Rainbow European Tour 1982 Drammenshallen, Drammen, Norway - October 29, 1982 Rainbow with Hard Rock in "Hallen" Hard rock fans must finally satisfy their hunger for power rock, because on Friday 29 October, the English group Rainbow will perform in Drammenshallen. It is guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from the 70's great English hard-rock group Deep Purple, who is the big name in Rainbow, and with him from Deep Purple he has the bassist Roger Glover, vocalist in Rainbow is Joe Lynn Turner. We find David Rosenthal taking care of keyboards and behind the drums Bobby Rondinelli. Rondinelli is new this year in Rainbow, and the only one in the group who did not appear on the LP Straight Between The Eyes — this year's release from Rainbow. As mentioned, Rainbow is the guitar rock of Ritchie Blackmore's group, and he formed it in 1975 after leaving Deep Purple. The first LP was titled - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow (1975) and we can safely say that Ritchie experienced what the legend says - at the end of the rainbow you will find gold. However, Ritchie found his gold at the beginning of Rainbow. There have been a number of mutations in the Rainbow line-up over the years, and we would like to single out vocalist Ronnie James Dio, who appeared on four of Rainbow's LPs. He left the group and made a solo LP. Cozy Powell should not be forgotten either - this demon drummer - who has also released records under his own name. The same applies to Graham Bonnet, who only had a short period in Rainbow as singer and guitarist (!!). With today's line-up, we find a slightly more melodic Rainbow than on the first recordings, but still a powerful one - not least on stage. Rainbow has visited Norway once before and they played to a packed house in Chateay Neuf in Oslo. It happened in September 1977, and Rainbow then also visited Trondheim. None of them Ritchie Blackmore then brought with him members of today's Rainbow. In addition, Blackmore has been in Norway as a member of Deep Purple on several occasions. Preview article in Drammens Tidende Newspaper - October 1982 Drammenshallen, Drammen, Norway - October 29, 1982 Boring and Monotonous Rock The heavy rock group Rainbow probably set a new track record as far as sound and noise are concerned in Drammenshallen. Hard, heavy rock in a crazy jumble of sounds made the concert a suffering for many of the audience. The girl band Girlschool was an equally disappointing experience. One-sided and very monotonous rock without solo elements and very simple music throughout. There was far more drive over the music when Rainbow came on stage after much waiting. Many had probably turned up to see former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore in action. But even for the most die-hard heavy rock fan, the music can be overwhelming high. Many had clearly had enough sound for a while. The number of people was constantly decreasing. Either those responsible for the sound must be stone deaf, or the inhumanly high sound level must be a way to hide musical weaknesses. If you play loud enough and hard enough, no one hears one mistake or ten? © Ingar Holm, BB Newspaper Norway - October 1982 Jäähalli Ice Hall, Oulu, Finland - November 2, 1982 Rainbow doesn't dig cameras Rainbow is on the top of their popularity and "the hottest name in the heavy metal world" and as such, can ask high ticket prices and also lavish arrangements for their gig. The band sent a list of their demands for the arrangements, including that they wanted to be picked up from the airport by four limousines. Well, this particular problem will be solved with two long taxi cars but they have to remove the taxi signs first. No cameras allowed: the concert goers will be subject to tight security check, no recording equipment or cameras of any kind are allowed and if somebody tries to bring one, it will be confiscated immediately. "It's a demand from the band." Cheap Trick was supposed to be the support act but their latest album hit the top of the US charts and they did a "Halpa Temppu" (literal translation of Cheap Trick); a cheap trick for Oulu and stayed in America. Girlschool, a female heavy metal band, will replace them. Local band called Luther was supposed to perform too but because they are not allowed to use Rainbow's sound equipment although they were first promised so. 4500 tickets are already sold for the Rainbow concert, a few hundred are left. Doors open 6 pm, music starts an hour later and ends around midnight. © preview article in Oulu-lehti newspaper - October 20, 1982 Thanks to Katja Pietilä of the Oulu City Main Library Jäähalli Ice Hall, Oulu, Finland - November 2, 1982 Heavy metal beats to the rhythm of the heart The doors were scheduled to open 6 pm, and indeed that's when they opened: one door! There was 5000 heavy metal fans competing for the first entry and "you can guess what happens then: full chaos". There was pushing and showing and sweat and the door frame held but everybody's nerves did not. "But as soon as you were in the hall after the security check, you didn't remember the chaos at all anymore". Girlschool was equal to four thread-like London squirrels. They has little power at all. It is clear that Girlschool did not much reaction of the audience. The songs of the band did not separate. All songs and band performances were one and the same from beginning to end. When Girlschool is off the stage it gets more interesting and we get the main course. First of all, the loudspeakers play the classic Over the Rainbow. Then comes the pompous Elgar's "Pomp and Circumstance". Lots of "smoke and explosions" and finally Rainbow. Ritchie Blackmore on guitar, Roger Glover on bass. Joe Lynn Turner, drummer Bobby Rondinelli as well as the newest member of the band, David Rosenthal, on keyboards. For one and a half hours of heavy metal from the top of the world. Gig starts with "Spotlight Kid". From the band's most recent album, "Straight Between The Eyes", we see a pair of eyes from glass appearing behind the band. Eyes of light are coming out, the eyes swept through the view of the killer. Third song is the expected "I Surrender" and the crowd gets wild, dancing and singing. Well, the ones on the open floor do, the people in the seats sit their butts glued to the seat. "Absolutely no standing if you have ticket to the seat stalls!" had been announced before the concert. "Can't Happen Here", "Stone Cold", "Power", the hits follow each other. And the decibels rumble. Heavy, however, is not just a matter of only decibels. Heavy can also be sensitive and touching beautiful. "Tearing Out My Heart" silences the audience. Ritchie Blackmore, the Rainbow Leader, shows his skills with guitar. He handles his guitar so that it feels like all its six strings were crying and complaining. The drummer is only real "show man", plays without drumsticks, Joe Lynn Turner is getting the crowd to sing and clap along with him. After the drum solo the band leaves the stage and crowd demands an encore. First no one comes back, just the instrumental song "Veilleicht das Nächste Zeit" comes out of the speakers. The guitar solo comes from the wind. Only the most attentive listeners will notice that the guitar that resonates with echo differs from the tape. Lights are out. And the heavy audience is nervous. When the blue-green light beam sweeps over the stage. The crowd now notice that Blackmore has not left the stage. The man is still on the other side of the stage and plays the end of song together with the tape. The band is punched back and plays the encore Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water". After that Rainbow accepts the applause and leaves the stage. The crowd requires the band once more on stage. But will the band return once more? Fifteen minutes later and crowd is unsure if