Solid gold rock at the end of Purple legend Ritchie's Rainbow tour

The Rock legend that is Ritchie Blackmore will be playing just four dates in the UK this summer '“ and one is at the Manchester Arena, barring a change in plans, on June 22.
By The Newsroom
Published 9th Jun 2017, 12:21 BST
Updated 9th Jun 2017, 17:22 BST
The Ritchie Blackmore Rainbow tour calls in at the Manchester Arena on June 22The Ritchie Blackmore Rainbow tour calls in at the Manchester Arena on June 22
The Ritchie Blackmore Rainbow tour calls in at the Manchester Arena on June 22

Playing classics from both Rainbow and Deep Purple’s anthemic catalogue, the legendary guitarist needs no introduction and is universally acknowledged as a singular and visionary talent, one who has helped shape and define the landscape of rock music and the evolution of the guitar at its core.

With a background immersed in classical and r’n’b he was a founding member and driving force of Deep Purple, going on to form Rainbow in 1975, who sold in excess of 28 million albums.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Ritchie was a founding member of Deep Purple in 1968, having previously been an in-demand session player and even appearing with Screaming Lord Sutch. With Purple, his trademark soaring Stratocaster coupled with Jon Lord’s Hammond, Ian Gillan’s vocals and the solid rhythm of Ian Paice and Roger Glover, carved out a huge niche in the rock pantheon, just as in the legendary Smoke On The Water, the riff copied by would-be axe heroes even today.

He followed this with his own band Rainbow and Blackmore’s Night, that explored medieval and baroque elements.

The Ritchie Blackmore Rainbow tour promises to be an unmissable event, not only for Deep Purple and Rainbow fans, but also those who want to soak up the electrifying genius of the legendary guitarist live and to revel in the unforgettable songs he crafted with two of music’s most celebrated bands.

Blackmore will also be joined by former stalwart Meister Bob on bass, Blackmore Nights’ drummer David Keith, Stratovarius’s keyboardist Jens Johansson and singer, Ronnie Romero from Santiago, Chile, who Blackmore describes as, “a cross between Ronnie James Dio meets Freddie Mercury.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Tickets are available from Ticketline.co.uk; Myticket.co.uk; Seetickets.com; Axs.com

WIN TWO PAIRS OF TICKETS

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow play Manchester Arena on June 22 and we have TWO pairs of tickets to give away.

All you have to do is complete the name of this Deep Purple track that Ritchie opened with a now legendary riff:

SMOKE ON THE ...

Please email your answer, along with your name, email address and mobile number – putting ‘Rainbow Competition’ in the subject field – to [email protected] by noon on Tuesday, June 13.

Editor’s decision is final.

Usual LP rules apply

Related topics:Tickets