Joe Lynn Turner Interview on MTV Joe Lynn just returned from an European tour with Rainbow. We had a story on the music news that you guys actually did better than Abba in their home country. What we understood is that you sold out that particular venue and you sold it out at a higher ticket price than they had before. Well they helped out our publishing, so they helped, but we did yeah. It was over 10.000, 11.000 in Stockholm and the whole tour went exceedingly well I can say, but I'm glad to be home. How many cities did you do over there, you have any idea? I know how many countries, it was 14 countries, so there's a lot of cities and I couldn't keep track after a while really because the pace was too crazy. What's the wildest thing that happened to you on tour? That was something in particular specific, I think it was in Spain, they dropped 3000 ping pong balls on me from above in a net. This was a joke, they started smashing all over Ritchie and myself and Roger and I had no idea the road crew had put them up there, the promoter paid for it. Then at the end of it, we had a night out with the guys and stuff and they gave me an official ping pong paddle and those things... Three thousand? Is that during the middle of the show? Well, at the end of the show and the audience didn't know what was coming off. I didn't and I just saw my stage manager doing this [sign] so I look up and I see these ping pong balls. I think it was great really, it's all meant in good fun you know. When are you going in the studio again? I believe April will be going overseas, I think Copenhagen. You worked most of 1982 didn't you? When you just actually go out on the road? We started this year in America, I guess the tour was early early summer and it just finished up December 6th. You're looking great, so how do you keep that? It's a plastic surgery [Laughter] So you're going back in the studio in April, hopefully the album will be out in the summer? I think a summer album, late summer by you know. Are you writing anything? Yeah, I'm starting to write with this one and Ritchie's got a few things up his sleeve, Roger as well, so we'll see what happens. Right now we're just concerned about taking some time off and relaxing. Was this past tour the best tour Rainbow's ever had? To my knowledge it has been. I mean the venues were sold out just about everywhere and the audiences were great, they're more familiar with the material now and it's just been nothing but jubilation on everybody. It was a great tour, the comrade ship was great, the friendships were astounding, the incidents were funny. I mean there was a lot of laughter, a lot of work, a lot of cheers you know. And certain things but it was a growing experience and the band's never been tighter, the playing has been great, we've just grown in different levels. 'Stone Cold' got an awful lot of airplay here. Did you get that same kind of airplay in Europe? In France and Spain it did very well, in parts of Germany, then you'd have like 'Death Alley Driver' do well in certain areas. 'Stone Cold' again did well in Sweden, so in Europe it's kind of broken into districts and areas you know, so it would vary but it did well, the whole album did very well. When we first started playing the video for 'Power' and you were wearing that Japanese shirt, I said to the audience I don't know where he got that shirt but we gotta find out. Now I understand your sister Arnene said you lost the shirt. Is that right? Or was stolen! Arnene, Joe Lynn's sister, said that you heard me say that on the air once and so she's trying to get another shirt for you and for me see. You see, it pays it does really. It's a great shirt. © JJ Jackson, MTV - December 1982