the concert was finished or not. Some people try to clap for more, others are already leaving. Oh you hillbillies... I'm sure another encore would've been possible yet. An final encore would certainly have been successful. © Katja Hedberg - Oulu-lehti November 8th, 1982 / Photo: Jorma Mylly Thanks to Katja Pietilä of the Oulu City Main Library Jäähalli Ice Hall, Oulu, Finland - November 2, 1982 Rainbow in Finland: When we control the audience completely; We blow it up Oulu was completely confused. There are no sane people there anymore. The parks near Helsinki Ice Hall are sighing I Surrender. Rainbow came along and blew us away. You can't hear when you lose consciousness! Cigarette lighters light up in the dark hall. It's completely silent, only Joe Lynn Turner's delicate voice can be heard on the stage. In the next moment, there is a smoke bomb and Ritchie Blackmore's guitar throws sparks. The ear-piercing sound fills the mammoth hall. This is Rainbow's concert somewhere in the USA, in a big European city, in Helsinki or Oulu, heavy metal superculture, the work of professionals. Rainbow came to Finland at the beginning of November. Ritchie Blackmore was fed up with press questions and flew from Helsinki directly to Oulu, the other members of the band went to greet Finnish rock journalists. Rainbow has made seven albums, of which the second most recent "Difficult to Cure" has reached the gold limit here as well. "Straight Between The Eyes" is also on its way to a Golden Disc reading. The boys received the gold record in Helsinki with satisfaction. It is just as important for us to be successful in the small countries of Europe as it is in the USA, bassist Roger Glover assures. The band came to Finland from Japan and from there the journey continued to Copenhagen — In Japan, we drove the audience crazy, the band explains. It was a riot the whole way. WE WANT TO RULE We want to control the audience completely, the band's drummer Bob Rondenelli explains. We want to make it really quiet during emotional songs and make every single listener explode with real heavy music. Bob is a small, stocky man with a huge mane of curls in his ass. Hån has played in Rainbow for two and a half years. Before that he played in local bands in New York. Rainbow is not a difficult, aggressive heavy poppoo. They are cheerful and direct and easy to talk to. When they travel, they photograph each other and the problem is piles of photos in which they make faces with some foreign journalist. We are usually on tour 3-4 months a year. The strangest thing is that the third month is going well, we are enthusiastic and interested in new countries and audiences, but a couple of weeks before the end of the tour we get terribly homesick, Bob reflects. Then I would like to give it all up and go home to New York. BEFORE THERE WERE ROLE MODELS Rainbow thinks today's heavy is no longer the same as sometimes in the late 60s and early 70s. Of course there are good bands, says Roger, but the role models are no longer what they used to be. We became good because in our youth we had Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix and Deep Purple. Contemporary young entrepreneurs have few super brands — except us, of course, rebrands — except us, of course, he laughs. Roger Glover is Rainbow's chairman. He is also a charismatic performer who moves gracefully with his bass. At the moment, he is working on his own solo album, which will include all kinds of music, not just heavy. Rainbow doesn't just play heavy either, Bob points out. Listen to our quiet songs and their soft feel. Our music has dimension and melody. It is true. What other heavy metal band dares to include Beethoven's Ninth Symphony in their repertoire or start their concert patriotically by playing the US national anthem? This is what Rainbow did in Helsinki. The audience fell silent and the banners lit up — the party began! the stage began! Ritchie Blackmore scoured the entire USA looking for a new keyboard player for his band. When he met David Rosenthal, who played classical music on his organ, he made up his mind immediately. Here would be a man with whom Rainbow will go far! David is small, slim and shy. When traveling, he sends postcards to his friends and gets to know new places. On stage he is awesome, a real keyboard magician. THE LORD BLACKMORE Many have a proud image of Ritchie Blackmore. The man does not participate in press conferences. He determines when and what the photographers are allowed to shoot and he decides on the band's crew and image. On stage, Ritchie wears black. Majestic, independent of others, he enjoys the chords of his guitar. He then serves up an awesome solo that will have the audience holding their breath. This is art! Rainbow has two huge eyes that illuminate the audience from behind the stage. Sometimes they are blindingly bright green, other times they shine with a shimmering red. Smoke On The Water, an immortal Deep Purple classic — smoke drifts across the stage and the song sounds just as good as it did in Deep Purple's glory days. Then fierce songs, new and older. Bob does a blistering drum solo. He hammers the drums sick, throws chopsticks into the audience and continues the animal forging with his fists. There's humor in this, this is like the holy rage of Animal from the Muppet Show .. . This is too much. At this my head cracks, the 60-year-old music teacher sitting next to me mutters and leaves the hall. Oh oh oh... The Oulu audience loses its sense of reality and throws a roll of toilet paper onto the stage. The paper descends in a beautiful serpentine, and Roudari picks it up giggling. I SURRENDER We surrender. We are not often offered something like this. Rainbow's music works like a blender inserted into the brain. Just as consciousness rushes out of the eardrums, we get the beautiful I Surrender. Then Stone Cold... violent production. After the concert, Judy Garland's "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" is heard quietly from the amplifiers. What if the hearing doesn't return in a couple of days, and then what if you feel completely confused? This was worth it! © Heidi Kärkkäinen - Music Magazine, Finland 1982 Jäähalli Ice Hall, Oulu, Finland - November 2, 1982 Completed in 1975, the Oulu ice rink adapted to the stage of large rock concerts. The hall was the only indoor space in the city that accommodated thousands of audiences. In the early 1980s, a spectacular set of hard international rock names appeared in the hall. In August 1982, the British hard rock band Rainbow was rumored. The second band was designed by American Cheap Trick, but was awarded to the English Girlschool. The organization of the exceptionally big event was handled by the Kuusrock Committee. Rainbow performed at the Oulu Ice Hall on November 2, 1982. The concert was a total success. The guitarist-boss Blackmore and his associates froze 5000 listeners in the ice rink. Recent hits such as "I Surrender" and "Stone cold" sound strongly, and in the encore the band performed Deep Purple's "Smoke on the Water". © Rockin' Oulu / Photo: Markku Hänninen Jäähalli Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland - November 3, 1982 Take me to the Rainbow Pop bands used to play extremely loud, but nowadays they play extremely quietly. There are many reasons for this, first of all, the amplifiers' reproduction curves change as the load increases, in other words: the powers have to be reduced, quiet (read: clean) music sounds 'better'. Secondly, the feedback technique often used by guitarists requires a certain volume in order for the circular effect to occur, i.e., for fear of this, the power is reduced i.e. "when playing, the power is reduced in such a way" that the aforementioned disturbing phenomenon does not occur in the slightest and the 'safety' of the music and the