempts to reform Deep Purple Mark II. By April 1984, Blackmore and Glover had committed to the reunion, and Rainbow was disbanded. A then-final Rainbow album, ''
Finyl Vinyl'', was released in 1986. A compilation album, it gathered together stray studio B-sides "Weiss Heim" ("All Night Long" B-side), "Bad Girl" ("Since You Been Gone" B-side), and "Jealous Lover" ("Can't Happen Here" B-side), with live recordings.
In 1988, after joining the band
Impelliteri, Graham Bonnet covered "Since You Been Gone" on the group's debut album, ''
Stand In Line
''Stand in Line'' is the first studio album by heavy metal band Impellitteri, released in 1988 through Relativity Records;Gomes, Whitney Z"Stand in Line - Impellitteri" '' AllMusic''. RhythmOne. Retrieved August 7, 2020. a remastered edition was ...
''.
In 1993, Blackmore left Deep Purple again due to "creative differences" with other members, and reformed Rainbow with all-new members featuring Scottish singer
Doogie White. The band released ''
Stranger in Us All'' in 1995, and embarked on a lengthy world tour.
The tour proved successful, and the show in
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf ( , , ; often in English sources; Low Franconian and Ripuarian: ''Düsseldörp'' ; archaic nl, Dusseldorp ) is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in ...
, Germany, was professionally filmed for the ''
Rockpalast
''Rockpalast'' (''Rock Palace'') is a German music television show that broadcasts live on German television station Westdeutscher Rundfunk (WDR). ''Rockpalast'' started in 1974 and continues to this day. Hundreds of rock, heavy metal and ja ...
'' TV show. This show, initially heavily bootlegged (and considered by many collectors to be the best Rainbow bootleg of the era), was officially released by
Eagle Records
Eagle Records is a British record label, a division of Eagle Rock Entertainment, itself a subsidiary of Universal Music Group.
In the United Kingdom, the label's managing director is Lindsay Brown, former manager of Van Halen, while in the Un ...
on CD and DVD as ''Black Masquerade'' in 2013. The live shows featured frequent changes in set lists, and musical improvisations that proved popular with bootleggers and many shows are still traded over a decade later.
However, Blackmore turned his attention to his long-time musical passion, Renaissance and medieval music. Rainbow was put on hold once again after playing its final concert in Esbjerg, Denmark in 1997. Blackmore, together with his partner
Candice Night as vocalist then formed the Renaissance-influenced
Blackmore's Night
Blackmore's Night is a British-American neo-medieval folk rock band formed in 1997, consisting mainly of Ritchie Blackmore (acoustic guitar, hurdy gurdy, mandola, mandolin, nyckelharpe, and electric guitar) and Candice Night (lead vocals, lyri ...
. Around the same time as production of ''Stranger in Us All'' (1995), they were already gearing up their debut album ''
Shadow of the Moon'' (1997).
Split (1997–2014)
Many Rainbow songs have been performed live by former members of the band since the group's split in 1984 and then in 1997, particularly former frontmen
Ronnie James Dio,
Graham Bonnet,
Joe Lynn Turner and
Doogie White in recent years. Also,
Don Airey often plays 1979-1981 era songs during his solo shows.
Blackmore's Night
Blackmore's Night is a British-American neo-medieval folk rock band formed in 1997, consisting mainly of Ritchie Blackmore (acoustic guitar, hurdy gurdy, mandola, mandolin, nyckelharpe, and electric guitar) and Candice Night (lead vocals, lyri ...
occasionally performs one or two Rainbow songs live, namely "Ariel", "Rainbow Eyes", "Street of Dreams" and "Temple of the King". The latter three were also re-recorded by Blackmore's Night in studio.
In 2002–2004, the
Hughes Turner Project
Hughes Turner Project (HTP) was a musical project formed in the 2001 by bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes (formerly of Deep Purple and Black Sabbath, etc.) and vocalist Joe Lynn Turner (formerly of Rainbow, Deep Purple, and Yngwie Malmsteen's R ...
played a number of Rainbow songs at their concerts. On 9 August 2007,
Joe Lynn Turner and
Graham Bonnet played a tribute to Rainbow show in Helsinki, Finland. The concert consisted of songs from the 1979-1983 era.
In 2009, Joe Lynn Turner, Bobby Rondinelli, Greg Smith and Tony Carey created the touring tribute band
Over the Rainbow with Jürgen Blackmore (Ritchie's son) as the guitarist. Over the Rainbow performed songs from every era of the band's history. After the first tour, Tony Carey had to leave the band due to health concerns; he was replaced by another former Rainbow member, Paul Morris.
Revival (2015–present)
In 2015, Blackmore announced that he would play "all rock" concerts in the summer of 2016 under the banner "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow", his first rock shows since 1997. The new Rainbow lineup was announced on 6 November 2015. It featured
Lords of Black
Lords of Black is a Spanish heavy metal band formed in Madrid in 2014 by guitarist Tony Hernando and singer Ronnie Romero.
History First album: 2014
In 2014, guitarist Tony Hernando founded Lords of Black together with vocalist Ronnie Romero. T ...
singer
Ronnie Romero,
Stratovarius keyboardist
Jens Johansson, Blackmore's Night drummer
David Keith and bassist
Bob Nouveau.
