Legendary Deep Purple and Rainbow guitarist Ritchie Blackmore has confirmed he will be making a return to rock music next year, but it sounds like ex-Rainbow frontman Joe Lynn Turner won't be a part of the project even though Turner has been hinting at the reunion for months. During that span, Turner has said in several interviews that Blackmore is "itching" to play some rock shows and that the two former Rainbow bandmates were in talks about particulars. Blackmore seemingly denied those reports in a chat with the French newspaper La Parisien in a story that was published July 4th.
When asked about Turner's comments, Blackmore noted that: "There's some truth, but also a bit of confusion and uncertainty. I'm thinking about playing rock again, just for a few days, next June, Deep Purple and Rainbow songs. But for now, I'm not decided on the persons I want to work with. I've got a good idea about the ideal candidates, but it wouldn't be fair to say anything now. I will know exactly in one month who I want to have in this band to play Deep Purple and Rainbow songs. We will probably play three or four shows in June; that's all."
Blackmore did confirm that the Deep Purple/Rainbow project would schedule a date at a French music festival next summer, but noted that Turner will not likely be recruited to front the project. "I think that Joe [Lynn Turner] will not be part of the adventure, and he doesn't know it yet. He does his thing, I like him, and I made good albums and good songs with him, like 'Street Of Dreams'. But I'm thinking about doing a mixture in the band, with famous people and not so famous ones. That's my state of mind at the moment, and you're the first person I talk to about it."
Ritchie Blackmore, a co-founder of Rainbow and Deep Purple, has bot performed traditional rock music since the mid-1990s. Instead, he has been focusing on his medieval folk project called Blackmore's Knight, which he co-formed with his then girlfriend Candace Night, now Blackmore's wife. The band recently completed work on their tenth album, All Our Yesterdays, slated for a September release. Joe Lynn Turner replaced Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow in 1983, appearing on four albums with the band. He also handled vocals on the 1990 Deep Purple set, Slaves and Masters.