listener is guaranteed. But the most important reason is perhaps that you will not be able to physically experience strongly rhythmic music again. However, it must always be remembered that long-term listening to music that is too quiet can be very dangerous. It can cause permanent damage, both physically and emotionally. Listening with headphones* has been found to be healthier, because the sound can then be experienced as stronger, more real. In concert halls or in public places, it's good to get close enough to the speakers and turn your head in such a direction that the sound reaches your ear directly. Rock doesn't need seats, but dressing rooms even more so What the hell kind of rest home is this? That's the heavy-diggar's first thought when he arrives at the Helsinki Ice Hall for the Girlschool/Rainbow concert. Once again, the audience is just a necessary evil, guarded like some flock of sheep. What does it matter about children, when the money has already been received once. No, I'm not laughing at all. Rock, and especially heavy music, is such music/noise that you can't experience it when you're fully matured, not in any way. But the child has only two choices: sit or fly out. No, brutal violence has never made me laugh. No way. If I pay about a hundred bucks to experience real heavy as it is in nature, I also demand certain rights, but what do you do when the Strong Arm of the Law is always intruding. 'No, no, the audience was even better here than in Oulu, I've never understood what the orderly man is for either,' says Denise Dufort, calmly shoveling beans into her mouth. We are in the rest room reserved for the Girlschool in the after-concert atmosphere and we watch them eat without even feeling a pang of hunger. After grinding, only the liquid is milky, and I guess you can take that from Lapland Kulla, right? Bassist Gil Weston dabs on his make-up by the mirror, Kelly and Kim drink beer on the loose and the rock star mood is far from this band. 'Yes, we always go to concerts to check out new and old bands, whenever we have free time. In fact, I listen to all kinds of good music, but let's admit that someone like Led Zeppelin has really had a big impact on our band's activities'. The voice is now laid-back guitarist/singer Kim McAuliffe, giving off a very busy English impression, who still has a warm smile even after a long journey. The situation was such that Girlschool traveled in its own car and on ships, separately from Rainbow, who, in the style of the big world, always traveled by air. Which way of traveling is more rock, customs, it's a matter of taste, but sometimes listen to some of the songs of the Grateful Dead, "Truckin' and the like". 'In San Antonio? Yeah, there are a lot of heavy fans in Texas these days, guess if the gang was wild when we played their own blind song, ZZ Top's 'Tush', but yes, it's just as nice to play in Finland as anywhere else. In my opinion, the gang gets a good vibe here, there's no doubt about that', explains the guitarist wearing blue wool socks over dark tights. 'Next year we will record our fourth album, which will be preceded by a single,' laughs this dark-spoken girl and marvels at the statement about how Girlschool would be cheaper on small records than on albums. performed, we've already had several of them...Headgirl's 'Please Don, Touch' and 'Let's Go' and 'Take it All Away'... 'Hunter?, we always play it, yes it's a great song for me too'. Yes, but how come you have such small hands Denise? 'Do I have that teapot at home...boyfriend? Was, but isn't anymore, yes we're from London, except Gil, she's from Birrningham, autograph ... sure, can you post Rondinelli's picture here? Nice program brochure, where did you get it? Yes, I also think Rainbow is one of the best rock bands, great show, they have been very kind to us. Yeah, too bad. we'll soon have to continue our journey...' Denise smiles that usual, innocent smile, and Kelly is not at all what we usually think, but a nicer person and an iron guitarist, after all... 'Cheers and get on your feet'', shout the girls of Girlschool to the half-asleep crowd of the ice rink and try to put a bigger gear on it every now and then with success. But quietly it came, and the drums were one clatter. However, six of the ten requested songs became six, 'Screaming Blue Murder', 'Hunter', 'Future Flash', 'Race with the Devil' and 'Emergency', a pretty nice percentage, say. The rest of the meager repertoire included such songs as 'You Got Me', 'Hit and Run', 'Take It All Away' plus 'When Your Blood Runs Cold', but not even one encore is heard. Oh shit, is this kind of thing from anywhere? Well, Kelly Johnson (note the spelling, daily press) threw several hard canes at that model. that at least one spectator besides this was very much in awe. Of course, it's a matter of taste who is the harder guitarist, Kelly or Runaways' Lita Ford, but both in the same band...oohhh...it's already too much for the more used to it, isn't it? Does the Rainbow have two heads? Rainbow. The legendary Rainbow. Five players, two of whom are Brits with a long rock career. We currently follow three from America. David Rosenthal, who has passed the age of twenty, is the band's newest member. He was chosen by Ritchie from among dozens of keyboard candidates, or rather after these. Fortunately, you chose, because Rosenthal seems to fit well with the curves of Rainbow's classic heavy music. 'No, I haven't played in any major band before, I've studied at the Berkeley School of Music for a few years. I've been playing Bach, Liszt and others until I'm bored, and it was high time to move on to try the whirlwinds of rock music, and here I am. A slightly older musician than his colleague, drummer Bobby Rondinelli was already on Rainbow's last year's visit to Finland, and the man just as steadfastly forged his parade-like drum solo this time as well. 'Supportive? You have to strive for durability, without suffering from the technique, a name for my drum solo? Wait... let's call it 'Thunderboy', isn't that a very descriptive name for my song?' The most beautiful boy of Rainbow is undoubtedly the lead singer Joe Lynn Turner. In civilian life, he looks exactly the same as most of his fans. A brightly colored top coat, fashionable long boots, hair done and all. Also a good singer, who, despite the cheap vocal resources, always has enough unquenchable effort. 'I'm from New Jersey. from a little place called Hackensack, but for the last ten years I've lived in New York. In fact, it's only a quarter of a mile from my apartment to Madison Square Garden. A reasonably short trip to the gig. The band I sang in before Rainbow, yes you remembered well, Fandango, made four albums. It was a band piloted by Nick Simper (originally Deep Purple bassist) and pretty rhythm 'n blues -basically- compared to Rainbow, for example. Rainbow leans more in the classical direction... now Rainbow is also reaching the status in America, which the band undoubtedly belongs to, there heavy is quite a foreign thing to the average rock-digger, the opposite of what you seem to have here in Finland. So what, in Finland? Yeah, I guess so. Well, that Rainbow went to the ice rink again, but it was a little too thick. Still great, but a little too... Heavy, that's what we want! If Rainbow is claimed to be at its best now, it is Vale, or in other words, that clear marketing in its essence. Even the dead wooden horses of Sonkajärvi know for sure that the mighty Rainbow rested on the magical shoulders of the trio Blackmore/Dio/Powell and 'Rising' is clearly the heavy hockey that will not be surpassed. But compared to nothing else, it's a completely functional thing, of course with some strange reservations. First of all, Rainbow's visuals in concert are somewhat conventional. Yes, that rainbow would still have to be there in one form or another, and those eyes were not tasteful, but very scary. They had to be exorcised for the duration of the event. And where carbon dioxide, better known as 'smoke', Oh yeah, Turner said it was too dangerous because of its slipperiness. Shouldn't heavy be dangerous? And then: There would be better songs in the material warehouse, and those hits don't need to be cut into one-stanza-long lures. And you can play it even louder than heavy, so that it rumbles. But well, well, there's nothing to analyze, just let it go! Oooooo...now it starts, yeeee....open the blinds and sweat!!! Hi-Hoo!, it's 'Spotlight Kid' again, 'I Surrender', decent pop, 'Can't Happen Here' and more at overdrive. Yes, that's a good band! I realize that I am me! Make the most of what you get! 