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DOOGIE WHITE Rainbow Fanclan Legacy Exclusive Interview Hi Doogie, maybe you've visited Rainbow Fanclan Legacy website already, on the other hand you maybe never heard of it. Doogie: "I have heard people say it is the best Rainbow site on the web...." We've got 10 questions for you, except for the first one all on the subject Rainbow. 1. What are you doing on the moment? Any album releases in the near future? I ended 2001 with a South American and Mexican tour with the very splendid Yngwie Malmsteen. We had a right old riot and tore it up over there, big time. 2002 is kicking off with the release of the new Cornerstone album with Steen Mogensen from Royal Hunt. The album "HUMAN STAIN" will be released in Feb. on Massacre Records in Europe and Marquee Records in Japan. I am very proud of the album, It has an edge that I like in Rock n Roll. The record company are going nuts over it......Which is nice. I am also looking forward with great anticipation to recording a new Yngwie album later in the year and then spending sometime on the road touring. I am just waiting to hear when I have to fly to the States to get started. I've been writing some ideas, just in case. 
2. What's your favorite Rainbow song?One from each album then: Temple of the King, Tarot Woman, Gates of Babylon, Eyes of The World, Spotlight Kid, Eyes of Fire, Drinking with the Devil, all of SIUA. 3. What's your favorite Rainbow album? I don't know, they all had something different (usually band members) but Rising and DTE are there. Come to think of it I don't own any Rainbow albums except DTE and SIUA. Guess which one of them I DON'T play..........?? mmmmmm What would Freud say??? 4. Which Rainbow live gig you did was the best one (if you can remember)? The first Hammersmith show was surprising. We were pretty consistent in our performances but Hammy O and the 1st German festival (not so much for the music, as for the occasion, the stage was massive, the atmosphere electric) on the second European tour stand out on a personal note. Yoyogi Olympic pool, KB Hallen...see now you got me going. I remember almost every gig, and have happy memories about most. Even the bad times were good. 5. Are you still in contact with any other ex-Rainbow members? Greg Smith, Burgi and Micelli remain in touch and whenever we are in the area we get together and have a beer or 2. Same goes for Joe Lynn, Don Airey, Roger Glover. I just met Ronnie and Jimmy Bain for the first time in May; We drank red wine. I'll bet Ritchie's ears were burning! Ritchie and I exchange Christmas cards. 6. What's your opinion on a Rainbow reunion I thought that we could have run BN and Rainbow side by side. I waited a while to see if he would throw off the medieval garb and don the satanic black and pointy boots, pick up the Strat and lay waste to all dissenters. Alas, he has chosen to follow his heart, in spite of pleas from the masses, for his Royal Darkness's return. Those who await his coming I feel, are doomed to a existence of playing old scratchy vinyl in search of His greatest solo, and will, for many years argue amongst themselves saying "Will He return to Rainbow or indeed Deep Purple, will He get together with like minded souls (Glenn Hughes) and make a blues album." They will blame past and present management for His lack of Rawk, when all along, only one truly knows what is in his heart and that my friends, is the Prince of Darkness himself. 
7. If it was going to happen, what would be your ideal line-up?Of course it should be ME singing and who ever else He deems worthy. Failing that I'll pay me £5.50 and go quite happily and watch Ronnie. 8. How about Blackmore's Night? Do you like what's Ritchie doing these days? It took me a while to listen to it, as I was still smarting over the way I was treated and ultimately the way it all ended. When I did get round to hearing the band I found that I enjoyed the first album a lot. It sounded really good and the songs were strong. I am not a fan of the second album, content or sleeve. The latest is a return to form and shows how valuable producer Pat Regan is to the set up. The infuriatingly catchy "Home Again" is just the kind of song Ritchie has been trying to write since I knew him........". "Boom Boom Boom, Out Go the Lights" lets see if we can come up with something like that Doogie" I never could, but there you go. 9. Please tell us a nice or funny story that happened during your Rainbow days? We were staying in a very large colonial house in Cold Spring NY. Ritchie had invited me to dinner at Henrys, a cool little diner come margarita bar. As we were about to leave he remembered he had left his wallet up stairs and went to retrieve it. We had a good meal and a chat about how it was all going. Sank some beer and wine and headed back to the house. It was about then that he asked if I would like to do a séance. Now I'm not a man with a superstitious mind but I did not need Ritchie Blackmore freaking me out, and running around my head, so I declined and made my way to my room. When I entered the light was on, strange, the windows were open, stranger still. And the bug grills nowhere to be seen. Aw SHIT!! The ceiling was moving. Black and undulating. The horror of 10 million bugs scratching their way round my room was unpleasant to say the least. I tried my best to ignore them as I reviewed the days work. It was good. We had 3 really strong ideas. As I drifted of to sleep I could hear nothing, which was unusual. They were having the séance. Night was soon on the turn and the moon was losing its light when I felt an unease in the room. Did the temperature drop? I opened my eyes, slowly, to see Ritchie towering over me grinning such a grin it turned my blood.He was dressed in black with a tophat and small dark glasses. As I watched in mounting terror, for he is the Prince of Darkness, he floated , still grinning out of the room, onto the landing, the door slamming and disturbing the beasts that were crawling and dying on my ceiling and landing on my face. We never mentioned it to each other and to this day I still don't know if he was really there. 10. Do you have a message for the many Rainbow fans that are still around? There are so many good tales and so many happy memories. It was the best of times people, I was happy to have been part of one of the greatest rock bands of all time, playing with someone I had admired for many years as a fan. One day I'll sit down and watch the videos or listen to the bootlegs and I'll know that we really rocked hard, probably harder than I recall and some of you will be on these videos and bootlegs and you too were part of it, whether you sang along or waited outside for autographs or came and drank beer at the hotel or called for Stargazer or Dio. To Ritchie, Greg, Chuck, John, Paul, Candy and all of you................THANK YOU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! © Rainbow Fanclan Legacy 2002  |