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Inspired by the American cinema classic Field Of Dreams and barraged by fans asking him when RAINBOW would reunite, ex-Rainbow singer/songwriter JOE LYNN TURNER has often thought, "If we build it, the fans will come."

During the first three tour dates as OVER THE RAINBOW, the newly formed band has already played to fanatic capacity crowds in Minsk, Belarus (4,000+), St. Petersburg, Russia (3,500+) and Moscow (4,000+). Details about the formation of Over The Rainbow were only released two months ago but the buzz generated by fans and interested concert promoters was so intense that it comes as no real surprise that this tour has been an immediate success.

As for how the Over The Rainbow project was started, Turner respected the fact that Rainbow founder RITCHIE BLACKMORE had found true happiness working with BLACKMORE'S NIGHT. He knew Ritchie was not interested in getting Rainbow back together for a sequel. After meetings, phone calls and e-mails, Turner united members of several Rainbow incarnations from the past with a unique twist: He enlisted a second generation Blackmore on guitar to build Over The Rainbow.

Over The Rainbow is:

Vocals: Joe Lynn Turner (Rainbow 1980-1984)

Keyboards: Tony Carey (Rainbow 1975-1978)

Drums: Bobby Rondinelli (Rainbow 1980-1983)

Bass: Greg Smith (Rainbow 1994-1997)

Guitar: Jurgen ("J.R.") Blackmore

Ritchie's son, guitarist Jurgen "J.R." Blackmore, was so convinced that Rainbow fans deserved to hear this music come alive again that he agreed to take on the enormous challenge of playing guitar for Over The Rainbow.

Jurgen states, "I talked to my Dad about this project, and he said, 'Yes, go for it,' in couple of seconds. He gave me his blessing, and that is what I needed to hear. He told me how great all the members were. That was really encouraging."

Although the band's set list includes benchmark songs from all of the Rainbow eras, Over The Rainbow is not trying to do them exactly like they were done in the past. Drummer Bobby Rondinelli explains, "This is not Rainbow - it's Over The Rainbow. It's in the Rainbow tradition, but it's a new band based on this great tradition."

Keyboardist Tony Carey, who also has a lucrative career as an international producer, songwriter and vocalist, adds clarification, "You can play the same piece of classical music with a solo piano or 100-piece orchestra. We are playing Rainbow material but are playing it our way." Carey is also rejuvenated by the enormous fan reaction as he adds, "Right now we're kids in a candy shop, never had this much fun out of bed."

Upcoming tour dates:

February

21 - Ekaterinburg, Russia - Palace of Youth
23 - Odessa, Ukraine - Palace of Sport
24 - Kiev, Ukraine - Palace of Sport
26 - Kharkov, Ukraine - Opera Theatre
27 - Dnepropetrovsk, Ukraine - Palace of Sport

April

27 - Osaka, Japan - Namba Hatch
29 - Nagoya, Japan - Diamond Hall

May

1 - Tokyo, Japan - Kosei-Nenkin Hall

Pictured is a photo from St. Petersburg show. More shots available at Darkside.ru.