'I Wanna Love You All Night Long, great... Long instrumental contests smooth out the dullness, Rosenthal glimpses a clip of 'Child in Time' at the beginning of his classic themes and of course I think it's not hemrnetti, either... the man in black takes me to eastern countries for a moment and will soon be firing from the full wing again. And then. The Blues. Well, no real blues, just a competition between guitar and the Moog. 'Power' and 'Miss Mistreated' feel many times more effective in live conditions than on the record. If they don't have power (someone more civilized would say, according to the old English method, it's taken from somewhere. Among other things, Rainbow also has two (background) female singers, but Lin Robinson and Dee Beale are not seen much on stage, at least not as clearly as at the press conference. Rondinelli's solo is in a way very long-winded, but as part of a large play it works perfectly. After forging his time even with his bare hands, the man turns to finally bang the big gong and the bombs explode. And we heard Beethoven's fifth again in the form of the subject 'Difficult to Cure' and clips from the hits 'Smoke on the Water', 'Since You Been Gone' and 'Long Live Rock 'n Roll' and finally Ritchie's beautiful guitar. But where was 'Bring on the Night 'Freedom Fighter', 'Eyes of the World', 'Death Alley Driver', all 'Rising' and others. Well, 'Vielleicht Das Nachster Zeit' then. As a whole (as a whole, as a whole, of course) it would be worth considering whether the beginning of the 70s has now returned after all, when the hair fashion seems to have shifted to the longer side again and the mood is sweet anyway. The children were happy again after seeing and hearing Rainbow, but I'd rather EXPERIENCE rock. But those eyes scare Oliva, you can't get over it or around it. A rainbow would have been nicer, but since when has a rock concert ever been nice? Never (says the person from Iisalme), but sweat all the more. Rock'n'Roll? Long Live? Well, let it live. AND KICK! © Jouni, Back Beat #8, 1982 Photos: Markku Pulkkinen Jäähalli Ice Hall, Oulu - November 2, 1982 Jäähalli Ice Hall, Helsinki, Finland - November 3, 1982 Rainbow visit: Heavy's top party! • • • Without sparing smoke and without compromising on quality, the British band Rainbow rapped melodic heavy into the hearts of the heavy people of Finland at the beginning of this month. • • • Rainbow was seen by more than 10,000 diggers and the satisfaction was obvious: the guys were fantasizing about the artful and iron dose of tasty metal, which was not lacking in juju. • • • We will come back to Finland as fast as possible, virtuoso Ritchie Blackmoore shouted from the stage. Rainbow visited Finland in Oulu and Helsinki and the band's main star guitarist Ritchie Blackmoore flew directly to Oulu, avoiding the curious journalists' cameras. In Oulu, the gang traveled up to a thousand kilometers to see Rainbow. The start of Rainbow's concerts, who had fallen on Utsjoki, was found in Oulu, and what was there: a real flaming and shrill heavy treasure, golden metal coins in a smoke-filled chest, the key of which was given to anyone who had enough money for a rather expensive concert ticket. Rainbow is undoubtedly the most popular heavy band in Finland. Left behind are rare-tooth Lemmy's Motörhead, AC/DC born to rock and Iron Maiden of monsters and a good stage show, while Rainbow depends on I Surrender...Both Oulu and Helsinki concerts were sold out. DRUMMER JOE LIKE AN ANIMAL, RITCHIE WITH HIS GUITAR However, the Oulu labor association had a hard time with the concert office in Helsinki when the 350,000 mark box office revenue was not enough to cover the expenses. Many people were surprised when the price of the band was estimated at FIM 200,000. If it was elementary school math... Skilled heavy hitters The concerts were started by Girlschool, a rock band of five attractive girls. There was enthusiasm, looks too, but the skills were still low. The way the guitarist had managed to pull her faux leather pants with a belt loop over her pretty legs was what really got my mind off the ground. Fortunately, there weren't too many songs. However, my Girlschool club was born in Finland, it's wonderful when a girl plays the bass and another girl beats the drums. Or at least different. Rainbow has not burdened itself with leather ropes and rivets familiar from many heavy bands, but rocks its own line in a personal way. It seems to work. Rainbow is happy and immediate friends who do their thing on stage for all the money. Breathtaking solos were heard in Helsinki, the most heart-warming of them was drummer Joe Lynn Turner's (!!! ed.) animalistic ten-minute circus, which made heads spin, hairy hands clap and the question arose: how is that possible. The man was juicing behind his kit after still throwing the sticks to the public, there was a miracle in that. Rainbow's current lineup is Ritchie Blackmoore, guitar, Joe Lynn Turner, drums, Roger Glover, bass, David Rosenthal, keyboards and Bob Bondarell, vocals (yes, that is what is written in this review! ed.). With that occupation, dudes leave their mark which makes people line up in record stores. In connection with their trip to Finland, Rainbow received a gold disc (more than 25,000 copies) for their album Difficult to Cure. A great tour Rainbow's round-the-world trip this year started in May and ends in December. Finland is a small piece, but an important one. We take all the small countries seriously, although of course the United States hesitates as the main target, Glover said. Rainbow didn't look tired at all, even though the gig was hard. The whole group took to the special atmosphere of Helsinki like a fish in water, and the drummer created a huge folk festival feeling with a few hand movements and a couple of prompts. And the sticks were thrown, I hope no one caught them in their eyes. Roger Glover is specializing as a producer over time. In his opinion, it is serious work and fascinating work. For another month, the Rainbow show's bright eyes will rise and fall to the admiration of the gang around the world. Rainbow shines in all the colors of heavy! © Raimo Kankkunen, OK! Magazine 1982 Photos: Martti Halme Johanneshov Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden - November 6, 1982 Johanneshov Isstadion, Stockholm, Sweden - November 6, 1982 Autumn's Rainbow gig was held at a sold-out(!) Johanneshov. The group that was here in 1982 was also quite different from the previous groups Ritchie had with him. Also new this year was that they had Girlschool with them as a support-act. The girls started the gig by taking both the stage and the audience by storm. The performance became a mix from the group's vinyls with many songs from "Hit and Run". The mostly male audience went berserk right from the start, as they should when the performers are leather-clad girls. The girls are perhaps not very technically skilled, and a lot of misses crept in, but there was nothing wrong with the joy of playing and the energy. The old hit number Emergency had to