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DTE 82
Original releasedate: 14 March 1983
Original releasedate: 14 March 1983
This is a rough'n'ready translation of the magazine which was original in the Dutch language.
Besides this is only a summary as only the most interesting parts are translated.
Besides this is only a summary as only the most interesting parts are translated.
| From the Headoffice |
|
Hi ev'rybody ! ! ! Firstly thank you all for the positive reactions, there were no negative reactions so we'll continue the way we did. In this 'Over the Rainbow' we have a review of the Whitesnake concert in Utrecht and many Rainbow interviews. Roger, Joe and especially Ritchie will be speaking. About the band there's not much news on the moment. Did you already caught the Rainbow ? No? Then....ya betta keep-a-tryin' !!! IS RITCHIE LOSING COLOUR? The Deep Purple reunion-rumours flare up again. During the latest European Rainbow tour Ritchie sprinkled around statements like he was thinking to reform Whitesnake (case of color blindness?!). Jon Lord seems last November to have travelled to the continent to have a (purple) chat with Ritchie and Roger. Ian Gillan left in January for New York to negotiate about the subject with the gentlemen Blackmore and Glover. There are stories they planned five shows with Ian to try things out on stage. This was however cancelled, for reasons unknown. But it's obvious there's something going on. According to the latest plans this summer the big surprise should happen on the biggest and best known festival on the other side of the sea. Just wait & C !!! DREAM CHASERS Interviews with Joe Lynn Turner, Roger Glover & Ritchie Blackmore in Essen during the last European Tour on the radiostation BFBS. Victim no 1 : JOE LYNN TURNER Joe Lynn Turner, the present singer of Rainbow, released overhere in Germany a solo-album. Joe, can you tell me more about it? "Firstly it's not a solo-album, it's a compilation albums of the four albums I did in the States with a band called Fandango. There are 8 or 9 songs on this LP, my ex-manager released it after I joined Rainbow. He promoted the album with "Joe Lynn Turner on tour with Rainbow" but it all has nothing to do with Rainbow. In fact, it also hasn't anything to do with me, it's absolutely not a solo album, it's all stuff from 4 or 5 years old. I do have plans for a solo album, but that won't happen in 1½ or 2 years time." 
So it's a compilation of the best Fandango songs?"Right, about 2 songs each album, there are 4 Fandango albums. By the way the names on the back are the real names of people who played on it, the guitarist name is really Rick Blakemore. It should have been Ritchie Blackmore, while Lou Mondelli should have been Bobby Rondinelli. There's a small concordance with these names but they're the real names of the people who played on the records. It's definitely a not a solo album that's recorded with Ritchie and the other Rainbow members and I want to point that clearly." How long did it took to establish the name Joe Lynn Turner in Rainbow? "I'm now 2½ years in Rainbow and to establish my name it took about a year I think. I was quite nervous about things like being accepted by the fans and there was a lot of work to do for me. I don't be ashamed to tell you it wasn't easy to fight the images of the Dios and Bonnets. You have to develop your own image and that makes it difficult. But now I'm fine. The last album is the most successful we had so far." So you're doing not bad? "No. It goes better all the time so we must be doing the right thing!." Joe's accent gives away he's from America, I tried to find out when he joined Rainbow, it was the first time he was playing with English musicians. "No, not the first time, but it is with a celebrity like Ritchie. You know, when I was young he was my idol, he was 'a living legend'. I play myself also guitar and I stole his riffs and copied Purple tunes and that kinda things. I played before with English musicians but not with celebrities like Roger en Ritchie. They are real heroes." Wasn't you overpowered to play with them? 
"Yes, sure. Like I told you they are 'living legends' and in the beginning it was like walking in their shadow all the time. But I don't feel these shadows anymore because everyone has his own part to play. Ritchie is the guitarplayer, I'm the singer, etc. I'm not intimidated by a shadow from the dark, I feel more comfortable now. Ritchie is a good friend now, a lot of people try to take him down but I;m lucky to know him different."Joe, you're now 2½ years in the band. Do fans accept you now completely as Joe Lynn Turner? Joe: "I must say 'yes', I now have my own fans. Especially in the States there are people who never heard of Rainbow before, most of the time kids who didn't know the band and said 'Ritchie Who?', it's incredible but I think a 14-year old chick first looks at the frontman. I've got my own fans who are as good as Rainbow fans and I think Rainbow is a good team. We're individual all strong but we're an unity." Next victim: ROGER GLOVER Roger Glover doesn't play only bass in Rainbow but also is the producer of the band. Before he was together with Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple. I asked Roger if they're good friends because of the long professional relationship. 
