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How did you join Rainbow? 
Roger Glover: "I met Ritchie in Chicago and he was, as he has been most of his time, very kind for me. Ritchie asked me to produce Rainbow's next record and I agreed. Proberly Ritchie realized that he made mistake by forcing me out of Deep Purple. Ritchie and Dio didn't talk to each others at those days. They only talked to each others through me. Sometimes I was telling to Ritchie that Dio won't do this and that and then I went to inform Dio, how Ritchie doesn't like about this and that idea of yours. It was hopeless and when it has lasted it's time Dio finally left the band. After Dio had left the band Ritchie asked me to make some lyrics for Rainbow and when their current bass-player was a failure - I had to teach him all the time - drummer Cozy Powell asked me to join the band. My first Rainbow record was "Down To Earth" and I was with them five years."Rumba, Finland, December 1993  How did the Deep Purple reunion in 1984 started?
Roger Glover: "Gillan. He was in those days in Black Sabbath and he took contact to me and Ritchie. We had a meeting in restaurant - all Deep Purple meetings have been made in restaurants. We are kind of a strange band, because we only can talk business while eating. During that meeting Gillan boozed all the time and very quickly he was totally drunk. I don't know what was with him, maybe he was just nervous. Gillan finally managed to made his potion. I and Ritchie didn't warmed for a proposition. Rainbow's success was quite good and we didn't want to bury the good band. Gillan didn't give up, but called us contineously: "Think about it, just think once again". After "Bent Out Of Shape" we thought we got Rainbow as far as possible and finally agreed to Gillan's
proposal. Jon and Paice had already agreed."Rumba, Finland, December 1993 How was your introduction to the band? 
Joe Lynn Turner: It was in the SAS Hotel in Copenhagen. I had gone out for a few hours and came back to my room with some people I met that night. He was minding his own business, entertaining his guests in his room when there was a knock on the door. It was Blackmore's roadie, also known as "Hurricane." He'd claimed he'd left his passport in a jacket that was in Joe's room. Hurricane was getting quite belligerent, so Joe felt obligated to open the door to let him in. When he did, Richie and other band members as well as a few "groupies" paraded into his room. Turner was still "the new guy" and was not sure what to make of all this. It was slightly amusing until Blackmore and his cohorts started throwing everything in Turner's hotel room out the window. The window only opened to a 45 degree angle, so Joe admits they "had a tough time with the TV," but when they finished, the room was pretty much stripped! They even took the mattress off Joe's bed. Joe remembers holding on to it, all while being dragged down a carpeted hallway (yes, he even admitted to suffering severe rug burns from his efforts). When Joe met Don Airey at breakfast the next morning, Don remarked about how "things kept flying" past his window all night. Joe remembers the hotel manager accompanying him to his room to assess the damage with a very grave, worried look on his face. The manager admitted that the room "was not so bad" that "Bob Marley had left a more disgusting mess" and finally revealed that "Ritchie Blackmore has paid for it all" with the message(to Joe)... "welcome to the band!"Rockforever, October 2000 The story of the little misunderstanding between Rosenthal and Blackmore on "Miss Mistreated"
Joe Lynn Turner: "David Rosenthal and Ritchie Blackmore had a little misunderstanding with regard to a fugue-like portion of "Miss Mistreated" that David had improvised. Apparently, Ritchie received a legal-type letter informing him that Dave deserved some writing credit. Shortly after, the band was having a nice, candlelit dinner in the "band house" adjacent to LeStudio. On one end of the dining room were large glass doors. The band was sipping wine and in the midst of the conversation, Ritchie casually mentioned the letter to Dave and asked one of the band's technicians to "hit the patio lights" beyond the glass doors. On the patio was everything that Dave had previously had in his bedroom... Lamps, table, bed, even his shoes had been neatly placed on the snow-covered
patio! This was Ritchie's "subtle" way of telling Dave how he felt about that letter!"Rockforever, October 2000 Did Deep Purple use in 1984 Rainbow songs on the 'Perfect Strangers' album?