end their approx 40 minutes long set. As soon as they got off the stage, roughly 10,000 people started shouting for RAINBOW. At the front of the picket fence there was panic and chaos. Too many pushed in from behind and the fence gave way and buckled inward. Even Denver's Chopper Gang (the group actually has a real Hells Angels gang as guards) couldn't get the crowd to back off. The police sent for reinforcements from the riot department. A couple of unconscious or almost unconscious had to be helped over the fence and carried away, one even needed ambulance. Finally Denvers Choppers and the police got the fence in order and nailed(!) it to the floor. After that finally came RAINBOW. The opening number was, somewhat unexpectedly, Spotlight kid, it should have been Death Alley Driver, but it was explained later. The songs were mostly the newer material, and unfortunately too many of the old classics were missing. At least we got a little medley of Man on the silver Mountain and Child in Time. The sound was quite pathetic to begin with, but it got better, (it never gets good at the Ice Stadium). The light, on the other hand, was better, really atmospheric actually. Instead of a normal backdrop, there were two moving "Straight between the eyes" in giant format, which slid up and down and shone on the audience with their spotlight pupils. And Mr. Blackmore himself was in top form, not so much with the concert itself as with the showmanship perhaps. But he still showed that old axe masters are still the oldest in the hard rock industry. It was pure pleasure to watch him, he went through a whole gymnastic routine, including somersaults backwards and taking the splits position. (Very unusual for Ritchie). And of course we got to hear several guitar solos. There was also a lot of improvisation, both the solo version and the note-following game that Ritchie used to play with Ian Gillan and John Lord in the good old days. Those attempts were not quite so successful. New artist David Rosenthal is probably still a bit too young for overly advanced improvisations. His well-rehearsed solo, on the other hand, he handled excellently, it was heavy and powerful and brought to mind greats like Ken Hensley and John Lord. A little inexperienced yet, as I said, but he has time ahead of him. Joe Lynn Turner also handled himself well, better than the somewhat tame impression he makes on record. He was powerful and dynamic, and aggressive without seeming silly. An excellent lead singer, in short, with the emphasis on lead. An obligatory drum solo brought us Bobby Rondinelli, that man has quite a few quirks of his own. Half the drum solo he fired with his bare hands after sending the sticks via the cymbals into the audience with snappy wrist movements. The first encore was the old Smoke on the Water, to which the crowd really went wild and a 25-year-old, thin-haired old Deep Purple fan completely lost control and stormed the stage alone. Encore number 2 became a lot of improvisation a little Long live Rock and Roll, and the highlight: Ritchie's guitar massacre. When only the guitar body itself was still complete, Ritchie threw the remains at the PA and the group left the stage for the last time. Too many groups play encores something mandatory, but Joe please, that RAINBOW only do their thing when the audience shouts enthusiastically enough, take care, you who were there and shouted. © The Hammer issue no 1 - Sweden 1983 Live in Germany - November 1982 This is how Ritchie dazzle his fans The big hands of the clock points at 21.30. The light goes out in the hall. Total eclipse. From the oversized boxes on the left and right of the stage rumbles the bombastic theme song of the movie "land of Hope and Glory", with Judy Garland's famous phrase "we must be over the Rainbow, Rainbow". In this enhanced echo "Rainbow, Rainbow" suddenly explode bombs magnesium and Ritchie Blackmore's first riffs of "Spotlight Kid" at launching 90 minutes of "hard rock at it's best." Gigantic voluminous light show, where under the Keyboarder David Rosenthal, bassist Roger Glover (with Basthut), singer Joe Lynn Turner, Bobby Rondinelli curls behind his drum castle and superstar Ritchie Blackmore (as always in black) start to rock. As the song explodes into it's chorus, suddenly from the back of the stage appear two giant eyeballs and indirectly lit up, over the heads of the musicians to come to a standstill. Then suddenly from the two pupils dazzling light break and cut through the central hall as blinding flashes. The fans are blinded by it moving through the crowd looking for "spotlight eyes". The effect is really new and amazing. But that quickly gives way to breathless amazement and a thunderous applause. Abruptly the song ends, and the eyes disappear as quickly as they came. Without interruption, it changes into "Miss Mistreated". Joe Lynn Turner, cries the soul out of his body, Roger Glover rocks in perfect harmony with the powerful forward flailing Bobbi Rondinelli. For the first time now Ritchie leaves his backline (twice by three stacked boxes Marshall) and plays his very own Blackmore style - a blend of melodic harmonies and rhythmic riffs - on the famous white Fender Stratocaster before the drum stage. "I Surrender" begins with bluesy guitar sounds. Only then there is a short hello. "Can't Happen Here" explodes with magnesium flash just before Ritchie's solo. The ballad-like "Tearing Out My Heart" pushes the stage in red light. Impressively Joe Lynn Turner sings this story of an unhappy love. The usually cool-looking "guitar wizard" Ritchie Blackmore shows himself for the first time from another angel. He rushes to the edge of the stage, throwing himself down and plays while lying on stage. Something rarely seen by the ex-Deep Purple Maestro! Then like the "Speed of Light" a limited version of the Purple-Oldie "lazy", and the band rises fully into "All Night Long". Here once again: Joe Lynn Turner, the New York girlish figure with the narrow and the gentle strokes, has a really incredible powerful set of pipes. The soft organ tones of the classic "Child in Time" ends in the Rainbow hit "Stone Cold". At the start of "Power" keyboardist David Rosenthal brings a solo that has much of the spacy synthesizer sounds of Spielberg's, "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" and he shows in the middle of the song some counterplay with Blackmore, what he has in the fingers. The classic epic "Beethoven's 9th" in a 20-minute super-long version on "Difficult to Cure" is the culmination of Rainbows "Straight between the Eyes" show. After Rogers bass solo and David's keyboard extravaganza Ritchie is the center of the action. He grabs a beer bottle, opens it, runs along the edge of the stage, the fans get the content over their heads spilt and with the empty bottle "bottleneck", he rubs the bottle slowly at the strings along. Hendrix the oldie "Hey Joe" finally makes the intro to "Long Live Rock'n'Roll" - the mysterious eyes come back one more time - and the show is over. "Zugabe!Zugabe!" is demanded by the fans, and the stars return quickly. "Maybe next time" comes from tape, Ritchie sneaks up on stage and continue "live" through the playback. In "Since you've been gone", he then brings the total show. Unnoticed by the fans, Ritchie briefly dipped below the dark edge of the stage, there he exchanged his "good" Strat quickly around against a prepared guitar and steps again in the spotlight. He immediately pulls the "wrong" guitar from his body, throws it into the air, catches it on again and then thrashes the instrument with all his might on the ground. Whining sounds cascades. But that's not all: Ritchie takes the guitar again, swinging it over his head and kill it directly in his amplifier speakers. They immediately begin to burn. The sad remains of the "Strat" then he throws