"Yes, there is a degree of friendship in the band but I don't believe it's necessary in a professional band to become real friends. Previously always the best friends on school started a band, but it's not that way in this band. I definitely didn't go to school with one of them because when I went to school some in this band weren't even born. Take for example David, he's the youngest, only 21. But we get along with each other quite well, especially when you take in mind we're lumbered with each other at least 8 months a year."Roger worked together with Ritchie for a long time. So I asked him if Ritchie has changed a lot through these years. "Ritchie hasn't changed much since I know him. That will be about 12 or 13 years by now, but to me he hasn't hardly changed all those years." What I want to ask about producing a Rainbow album; you need to control the whole situation. You know what you want to hear if it's on vinyl, do you do what Ritchie and the others want or do you decide what it's going to be? Roger: "As a matter of fact I'm responsible for it, but we'll try to make together the decisions. I think, I can work fine with Ritchie and Rainbow because I know exactly what Ritchie wants. There are producers who don't know what he want exactly and they try to put their mark on the album. I always try -and not only with Rainbow- with producing in general, to bring out the character of the artist and not of myself. There are producers who's identity is all over the record and it looks like they are the artists, that's not my way, I always try to get on the record what Ritchie wants to hear." Besides the production of the albums you also play the bassguitar. How about that? "I never saw myself as a really good bassplayer, I also don't listen very often to other bassplayers. That also why you think I'm such a good bassplayer because I think I'm not that good at all. The reason I never start playing complicated is that I can't play that fast. Don't understand me wrong, I love the instrument but I don't have the ambition to be a virtuoso like Ritchie is on guitar. I get my kicks in a different way like writing songs and producing. I like playing the bassguitar but then again I don't think too much about what I should play." When you started to think about playing an instrument, did it was a bassguitar? 
"No. I first had pianolessons when I was 7 years old, for about a year, which didn't mean I can play the piano now. But I got familiar with chord structures. Years later, when I was 11 or 12 I bought a Spanish guitar that costed 2 Pounds. On school I started a band with a few friends, and while one was better with the chords and another with the melody there was nothing left for me than the bass. It wasn't my choice, anyway I'm happy now it turned out this way."What do you think of the trends in popmusic, are you influenced by them or do they mean nothing for you? "There always have been trends, you try to forget them because they come and soon go. When I was in Purple we didn't care about any trends, you just did what you liked yourself best, we didn't watched the sale results. Nobody cared about trends and what was in or like Ritchie once told me: 'you don't determine your course by a passing ship, you know what you want when you're an artist and you're not changing it all of a sudden when it's not successful'. That's why Ritchie is more an artist than I am, besides I left the business 6 years to work as a producer while he's still the same artist as 12 years ago. He's sailing a well-balanced course, bands like AC/DC are present now for 8 years and the trend when they were trying to make it was disco and later punk, they didn't changed and made it in the end. That's why I think you shouldn't be bothered by trends, but don't misunderstand me because I like some of the new music styles. XTC is my favorite." The reason could be because they have a great bassplayer perhaps? "I listen to the songs not the playing itself. You've got session musicians who can play brilliant, but don't have to tell anything with their instrument. I like to hear people who can say something and most of the time you find that in the songs they've written. Ritchie is a fabulous guitarplayer, technical and I'm often listening to him when he's playing in the studio, but the ideas for songs are more important than the playing itself.." The last victim: RITCHIE BLACKMORE Ritchie Blackmore, guitarplayer of Rainbow, did you ever expected when you left Deep Purple to get such a successful group? "It depends where you are in the world, in some places Rainbow is quite successful, but in other parts there's a bit of success and again in other places they never heard of it. The places we are very successful is, I think, Japan, England and also in Europe. But in the States we still have to break the ice, I think we're halfway. " Since Rainbow started there was success, you did many big concerts in England and on the continent. What makes it possible with so many bands around, it looks like the success get bigger and bigger? 
