RITCHIE BLACKMORE Recuperating After Finger Operation; Photos
March 1, 2016, 8 years ago
Last month, Ritchie Blackmore (Rainbow, Deep Purple) had an operation to remove an excess of uric acid buildup in his finger joint. The surgery will not affect the upcoming Rainbow shows booked for this summer. Ritchie has posted the following photos:
Blackmore will be back to the stages of rock in 2016. Two shows in Germany were recently confirmed, taking place at the Monsters Of Rock Festival 2016 on June 18th and Loreley, Freilichtbühneon on June 17th. A UK date has also been confirmed. It will take place on Saturday, June 25th 2016 at Genting Arena in Birmingham, England.
Blackmore’s band lineup for these exclusive shows will include singer Ronnie Romero, keyboardist Jens Johansson (Stratovarius), drummer David Keith (Blackmore’s Night) and bassist Bob Nouveau. The first official band photo can be viewed below.
Blackmore recently spoke with Billboard.com about these special shows:
“I’m now 70, so I just felt like playing some rock ‘n’ roll for a few days. We’re going to do four or five dates of just playing the old rock stuff, Purple stuff and Rainbow. I’m doing it for the fans, for nostalgia, and the singer I found is very exciting; he’s a cross between Dio meets Freddie Mercury. So this will mean exposing a new singer to the masses, and I’m sure he’ll become pretty famous because of his voice.”