in the fans that are reflected immediately to the "original Blackmore guitar". Within seconds, but Blackmore has his old "guitar" again, and together with the band, there is to conclude a medley of "Smoke on the Water", "Man on the Silver Mountain" and "Catch the Rainbow". German Press - November 1982 Neunkirchen Hemmerleinhalle, Nürnberg, Germany - November 13, 1982 Sometimes hard 'n'heavy, sometimes more gentle and quiet - the passionate got quite different things. Concert goers with a wide musical area of interest in commanded the last few weeks. For example a Mr. Blackmore with company, also known as Rainbow. In a packed full Hemmerleinhalle in Neunkirchen turned out the two English men Blackmore and Glover and their three American colleagues as veterans in the heavy rock league. Old familiar material was presented to the fans, loosened up by a a few bits from the new album; routinely and skillfully, as you can tell from this perfection playing quintet. Also if some things are already a bit old and seemed frozen in routine, the two above mentioned gentlemen now and then sometimes spontaneity and free rein and let with the joy of the live performance. Roger Glover previously to the concert mentioned in an interview it is a supporting element by Rainbow. And they had some of their "Fans" that evening almost arrested: Several burning sparklers flew onto the stage; then the many spotlights went out, the band left the stage, and the music that goes through the hall came off the tape. Only after an urgent request to the audience, such to refrain from a concert to prevent breakage came Blackmore & Co. back on the stage to then trouble-free and energetic to finish the set. If Ritchie would not have been on this one evening in a good mood he probably would not have come back, and that wouldn't have been the first time. (Still) fresh and unused presented by the rock business the four ladies from Girlschool. Their rousing hard rock was full of energy live, even if their "technical" skills were unfortunately lost in the mushy sound. The usual suffering of a supporting act. But at least one could guess that they were at least as much like many of their male colleagues - the grateful reaction from the audience indicated also point out. Georg Roth, Muzik Szene - January 1983 Ahoy Hall, Rotterdam, The Netherlands - November 16, 1982 Half a rainbow It has become a new tradition for Rainbow to visit the Netherlands a few months after the release of an LP. Recently Ahoy was (again) packed to see Blackmore's formation at work. Girlschool was allowed to warm up for half an hour. They didn't get more airtime from uncle Ritchie. However, it was enough for the four girls to leave a great impression with the audience with Emergency and Race With The Devil (from The Gun). As Judy Garland then took care of the kick-off for Rainbow (in the same line-up as on Straight Between The Eyes), they hit it hard with Spotlight Kid. The first 45 minutes of their performance were majestic. Except for All Night Long, only songs from the last two albums were played. Highlights were Can't Happen Here and Tearin 'Out My Heart, the latter extra long with a heavy tempo slot. New were the two background singers Dee and Lynn who gave great support to Joe Lynn Turner's vocals, especially in Stone Cold. The second half of the concert was significantly less: endless solos in the context of Difficult To Cure. The level of the first half was only approached again in the first encore, in which, just like last year, Blackmore's guitar suffered during Smoke On The Water. It was a pity that he lost a lot of goodwill in the second encore and by going on in an unseemly jam session, in which from time to time A Light In The Black could be recognized. Suddenly I missed Cozy Powell terribly. Koert Hoyng, Muziekkrant Oor - December 1, 1982 Ahoy Hall, Rotterdam, The Netherlands - November 16, 1982 Merciless Hardrock from Rainbow impresses despite many cliches If there is a movement within pop music in which the word innovation is taboo, it is hard rock, which has maintained a musical status quo for many years. Just as unchanging, there are still hordes of people who take pleasure in running as hard as possible against this concrete wall. This also became clear last night during the concert that the English band Rainbow gave in a sold-out Ahoy Hall. Someone from the audience told me that this group is considered too soft by the die-hard 'headtbangers'. Nevertheless, there were countless tough guys in the hall who surrendered over their imaginary air guitars in order to achieve a mystical unity with guitar devil Ritchie Blackmore. Roger Glover,and Blackmore, who founded the group in 1975, forms the core of Rainbow. Both were once part of Deep Purple, which has been leading Veronica's Top Hundred of All Times with the primal scream of Child out of Time since time immemorial. Since the LP Difficult to cure from 1981, Joe Lynn Turner has been responsible for the vocals. Yesterday's repertoire consisted of work from this and their most recent album Straight between the Eyes. When, after Land of Hope and Glory, which served as the overture, the group took the stage, the eyes that are on the cover of the latter LP descended monstrously enlarged from the ridge of the hall and searched the rows from the audience with spotlights at the place of the pupils. It may be imagination, but it seemed that the whites of the eyes became more and more bloodshot as the evening went on. Rainbow's music, which has distant roots in rhythm & blues and flower-power pop, was rock solid, despite the many cliches in its structure. In songs like Miss mistreated and Power, the mercilessly thumping drums and bass, together with the demonic organ sounds of Rosenthal and the frenzied guitar playing of Blackmore, evoked the comic image of a column of motorcycles that broke loose from hell, driving the night to pieces. In addition, singer Lynn Turner even managed to provide Russ Ballard's I surrender with the necessary dramatic lyricism. Unfortunately, towards the end the group threw in their own glasses by indulging in solo boasting during an embarrassing performance of Beethoven's Ninth. Alle Menschen werden Bruder, whether they like it or not. Long live rock'n'roll sounded rather hypocritical after that, because it is exactly that kind of antics that can kill this art form. Roel Bentz van den Berg, NRC Handelsblad - November 17, 1982 Ahoy Hall, Rotterdam, The Netherlands - November 16, 1982 Rainbow lurking for fans Rainbow, Ritchie Blackmore's hard rock group, can still surprise. Not musically, it turned out last night in an almost sold out Ahoy, but thanks to all kinds of instrumental feats; tricks that are still very popular with loyal fans. "Straight between the eyes" is the title of the latest album of the seven-year-old formation of the guitar saint Blackmore who once broke through with Deep Purple. For that concert-defining message also huge eyes, which as agile spotlights were regularly focused on the hopping people in the hall. A successful (expensive) stunt, especially because the bawling did not take on a life of its own due to moderate use. Nevertheless, a distraction maneuver, just like the long solos of the new keyboardist David Rosenthal and drummer Bobby Rondinelli who replaced Cozy Powell last year. Those two ego trips meant that the spicy start (with the third song "I Surrender" the seven thousand-headed audience already reached the boiling point) lost much of its built-up tension. The encores series ("Weiss Heim", "Smoke on the water" and "Long live rock'n'roll") after that couldn't quite bring back, because songs performed were shortened and the Rainbow quintet. This tour enhanced with two inaudible backing singers, the fans kept waiting way too long in between. Traditionally, Ritchie Blackmore smashed his