"We have what they call in the musicbusiness "the edge" and maybe it's my vanity but I always the pressure to prove myself, again and again. On some nights I don't play that well but then I'll be back the next night to overwhelm the people. There comes a time a band gets self-satisfied, it's very easy to get that way because after some time you've seen it all.You seen all the fans once before but there's this pressure that makes me continue, and I think it my vanity as well. We have been on places where for example one of the 10.000 says: 'Oh, that's horrible'. And then I'll prove that it's not too bad what we're doing. So that night I'll play only for that one person. There are always people who don't like what you're doing and I always try to pick those persons in the audience and prove myself time and time again." So you give it all for that one person, but the rest will love it also? "Yes, but I hate it when we go on stage and someone tells me "Oh, it will be great tonight'. I like the suspense and if someone says 'Oh, he's too old, he's past his top and play all the old stuff'. Then I'll go on stage and prove myself. I play that night only for that person and I'll bring him home." Playing solos live is one thing. But how do you create your solos in a dry and sterile studio? "Dry? Not quite, normally I'm very drunk. Sterile? Yes, that's often a problem. Normally I get excited by naked women and that gives me the inspiration (hahaha), no, not really... I'm a married man, cheers. In the studio you can play things over and over again, most of the time I do 20 or 30 takes for a solo but it always is the first solo which is the best. Often I play on and get more drunk I'm going downhill. When we're listening the next day to the solos I say 'hey, that's a good one'. And they tell me, yes that's the first one you did last night. In the studio you always try to give the best. And again it's the unreliability that's in me as a person and spreads itself in the solos. I never can sit down, laid-back and say 'well, I made enough money'. No, I want to prove myself every time again!! I think, that goes back to my youth. I know this sounds ridiculous but the memory of those people who crossed my path give me the feeling I have to prove myself continuously. When I was between 10 and 15 it look like I couldn't get on with my schoolfriends, I think that still comes forward in my solos and that's a part of my life. Another part in my life is that I can't cope with people I don't know. I don't get in touch with things most people my age, whatever that is. I look back often and I think, I need to keep playing as good as this, I can't relax one single moment." 
There are many up and coming guitarplayer. Are there any young guitarplayers that make you think 'hey, he's getting to close, I have to play better tomorrow so he don't come too close'?"Yes and no, the young up and coming guitarplayers only have one aim, too play very fast, a lot of cliches and impress the public. I've been past that. I try to slow down and say something with my guitar. I don't try to get from A to B as fast as possible, that's what a lot of these new guitarplayers do. But I did it the same way when I was young, I also was thinking if I'm the fastest, I'm the best. Ofcourse not! Now I try to involve both, feeling, speed, a total dimension. The adaptation of the subject in the lyrics and that kinda things to play a solo. So use the full instrument and not only play fast licks." The line-up of Rainbow had quite some changes through time. What's the most you look for with a new musician? "The first demand is that somebody don't ask too much money. If I find out they wanna have a lot of money I'll try to get rid off them as soon as possible. No, not really. The qualities I look for, to start with a keyboardplayer, he must be classical teached and should do recitals of Liszt; that's very complicated piano music to play. He also should be able to read music, should play also 3 chords songs, should be able to improvise and is able to include classical progression in rock. That's what I look for with a keyboardplayer and he (David) is perfect as far as I can tell. And the bassist: Roger got with the band because we needed a producer and the bassplayer we had at the time wasn't that good so we asked Roger to take over and he agreed. The drummer I'm lookin' for, I want to have good contact with him, like eh... come on let's make something of it and 'bash hell'. Bobby is an extreme good drummer, he has a lot to say and has a great sound. You can ask him for example: 'Hey Bobby can't you play it like this' and he does it. Many drummers are stiff and say: 'look, I play it like this and that's what you get'. With Bobby that's not the case, so I like him. Finally Joe, he lived for some time in a neighbourhood with black persons and grew up with soulmusic. Black persons seems to have a great feeling for soul but totally not for rock'n'roll. But Joe has got that and he has respect for the classical side of things so we did get on very well from the start. I found him in a club in New Jersey and he's got a lot to offer, he's creative, and good with lyrics. I'm very happy with him.... on this moment, but I can't tell how I feel about him tomorrow....