Roger Glover: "The riffs to 'Perfect Strangers' and 'Knockin' At Your Backdoor' were indeed in existence during the last Rainbow days. I don't recall a recording of 'Knocking' but I myself have a cassette somewhere of Rainbow jamming around the riff to 'Perfect Strangers', so I suppose it's possible that someone else does also. How did they get it? That's what I would like to know."DPRU What kind of person is Ritchie Blackmore? 
Jon Lord: He's a tragical figure for me. Mostly because he is enormously talented. He invented a new style of guitar playing. He was a man of extrordinary individualism. I said "was" . Because in the last time, his playing was missing fire, it sounded tired, lustless. And this man was unpredictable. We had to take care all the time. Sometimes he didn't want to play an encore, another time he just walked off the stage during the show. And we had to care for all that **** on stage. It was hell to bring a good feeling to the audience... Ritchie wanted to tranform us into some kind of "Rainbow". He refused to accept our ideas, only wanted to play his own stuff. Recently he said "Jon Lord had not a single idea in the last 25 years". I had lots of ideas, but he refused to play them. He just did not play them. He wanted to hurt me with that remark - the devil knows why.Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany, March 1996 Ritchie did not have a problem to fire Ian Gillan. Why didn't the band just throw him out?
Jon Lord: Maybe because we thought we depended on him, maybe out of misunderstood friendship, because for some time we were very close. So we were trying to repair the gaps. We all had the feeling we needed Ritchie. Now we are finally free.Süddeutsche Zeitung, Germany, March 1996 Have you spoken to Ronnie Dio since he joined the band (Black Sabbath)? 
Ozzy Osbourne: He's a nice guy and he's got a great voice, but if they do go out as Sabbath I think Ronnie Dio is going to have to have a bullet-proof vest if he ever gets up there singing 'Iron Man' and 'Paranoid'. He's really got his work cut out for him. Replacing the singer in a band is the hardest job of all."Sounds, October 1979 Once more: Why did Ritchie throw the water on the Hell or High Water live video? 
Ritchie Blackmore: The incident was in no way directed towards any member of the band & certainly not towards the audience. I had already made my mind up to leave Deep Purple for reasons of my own & I was told by my management at the time that BMG wanted to film the show at the NEC. I agreed to this providing there would be NO cameramen on the side of the stage, (I find they put me off my performance & many of you that are paying your hard earned money should not have to put up with this). I would have thought I had made my point clear enough at the California Jam. I was quite categorically told, "Don't worry Ritchie, they won't be there". As the intro to Highway Star started I walked out only to trip over one right in my way. I pushed him off the stage he should never have been on in the first place & then told the people working for us who had lied to me rather than discuss the whole thing, to get him off the stage. At this point they snuck him around to the other side, which, had they done this in the first place wouldn't have bothered me, but by then my temper was up & I threw the water. It is very nerve wracking experience to play a show like this & I feel I have earned the right to have a set-up which will enable me to give my best to everybody."alt.music.deep-purple, March 1997 Why did Ritchie throw the water on the Hell or High Water live video? 
Rob Fodder (Ritchie's Personal Assistent): I went to tell Ritchie the intro tape was playing and that he had a couple of minutes and he told me to get the cameras off stage. I went back on stage and told a camera man who was between Roger and Jon that he'd better move offstage. He then proceeded to breakdown his camera and move off. I went back to get Ritchie and we walked to the stage. When we got there, we saw that the cameraman hadn't left the stage at all. Ritchie calmly turned around and walked back to the dressing room. I ran back onstage and told the camera man again that if he didn't get off he'd be risking the show (in not very friendly terms). Again I went back to the dressing room to let Ritchie know that there wasn't any cameras on stage. By this time the band were well into "Highway Star", Ritchie walked out onstage and joined the band. Then he noticed that the cameraman had just moved into the shadows behind Jon, he picked up the water by the keyboard and threw it at the camera, not Gillan, not Jon, or even the band members wives, but definitely at the camera. Not many people know that in between "Highway Star" and "Black Night" Ritchie ran behind the amps with a beer and soaked the cameraman again as he was wiping his equipment.Darker Than Blue #54  |