guitar (of course a rickety copy of his Fender Stratocaster) to shreds at the end. This once again underlined the section of the experimental path that Rainbow has always avoided as much as possible. Because, despite Blackmore's sometimes (too) beautiful technique and aggressive execution by singer Joe Lynn Turner, a kind of singing "Conan the Barbarian", Rainbow remains a hard rock group that floats on its name and routine. Louis du Moulin, Het Vrije Volk - November 17, 1982 Ahoy Hall, Rotterdam, The Netherlands - November 16, 1982 Flatten Rainbow Is hard rock indeed only hard rock when it is played in such a way that the music sounds so very distorted and shrill that many of the musical gimmicks and jokes absolutely do not come across? If so, the Rainbow performing in Ahoy on Tuesday evening gave a 'successful' concert. Rainbow's course has changed in no small way in the past year. While the concert of about a year and a half ago still contained a lot of symphonic intermezzi, here and there reminiscent of Rush, nowadays Rainbow seems to be moving more towards AC/DC and Motorhead, with all the consequences that entails. After the taped 'Land of hope and glory' demanded all the attention of the audience that were pelting each other with beer cans, the group started the concert surrounded by a dense smoke screen and the necessary fireworks and with two large, brightly colored, light pouring eyes above them, which 'referred' to the title of Rainbow's latest LP, 'Straight between the eyes'. However, these were the only surprising moments of an evening that was mainly dominated by monotony. The enormous lack of variety, which is not the strongest side of hard rock anyway, quickly broke up the group. Leader Blackmore - still not completely released from his Deep Purple past - was also unable to change that. His various solos were technically not so impressive that the almost hysterical reactions to them were justified. The arrangements of many songs certainly contain some remarkable musical jokes, but due to the previously noted speed, these did not come out with a few exceptions. The classic intro to 'Surrender' and 'The Floridan child in time' did not do enough in that respect. The addition of the two backing singers will undoubtedly have been decided in a state of complete perplexity, for they were not heard for a moment. Rainbow, which has long had the name, in addition to the form, but also to the content, has seriously neglected its task as far as the form is concerned. A bit more can certainly be expected from this group with its rich past than the cheap appeal to the most elementary thumps and stamping instincts of the fans. Aernoud Oosterholt, Haagsche Courant - November 17, 1982 Ahoy Hall, Rotterdam, The Netherlands - November 16, 1982 In honor of a European tour, the American formation The Ritchie Blackmore Group, or Rainbow, landed for the second time in the same number of years in the Rotterdam Ahoy complex. Because Girlschool was unsuccessful with the Rush audience last year, they got a second chance by opening for Rainbow. This time it was not much better, but one will probably think three times is the charm. (Which is not to be hoped). Perhaps they will do more justice to the support act of the Dolly Dots, because except for guitarist Kelly Johnson, the 'schoolgirls' have just as much musical class as the poppy dots. Denise Dufort was whacking like she was beating mats, new bassist Gil Weston often freaked out completely out of tune and when rhythm guitarist Kim McAuliffe didn't strike a deal, she shouted like a Coronation Street fishwife. For the statists I can mention this: the more famous songs they played were: "Screaming blue murder", "Kick it down", "Hit and run", "Race with the devil", "Future flash", "Tush" , "Emergency" and "Take it all away". When a top group comes to the Netherlands again, it will be more fun when a less known band with more qualities acts as a support act! (A good example was Gamma with Foreigner last year). When the "Land of hope and glory" echoed through the sports hall, we knew it was time for the aforementioned 'top act'. Judy Garland got lost once more and just like the year before, Rainbow opened with a guitar solo and the rocker "Spotlight kid". The performance was continued with "Miss mistreated", a long version of "I surrender", the instrumental Blues that is also on the live album 'On stage' and the fast "Can't happen here". Almost all subsequent songs were introduced and/or finished with some kind of solo (old Ritchie proved that he doesn't have to be written off). We got a beautiful performance of "Tearing out my heart" with a tempo acceleration, "All night long" started with a guitar solo. "Stone cold" with a keyboard solo in which the "Child in time" tune was included and "Power" started with a solo by both. After an instrumental version of "Eyes of fire" prepared with Turkish chords, Rainbow took out Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, which was decorated with a bass- and a too long keyboard solo in the middle and a ripping guitar at the end - and an impressive drum solo (that Rondinelli now certainly belongs to the main class) and finished with the sing-along "Long live rock'n'roll", which contained a surprise in the form of the Hendrix classic "Hey Joe". The dessert consisted of respectively the instrumental piece "Vielleicht der nächste Zeit", the folk song "Rule Brittania" and a short performance of "Smoke on the water". Of course Ritchie had to come back for the predictable game of guitar stories and he did that with a solo that came from "Kill the King". After a last piece of "Long live rock'n'roll" the over a hundred minute long concert was over and we could leave the hall singing along to Judy Garland's "Somewhere over the Rainbow". In summary, I can mention that although no songs from the first three albums were played and two ladies in the background were singing along, the concert was nevertheless successful due to the craftsmanship of the gentlemen musicians. The performance of the songs was much heavier than on the disappointing records, the sound itself was good and the stage act was beautiful again. (They had, among other things, two large eyes suspended from a metal construction, which spread light while rotating). It is time for Rainbow to release a double live album again. (And maybe that will happen soon too). Initially I was going to do an interview with Roger Glover, but because I had to rely on public transport and had to catch my last train, I found our good friend Dick Stam who was willing to take over the interview for me. Rob van der Veer, Aardschok - December 1982 Forest National, Brussels, Belgium - November 27, 1982 Saturday, November 27, it was finally time for the annual Rainbow day. Last time was June 19, 81 that we saw Ritchie in action. Left at 5 am and arrived at 8 am. When will signposts to Vorst Nationaal be placed? I was curious how Girlschool was going to do after their disappointing 3rd LP. That wasn't too bad. They opened with the titletrack of their last LP 'Screaming blue murder'. The ladies looked nice (braless) and the sound was fine. Fortunately also a lot of older songs, such as 'Kick it down', 'Hit and run' and 'Race with the devil'. Also one of my favorite songs, 'Future flash' was performed very HEAVY. When can we expect a live LP, ladies? Also ZZ Top's 'Tush' was played very accurately and after the appropriate 'Come on let's go' we could call it a great performance. Now it was Rainbow's turn. I was curious to see how David Rosenthal would turn out. We had also read that Rainbow used a backing vocal in America. The lights went out and the lighters turned on and after the well-known 'Over the rainbow theme', with Judy Garland, the spotlight immediately started with 'Spotlight kid'. Then Ritchie Blackmore proved