(hahahaha)." Rainbow is not the only band that originate from the remains of Deep Purple. Is there a combat between these bands? "Ian Gillan is a very nice person, I see him as a good friend, we get on very well. Everytime we see each other I get on stage with him and he gives me the possibility to join in for an encore. With David and Whitesnake it's not like that, there's a certain friction. It's not my choice, but some reasons it's like that. You know, in this business I wish everyone good luck because there are so many bands who try to make it and you need a lot of luck to be successful. You never should compare yourself with someone else, just do your best but don't make a comparison! Often the temptation is like, eh, we did better business of our album is better than theirs but you should never do that!! One of most important things of Rock'n'Roll is don't compare yourself with other persons, there are always better and worst people around." People of 15 and 16 years old in the audience don't like only the Rainbow classic tracks but also get wild when they hear old Purple songs that go way back in the Purple history. Is that for them their 'roots' like you look back to bluespeople like the early Yardbirds? "No not at all, we play those tracks because we don't have any other songs (hahaha)." Where it come from, I mean they don't have any experience with Deep Purple? "Yes, we are surprised about that. You know those 15-16 years olds were only 2 or 3 years old when we recorded 'Smoke on the water' and till today I don't know the answer on that question. Maybe is just the principle of a good song is a good song, just because it is." THE SAINTS AN' SINNERS IN UTRECHT 
On a rainy and stormy 31st January Whitesnake did their final show of the European Tour in a sold out Muziekcentrum Vredenburg in Utrecht. In the afternoon we were lucky to speak a few words with ex-Rainbow drummer Cozy Powell (thanx to Janet for the good attention!). Cozy didn't think back to Rainbow anymore, "I'll only look to the future and no longer to the past." About Bobby Rondinelli he only want to tell it was his successor in Rainbow.the announced support-act, Ozzy Osbourne, was cancelled. Vandenberg was an alternative but their equipment was already on it's way to the States where they were going to do a long tour with.... yeah right, Ozzy Osbourne. So we ended up with Highway Chile, who didn't drive the disappointed audience wild. Whitesnake did though, the band of David Coverdale with old buddies Jon Lord and Micky Moody plus the new members Cozy Powell, Mel Galley and Colin Hodgkinson hit it all off with 'Walking in the shadow of the blues'. 
The atmosphere was good right from the start and the audience changed in one large rockin' mass, especially in front of the stage the got wild. The Snakes were still rocking good with 'Rough an' Ready' after which Coverdale asked the crowd to let him hear some voices in the next track 'Ready an' willing'. After David took a sip of his "pussy juice" we got the firm 'Don't break my heart again' before they slowed down a bit with 'Here I go again' introduced by Jon Lord on his keyboards after David Coverdale tried to introduce his new drummer in de band.The chanted 'Cozy, Cozy' made Coverdale promise "Cozy'll take the fucking roof off later." Before we got 'Lovehunter' the other two new Snakes were introduced. After the usual slide solo of Micky Moody, Colin 'Bomber' Hodgkinson took over and gave us a strong bassolo. Then Colin and Micky did a track together in which the former jazz-rockbassist did the vocals. It's clear Coverdale did a good move with getting Hodgkinson in the band. Via again Micky Moody we got into the reprise of 'Lovehunter' and a short part of 'Steal away." In 'Crying in the rain' the leading parts where for Coverdale and Galley. Mel Galley played a long, but good solo. It's obvious the Whitesnake set has the same construction as we're used with Rainbow, in the first part rockin' songs and in the second part we get a lot of individual excesses. 'Crying in the rain' was ended with the Purple-get-together of Jon and David 'Soldier of fortune'. Only Jon accompanied on his organ de vocals of David, after which it was 'The Brigadier', Jon Lord his turn to show what he can. Without really to impress the by now 41 years old keyboardplayer showed his still is here. After his solo, that was built around Purple's 'Space truckin' like it was a rehearsal for a coming Purple reunion it was time for the man behind the drumkit Cozy Powell. Mr Powell -tonight's favorite of the audience- is missing a guitar god like Beck, Blackmore or Schenker next to him and it looks he's be a bit out of place in Whitesnake. It looks like this rhythm-section is a bit too much for Moody, Galley & Lord. 