The band headlined the German edition of the "Monsters of Rock" festival. They debuted on 17 June 2016 at Loreley Freilichtbühne, an open-air show in front of an audience of an estimated 15,000. On 18 June, they played another open-air gig for 30,000 fans in Bietigheim-Bissingen (Festplatz am Viadukt). The third and final show took place at the Birmingham
Genting Arena in England. A live album and DVD, ''Memories in Rock'', was released in late 2016.
When asked in May 2016 if Rainbow were planning to record a new studio album, bassist Bob Curiano said, "I'd love to go into the studio with this Rainbow. All we need is Ritchie to say, 'Let's go!' I think all of us feel under pressure, because of the fans' expectations. For me, the pressure makes me work harder and get better results." However, Blackmore said that they had no plans for a new album or world tour, and that the reunion was "just a few dates for fun." Blackmore also said that Rainbow had received many offers to do a "few more shows again" in the future.
Despite an earlier decision not to release new music, Blackmore revealed in a May 2017 interview with ''
Burrn!'' magazine that Rainbow were in the studio recording two new tracks. Blackmore stated, "I wrote one new song, and also recorded one of the old ones. Ronnie, who is in Madrid now, added his vocals and sent it back. Rather than make an album, we may release as singles."
Rainbow embarked on a four-date UK tour in June 2017. It kicked off with the band's first show in London since 1995 at the second annual Stone Free Festival at
The O2, followed by shows in Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham; the Manchester show was cancelled following the
Manchester Arena bombing.
Rainbow released another live album and DVD, ''Memories in Rock II'' in 2018, which chronicles a live show in Germany. The final track on the album, "Waiting for a Sign", is a studio track recorded with the current band lineup, and marked Rainbow's first song in 23 years. The band played five dates in April 2018, at
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
,
St Petersburg,
Helsinki
Helsinki ( or ; ; sv, Helsingfors, ) is the Capital city, capital, primate city, primate, and List of cities and towns in Finland, most populous city of Finland. Located on the shore of the Gulf of Finland, it is the seat of the region of U ...
,
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...
, and
Prague
Prague ( ; cs, Praha ; german: Prag, ; la, Praga) is the capital and largest city in the Czech Republic, and the historical capital of Bohemia. On the Vltava river, Prague is home to about 1.3 million people. The city has a temperate ...
. The shows were well-attended, with Helsinki a sell-out. The set-list again varied from night-to-night, with an almost 50/50 selection of Rainbow and Deep Purple songs. Rainbow released another single, "The Storm", in May 2019, which was a "a rocked-up remake" of
Blackmore's Night
Blackmore's Night is a British-American neo-medieval folk rock band formed in 1997, consisting mainly of Ritchie Blackmore (acoustic guitar, hurdy gurdy, mandola, mandolin, nyckelharpe, and electric guitar) and Candice Night (lead vocals, lyri ...
's 2001 song with the same title, and the band resumed touring in Europe that summer.
The future of Rainbow has been uncertain since wrapping up their 2019 European tour. When asked in November 2020 about the current status of the band, Romero said, "Obviously, nothing's gonna happen next year. And Ritchie and Candice, they're really focused on the
new Blackmore's Night record. So probably if everything comes back to normality in the next few years, probably we'll do some more shows. But at the moment, everything is on standby." In April 2022, Romero claimed that he has kept in contact with the remaining members of Rainbow, but again expressed his doubt that the band will ever tour again or record new music: "I don't think there's gonna be any plan in the near future because the pandemic was way complicated, obviously, for all the music business. And now it's like everything is getting back to normal but delayed two years. So there is a lot of shows happening. And until it gets completely back to normal, it's gonna happen at least a couple of years. So I think Ritchie is not too much into the idea to make anything so far. And he is focused right now with Blackmore's Night — they released an album recently, I think. There's no plan so far; we were not informed about any plan. So we're just waiting for… With Ritchie, you never know — maybe in a couple of days he's gonna come with an idea. You never know."
Band members
;Current members
*
Ritchie Blackmore – guitar
(1975–1984, 1993–1997, 2015–present)
*
Candice Night – backing vocals
(1994–1997, 2015–present)
*
Ronnie Romero – lead vocals
(2015–present)
*
Jens Johansson – keyboards
(2015–present)
*
Bob Nouveau – bass, backing vocals
(2015–present)
*
David Keith – drums
(2015–present)
Discography
;Studio albums
*''
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'' (1975)
*''
Rising
Rising may refer to:
* Rising, a stage in baking - see Proofing (baking technique)
*Elevation
* Short for Uprising, a rebellion
Film and TV
* "Rising" (''Stargate Atlantis''), the series premiere of the science fiction television program ''Starg ...
'' (1976)
*''
Long Live Rock 'n' Roll'' (1978)
*''
Down to Earth'' (1979)
*''
Difficult to Cure'' (1981)
*''
Straight Between the Eyes'' (1982)
*''
Bent Out of Shape'' (1983)
*''
Stranger in Us All'' (1995)
References
;Books
*
*
Bibliography
*Jerry Bloom, ''Black Knight – Ritchie Blackmore'' (Omnibus Press, 2006)
*Jerry Bloom, ''Long Live Rock 'n' Roll Story'' (Wymer Publishing, 2009)
*Roy Davies, ''Rainbow Rising – The Story of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow'' (Helter Skelter, 2002)
*Martin Popoff, ''Rainbow – English Castle Magic'' (Metal Blade, 2005)
*Greg Prato, ''The Other Side of Rainbow'' (self-published, 2016)
*
External links
The Rainbow Fanclan Legacy*
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