his erratic character again. We had barely gotten into the mood and then the grandmaster left the stage. We got a unique performance of the Spotlight kid because the rest of the group simply played the song, but that's not what we came for, of course. The lights came back on and they stayed on. What had happened? Whistling and booing. Someone jumps on stage and announces in English that if something is thrown on stage one more time, the performance would be over. Just think of your 450 Fr. entrance and keep an eye on your neighbor. Later I heard that a light bulb had been thrown on stage. After 10 minutes, which seemed like an hour, the lights went out again and the show continued. Now I really got the chance to admire the new stage act, 2 enormous eyes known from 'Straight between the eyes' that cast strong rays of light into the audience. I don't really need to say anymore that Roger Glover is an excellent bass player. We received a number from the new LP, the mediocre MISS-mistreated (if only it had been 'Mistreated'). After the not formidable (commercial) 'I surrender' and a bluesy intro, we were finally able to test our neck muscles. on 'Can't happen here'. David Rosenthal did not have as much input as Don Airey, but filled it in well. After this we were treated to 'Tearin' out my heart' and Joe Lynn Turner proves here that he can handle the bluesy songs very well. The background choir was provided by 2 girls from Girlschool. After fragments of 'Lazy' and Child in Time', the audience went wild during 'All night long'. Now it was time to get a beer because 'Stonecold' was played, fortunately cut short for the much harder 'Power'. After some guitar and keyboard solos, and a crawling Ritchie, we were able to swing along to 'Difficult to cure', laced with a keyboard solo by David Rosenthal (fortunately not too long) and a drum solo with the now well-known stick act. After this the 'lads' showed that they could also sing because the oldie 'Long live rock 'n roll' was next and although it all sounded excellent, I still got homesick for the Ronny James of that time. In between we heard a bit of 'Hey Joe' (Hendrix) and then 3 loud bangs and beautiful fireworks put an end to the concert. With lighters and huge cheers we got Rainbow back on stage. After a bluesy start we heard the ultra-commercial 'Since you've been gone' and after some more guitar solos and classical themes 'Smoke on the water', the old Purple cracker. Vorst became too small again for a while. This was also the end of a satisfying concert. I personally thought it was a lot better last year and it seemed to me that Blackmore was looking forward to it a lot more then. Not only was the guitar smashing missing, but also beautiful songs such as 'Death alley driver', 'Stargazer', 'Catch the rainbow' and 'Man on the silver mountain'. But yes, Ritchie remains an excellent guitarist, but with an erratic character. People who went to rock-pop this summer know what I mean. John Beton, Stale Verhale Magazine #2 - Belgium 1983 Forest National, Brussels, Belgium - November 27, 1982 After the traditional English anthem, Rainbow stormed onto the stage with Spotlight Kid. But our very own Ritchie Blackmore left this immediately, because he had seen a plastic cup flying towards the stage. And I completely lack the imagination to make this into a light bulb. The life of a professional musician must be hard. The solo guitar in Spotlight Kid was replaced by a bass/keyboard duel. After this, the rest of the group went to keep the boss company behind the scenes. After fifteen minutes of threats, orders and pleas to please not kill our good Ritchie with dangerous projectiles, all of Rainbow (including Blackmore) returned (without body guards). And immediately the whole venue started cheering. And now... the party began. Half songs were also delivered in between the solos. But I haven't actually heard that much from Rainbow itself. Rather, it was a collection of some super musicians. We also got to experience a beautiful drum solo from Bobby Rondinelli (in which he shot some drum sticks into the audience). This solo really messes up my top. David Rosenthal's long synthesizer solo was simply excellent (super, great and even more than that and I'm just complaining that synthesizers and reinforced concrete don't mix). Silent cowboy Roger Glover, who has not yet been bullied, also stated several times that he was a member of Deep Purple. And then you also had Joe Lynn Turner (of course also a professional in all areas) who was assisted by Dee and Lynn (as a female background choir of course, or what were you thinking, dirty guy). Many other groups could use such girls, but not as a background choir. Mr. Blackmore also gave away four solos, assisted by about eight wahwah pedals. But of those 110 chords he completely knows how to play I haven't heard many. You may not know it yet, but Ritchie is not yet listed in our overview of the best guitarists. Will the age still be noted? Could age have something to do with it? Sjoedel, Sucks Magazine #9 - Belgium 1983 Pabellon Deportivo del Real Madrid, Madrid, Spain - December 1, 1982 Rainbow: The Triumph of Context Expensive, very expensive was the Rainbow and Girlschool concert that took place last Wednesday at the Real Madrid pavilion. It's good that the first group is one of the mainstays of heavy metal, it's good that the opening act achieved fair fame and recognition in their previous Hispanic performances, that's good, but 1,200 pesetas is a bit too much. Despite this, the pavilion was soon crowded and full of mysticism. Indeed, its ritual character can never be ignored in a hard rock concert. A rite that is embedded and reproduced in all ages, all social media, all cultures and aspects that congregate here. Its most striking extremes are called entrance races, illegal penetration attempts, requests for slips and huge slices. Then there is that necessary evaluative expression that mixes the mother with prostitution and ends with a close relative of the first. The raised fists, the language of signs (the word is not understood, overwhelmed by the mess), the ecstasy, the delivery, the joy of a desired and fulfilled party. That's right, that's how it seems, but what is the reason for so much revelry? Well, here we come, again, to what there was. A group of girls playing with a certain spectacularity and a very pretty guitarist. They, Girlschool, are authentic and make their barbaric sound with a certain enthusiasm. In Barcelona they swept away, in Madrid they simply liked it and prepared a good atmosphere so that the greats could show off. And they did shine. In the first place, taking as long as they wanted to appear on the scene. Second, showing that myths are myths and that Ritchie Blackmore knows how to play the guitar. Once convinced of this, we can already get excited about two huge translucent and somewhat seedy eyes hanging between the stage, from which two white spotlights illuminate and blind us. Or frighten us for a brief moment with the thunderous explosions of great masses of gunpowder. Pick up the twenty or so sticks that the drummer throws from his solo, very long and dumb. Or also enjoy it by trying to catch hundreds of ping-pong balls that fell from the stage. The music? Oh! That! Well, nothing, the usual. Slight symphonic touches, reminders of how plagiarizing Deep Purple (Blackmore's former group) were when interpreting Bombay Calling from It's A Beautiful Day, which they call something else; crushing the staff with rudeness and melodic notes from the guitar of a leader who is there for that. Praise cannot be spared for such a complete and enthralling performance. The people, who knew what they were going for and what they wanted, had a great time and seemed to consider their money well spent. José Manuel Costa, El Pais - December 4, 1982