In the drumsolo we saw at least the old, familiar banging Cozy again. Accompanied by 'the 633 Squadron' and 'The 1812th Overture'-tapes plus a lot of fireworks Cozy showed his skills. After the solo that ended with high flames in front of his drumkit, the whole band entered the stage again for "an extremely bluessong." The audience could sing along as usual in this song, 'Ain't no love in the heart of the city' after which the striking set was ended with 'Fool for your loving'.The band thanked the audience and left the stage. After a short insist Mr Coverdale & Co came back. Jon Lord started to play and David Coverdale sang a short thank you song titled 'We want to thank you', and it all went on with a song that was about the subject where it was all about tonight 'Wine, women an' song' (geddit you ambiguities!). In this song the full band was again introduced before it all ended by thanking the crowd and the 'We wish you well' tape. HOT SHOTS * According to Micky Moody Ozzy Osbourne didn't played because they had to many stage equipment they couldn't use on this stage. There were also stories that Ozzy didn't get along that well with the Snakes and it got to a fight in Paris, the day before the gig in Utrecht. * Jon Lord told the band was two days after the concert in Utrecht leaving to Japan to do a 14 date tour overthere. * Ronnie James Dio is fired in Black Sabbath because he wanted to have a bigger part in the band. * That same Dio made some faults during the improvisation parts of the track 'Heaven and hell'. During a gig in de States he all off a sudden let slip the line "Long live rock'n'roll" out of his mouth. In Newcastle -during the last UK Tour with the Sabs- Ronnie sang all of a sudden 'I'm the man on the silver mountain'. Maybe memories to the good old days??? THE SHY ROCK'N'ROLL TORNADO An interview Ritchie Blackmore did for an American FM Radiostation - How did you got as a 'young boy' in touch with the guitar? "I'm still a 'young boy', you sound like I'm an old man (haha). I started when I was eleven and now I'm in my thirties, what happened in between is a very long story." - Tell me about smashing up guitars, they are beautiful instruments. "That goes back to the love/hate relation I have with everybody, including my girlfriend, wife or whoever. The guitar is so close to me that it sometimes get frustrating, if I don't destroy him he'll destroy me but that's another, psychological story." 
-Come on, tell me."Every musician knows exactly to tell how to handle such a beautiful instrument. But I know what I'm doing with the guitar, sometimes he has to go because he doesn't deserve any better. Then it's not talking to me like you do, like a woman I mean. The result is there, but you have to let them feel it." Press critics. What's your opinion on these? "I like them.... if they like me, if they don't like me they're completely wrong (hahaha). That's clear! You can't feel annoyed by the press, the band sees the papers the next day en thinks "oh look, they say I did this last night, and that...'. That's not the right way, the good critics are the fans. If they show up after a show and tell 'I'm a fan but I didn't like your show because this or that was not right.....'. Those are the people I listen to, because they know what they talk about. Their critics counts." - Did you always liked classical music? "No, I like it only since I was 23 or 24. Before I didn't wanna know anything about it, on school you had to learn it because it was the only right music, so I revolted against it. Later I found out how good it was. I like the electric violin and the organ very much. The organ has a lot of power and is close to rock'n'roll, the organ like it's played in a church is to me much heavier than whatever rock'n'rollband on earth. They play without a beat so people don't notice it." - In your early days you did a lot of sessionwork, for example with Jerry Lee Lewis. "Right, that was around 1963, with Jerry Lee Lewis, Gene Vincent and that kind of people. It was very frightening, I heard stories that Jerry was a touchy and progressive person was, if he thought you was not playing good he was hit you on the face. That's what they told. Then one night I played with him and he was coming my way, it scared the shit out of me but after the solo he shaked God bless my hand (haha)." - Do you still like Jerry? Yeah, really. People like Jerry, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, they deserve a lot more attention they got. Everyone looks at groups like the Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin and -not to slag them off- but nobody realises that their idols also were Chuck Berry and the others." - Is Jimi Hendrix one of your favorites? "Yes, Jimi could write good songs, in fact he was not a brilliant guitarplayer although he had a great vibration. he could go on stage and only watch the audience and everyone went wild. Other guitarplayers I like are Les Paul, Mary Ford, James Burton, Scotty Moore and in the present days Jan Akkerman, he was very good. there are many good guitarplayers around.... look at Robin Trower, he is good but only stand still on the stage and plays, nothing more, nothing less. Playing is not enough, you can do that when you're a good violinplayer. But if you're a guitarplayer.... I should feel very annoyed, you need some show and progression." 
