In a new interview with The Jerusalem Post, Joe Lynn Turner discusses his latest project Rock The Opera, integrating into diverse musical settings, and in the following excerpt - auditioning for Rainbow.

“We (former band Fandango) were robbed at ChicagoFest along with Billy Joel and Jethro Tull of $80,000 of equipment - it took the wind out of our sails. I really needed a new gig, and out of the blue, I got a mysterious phone call from this guy asking me if I liked Deep Purple and Rainbow [the band Purple founder Ritchie Blackmore started],” recalled Turner.

“Deep Purple is my all-time favourite band, and it turned out that the person calling was Blackmore’s personal assistant. I thought somebody was pulling my leg when he said ‘Ritchie wants to talk to you.’ Even when the next person said ‘ello mate’ in a British accent, I didn’t believe it.”

But it really was Blackmore, who had heard Turner sing, and asked him to audition for Rainbow who were about to go into the studio to record an album.

“I took a train out to this studio in Syosset in Long Island, walked in, and saw Blackmore and [Deep Purple organist] Jon Lord sitting there, and realized it was the real deal. At that moment, I may have been slightly intimidated, because you’re meeting your idols, but I really needed the gig so I was pretty calm,” said Turner.

They hired him on the spot, and the three albums Turner recorded with them - Difficult To Cure, Straight Between The Eyes, and Bent Out Of Shape - propelled the band into the Top 40 and MTV mainstream.

Read more at The Jerusalem Post.