In June 2016, Ritchie Blackmore took a break from his Blackmore’s Night project by bringing Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow back to the stage to play three shows in Europe, two in Germany and one in England. The German appearances featured classic hits from Deep Purple and Rainbow were recorded and are now available on a 2 CD/DVD bundle since last November. During this triumphant return, the legend stated that he had no plans to record new music. Just under one year later, it seems he’s changed his mind. In an interview for the May 2017 edition of Japan’s Burn! Magazine, Blackmore revealed teaming up with vocalist Ronnie Romero (Lords of Black) to record a few new tunes.
The Highway Star shared the magazine’s upcoming cover page with Blackmore up front and center and stated it will feature a 14-page feature on him including an interview. The publication partially transcribed this interview which you can see below:
Burn: We understand you were recording some material in the studio.
Ritchie: We were recording until yesterday in the studio at our home. We finished yesterday. We recorded some songs for Blackmore’s Night and 2 songs with the new singer for Rainbow.
B: Do you have any plans for release?
R: No
While discussing Romero as the vocalist, Blackmore revealed more about the upcoming new tunes:
R: When I heard him, he seemed like the right guy to sing the Dio era songs of Rainbow. He is versatile, he can sing like Freddie Mercury or Ronnie James Dio or Graham Bonnet. The reason I did not ask Joe Lynn Turner is because I thought European fans wanted to hear the Dio lineup of Rainbow. I was very surprised that tickets sold out in 15 minutes. It was nice to know so many people wanted to hear Rainbow at this time.
B: Is Ronnie Romero the new singer you mentioned earlier?
R: Yes, 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.
It has been over two decades since Stranger in Us All and we are more than excited to hear these new songs.
On June 9th the Birmingham performance will release via Eagle Rock Entertainment as a 2CD package entitled Live In Birmingham 2016. A first to include the England show featuring songs “Soldier of Fortune” and “Burn” that weren’t included on the German release.
Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow are returning to the UK this summer with four scheduled shows and it kicks off on June 17th in London and concludes on June 28th in Birmingham. Check out the full list of dates and information here.