- You don't write any lyrics?"I do write them, often at night when I'm listening to Bach. I keep them to myself though or send them to my girlfriend. For the band that's the singer's job, I don't want to interfere with that" - I'm surprised, you're popular, intelligent and don't write lyrics for the band? Is it perhaps because your shy? You know how to write, you know how to talk.... "Shy... perhaps it has something to do with that, but before I really get familiar with it I won't use them for the band. Maybe they'll come to light when I'm dead and buried.... and then become massive hits (roar with laughter)." - Ritchie Blackmore is a person of different contrasts, someone who smashes a guitar on stage one moment and listens to Bach the other moment. He refuses to use his lyrics in his songs, he's a shy, self-examining figure that once the spotlights goes on change in a rock'n'roll tornado. "In the first place I'm a guitarplayer and sometimes an entertainer, it depends how good the Scotch is working (roar with laughter). You need to be for 100% an animal and the kids will love it. I have a strong animal instinct inside me, that's why I sometimes do an encore and I smash a guitar but some nights I refuse to do that. I'm not that professional and thinks: this is business, if I smash up my guitar the kids will come back next time. I don't live in a zoo and I'm not an animal which attracts the people to come back for only see me destroying a guitar. You know, I'm a hypocrite. if I do something I don't like or one of the others makes a mistake I can tell you I get moody, you know, that moody Blackmore boy, and it helps. It's a good excuse, if I would jump out of the window tomorrow, the people will say: 'you see, he was moody... we knew this was going to happen'. In the mean time I can continue the murders...... SONG TEXT MAKIN' LOVE I was always on the wilder side Chasing love away Love was something for romantic fools Just a game how to play 
Chorus 1How can I deny my heart When my love is blind I got no choice I've gone too far I lose my mind When we're makin' love When we're makin' love When I look into your magic eyes The mirror of my love I like to see you Smiling back at me It makes me feel so good Need to keep you satisfied The only way I know And all the cares I cannot hide Will never show When we're makin' love Woh makin' love Chorus 2 Don't believe that I'm a liar But I can't get enough Never knew I could be higher Just by makin' love Chorus 1 Chorus 2 Oh oh oh yeah oh makin' love Oh makin' love Makin' love Coming to you Makin' love With nothing to do Makin' love Makin' love Makin' love Makin' love HOT SHOTS RITCHIE BLACKMORE THE GUITARPLAYER EXECUTIONER The motto is 'back in time' and we get back in time with an interview 'the man in black' did in 1976 before the concert in The Hague with Bert van de Kamp and was published in Muziekkrant Oor. With his back against the coat rack he sits down on a chair, five Fender Stratocasters within reach. He starts to do some practise on one of them, we are facing him. Two piercing eyes look at us: "You can start." - You've released two Rainbow-albums within the year. Was that done with the intention to establish the band prominent? 
