Ahead of his upcoming arena shows in the UK this June, The Guardian spoke with legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, who was a member of Deep Purple from 1968 – 1975, and again from 1984 –1993. During the interview, Blackmore reveals that he “bears no malice” to his former band now, and would play with them again if he were asked.

“It’s probably not probable, though,” he says.

Read the full interview at theguardian.com.

When Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow returns to the UK, the very special opening night will see them headlining the second annual Stone Free Festival at The O2, London, which will be Blackmore’s first London show since 1995 with further shows in Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham. A video trailer for the upcoming dates can be found below.

Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow live in the UK:

June
17 - London, UK - The O2 (Stone Free Festival)
22 - Manchester, UK - Manchester Arena
25 - Glasgow, Scotland - The SSE Hydro
28 - Birmingham, UK - Genting Arena

In June 2016, Blackmore made his much-anticipated return to rock music as Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow. Delivering three powerhouse concerts in Europe, two in Germany and one in England, Blackmore yet again proved why he is a pivotal figure of rock and roll.

On June 9th, Eagle Rock Entertainment will issue the Live In Birmingham 2016 2CD and Digital Audio - the first release of the audio from the 2016 British show. Packed with a set list combining classic tracks from both Deep Purple and Rainbow, the 2CD boasts “Catch The Rainbow”, “Mistreated”, “Since You Been Gone”, “Long Live Rock ‘N’ Roll”, “Black Night”, “Spotlight Kid”, “Smoke On The Water”, “Stargazer”, “Perfect Strangers”, and more.

The two German shows at Loreley and Bietigheim were caught on camera to produce the concert film Memories In Rock, which was released by Eagle Vision and Eagle Records in November 2016. This new 2CD set captures the full audio from the British show at the Genting Arena at the NEC, