Rainbow

Germany 1981



I've been going through scanned files of negs - found these of Rainbow. While in Germany Joe Lynn Turner who was Rainbow's new singer would get ready early and prance around the side of the stage while the opening band was on - Joe being a total knob would be doing press up's in his full stage gear wearing his white fringed jacket so the crowd could see him. Ritchie Blackmore got so fed up with Joe's prima donna posing, that he stole the jacket and gave it to Peter Makowski and told him to wear it in the photo pit as Rainbow went on.

Joe Lynn was going crazy before the show 'Some motherfucker's stolen my clothes!!!' Blackmore looked at him calmly and said 'You'll have to go on as you are'. After the intro tape of Over The Rainbow Joe Lynn walked on and seeing Peter in his jacket standing next to me screamed into the mike 'You two motherfuckers are going to die!!!', that was his first words to the crowd.....

It made my night and it was the first time I'd ever seen Ritchie Blackmore laughing onstage.

Ross Halfin