"It is always the meaning to establish every new band prominent. No, it's not like that. We didn't were that good when we started, so we did two albums. There has been a change in the line-up, so we started twice and the second album came fast after the first one.The next album we will not record before February next year. We must do contractually only one album a year, which is a lot more enjoyable than my last band in which we had to do three each year. That's too much, too much pressure. I think the public got because of that always some good and some bad songs, while you only should give them good songs, that's what we did with this band is my onion." - Can you remember the last time you played Holland? "Mmmm, I can't remember when that was... the only thing I knew from this country, is a group called Focus, they have been always one of my favorite bands." - The last time was early '73 and it was a disastrous show. The group left the stage after 45 minutes, didn't return and the crowd stormed the stage and demolished the full equipment. "Oóóóh yes, Amsterdam, ah, that was terrible. It went wrong right from the start, there was not enough electricity and when we arrived at the hall a man refused us to let us in. We said: "We're the band!", de man said "No, you're not gettin' in, and that's that." We got angry and when we finally made it to the dressingrooms, there appear to be no heating, it was nearly freezing, there were no drinks, nothing, nobody wanted to be helpful for us or the roadmanagers with all kinda problems like the equipment, etc. The audience couldn't help it, they were stoned though, too much smokin', "Hey man, Kosmos." We took it out on the audience, which is not the right way, because it was not their fault. But when a band get on stage grudgingly like we did, shiver with cold, irritated, then you take it out." - Deep Purple never made up for it, they never returned to play Holland after that. "Is that so?" - Yes, maybe you can make up for it tonight. "No. I play my music as good as I can, but I'm not making up for who or whatever. If they like it, they like it, and vice versa." - Many Deep Purple-fans now follow this group. Are you aware of that? "No, not really. I never watch the public. I don't know who are coming to see the shows. As long as they enjoy themselves it's good, but who they are, I don't know. If it's Purple-public, fine. We look like Purple, at least the group of a few years back. That's the music I like to play best." - Recently a new Purple-album came out: 'Live in Europe'...... "Well, well! Is that a fact? How long it's out?" - Since last week. (Starts to chuckle) "That was a long time ago, awful record, don't buy it, hahaha!" - Indeed it's not very good. "It's a very poor album. It's no trash, but.... it's not tuned, off-key, the guitar is out of tune, the vocals are off-key." - What was the reason for all that? "Well, I really can't play off-key, I can play bad though. I didn't gave a shit then, because that moment I already had left the band." - Why did you left that group? "I was fed up, the music we made, the people in the group. We were all a bit tired of each other, we didn't had a fight, I didn't wanna let it come that far, you know that we started to hate each other, we just got fed up of each other. I said: I'll do the European tour and then I'm off, and they said 'allright' and asked me 'Do you have an objection to doing a live-album?', I said 'No'. they knew it was the possibility to release another Deep Purple album. And that was that." - The only song you took from you Purple-period is 'Mistreated', are you still playing it? 
"How do you know?" - From reviews in English papers. "That's not us, that's another band." - ???????? "No, that us. Just kiddin'." - That song is on the live-album of Deep Purple. "And most likely also on the live-album of Rainbow." - People will start to compare..... "Good" - Why don't you do more old songs? "They are Deep Purple-songs, 'Mistreated' is a bluessong and was in fact not suitable for Purple, although it came out well on record. Live it was doing fine as well, I always loved that song, that's why I still play it." - Are you listening to your own albums? "Rarely. Yesterday I heard accidentally the second Rainbow-album in the car. It was the only tape that was around. Sounded not bad, haha! I prefer to listen to old music and to a group like Focus." - Their former guitarplayer, Jan Akkerman, recorded an album with old music. He plays on that acoustic guitar, lute... "He's very good. De lute has ten strings, very difficult to play. I was surprised that someone from Holland could play that well." - Did you ever met him? "Yes, fully dressed in black leather, hahaha." - You both have a reputation of angry young men. "Yes? (smirk) I always have problems with the press. It's so unreal, you know, something you have to do but I don't like it at all." - The fans like to know what you have to say apart from listening to your music. That's why we here, to listen and writing it down for them. "That's the story they tell me, indeed. When I'm wondering: why should I do an interview, what's the point. Then they tell: the public wants to know what you've to say, but the point is: I'm the kind of person who changes his opinion from day to day. Sometimes I read what I told and think: what a nonsense, it's stupid. You need to be eloquent, experienced in talking with the press, think good before you speak. I do that hardly. I often tell things I don't mean, so that's why I try to do as little as possible interviews. But sometimes you have to, otherwise they forget all about you." - Is Rainbow a typical heavy metal-band? "Probably, but at the same time there's sometime else. Ronnie is for example many-sided, he sings on the single of 'Love is all', he used to be a trumpet player in an orchestra, that's why he knows a lot of staves, hahaha! I like to work with Ronnie, he hardly ever sings off-key, makes no mistakes, most singers I worked with sing like that and hope it all goes well, with Ronnie you're sure it'll go good. He's a small chap, but his voice isn't." - Ronnie told me you thought the music of Deep Purple became too funky. "Yes, 'Stormbringer'. 'Burn' was.... actually that was quite a good album, but then Glenn Hughes, who's a real good singer, but a real soulbrother and Stevie Wonder-fan, he wanted to go more in a funky direction and Dave Coverdale like that, and even Ian Paice started to play his drums in a different way. Before Ian was always a straight forward rock & roll drummer, just like Cozy, a few mistakes sometimes, but for the rest alright, you know, a wild man. But all of a sudden he started to try out those strange things, he started to play very formal. All very nice, tight and funky, but the emotion.... pfff, you know, no emotion. I wanted to use different keys, things from 15th century music, like... listen.... (Mr Blackmore plays some chords who remind us straight away to the group Status Quo). "But in those days it went like....... " (Different positions, different chords) "It can also like this, the music sounds very different then. These days you only got the usual, straight-lined chords, it gets monotone in the end. What are we actually talking about?" - 'Stormbringer" "Oh yes, 'Stormbringer' was a good album, but for me.... I knew it was the last one for me. I was thinking everything this leads to, has nothing to do with me. The band wanted to continue in the soul-direction and I told them: I've got enough of it. They said: no, because we'll stop as well. When I had left, they decided to try it again with a new guitarplayer Tommy Bolin). I think it was especially the wish of the managers, it was not Jon or Ian, but the managers who wanted to keep the name Deep Purple alive and make some more money. After that they stopped it after all." - I think it was very weak to let the new guitarplayer compose about the whole of the album they then did (Come taste the band). "Exactly hahaha. I won't say anything about it. You said it all." - My favorite track of 'Stormbringer' was 'Soldier of fortune', a very nice tune. 
"Dave and I wrote that. You are right, it's one of my favorites as well. There are quite some medieval chords in, by the way, you don't know how much sweat it costed to let the others play this song. Jon was pretty fast convinced, but Ian and Glenn didn't wanna know about it at first. I then said: I'll play your funky songs if you wanna play this. And he said as drowsy as possible: alright I'll do it. Glenn hated that song, he thought it was crap.Ian was fed up after two takes, there was not much in it to prove himself. That's why I left, it was too much everyone's solotrip. The song made it clarify a lot. I thought: you can go on with this shoepolish music, I'm gone. " - How is your relation these days with the other former Deep Purple-members "Fair, I met two of them recently, they came to see one of our shows." - No violent clashes? "No, but we should have if I had stayed. You know, it's nice to see all that money come in, but if you have done that already six years long, than you've got to be honest and say: I'll do something else, maybe it will be not that successful, but that's also not the meaning of it, I want to be myself. Then I heard Ronnie sing, a shiver ran down my spine and I knew that was the change to start something new, something I really wanted." This article was printed in Muziekkrant Oor of 3 November 1976, it's taken after permission from the editorial staff of Muziekkrant Oor. 
LIVE BETWEEN THE EYES The announced Live in San Antonio 1982 video in the last issue is released during February on the European market by Polygram. De 75 minutes with stereo sound lasting tape shows the band in fine form with Ritchie Blackmore in the leading part. It all starts with gray pictures from the streets of San Antonio that soon make place for the exciting footage on stage. The songs we see and hear are: Spotlight kid (with excellent solo of Ritchie), Miss Mistreated, Can't happen here, Tearin' out my heart (again a brilliant solo by the big B), All night long, Power, Difficult to cure (Turner on rhythmguitar), Bobby's magnificent drumsolo, Long live rock'n'roll, Ritchie's demolishing act, Maybe next time and finally Smoke on the water. BOOTLEG CORNER RAINBOW "ELECTRIFIED" (CM V47919) 
This is a concert aired by an American FM radiostation sponsored by 'Coca Cola'. On this record we then also hear six times the (annoying) commercial for this wellknown soft drink. The show was recorded on 7 May 1981 in the Orpheum Theatre in Boston, the quality is excellent stereo.The tracks we hear are: Spotlight kid, Love's no friend, I surrender, Can't happen here, Catch the rainbow, Man on the silver mountain, Don Airey's solo, Difficult to cure, Drumsolo, Long live rock'n'roll and Smoke on the water. Conclusion: 'Electrified' is a great double album with one nadir: the commercials we get at the start of the show, before we get the encore Smoke on the water and every time on the end of a recordside.  © Rainbow Fanclan 1979-1984
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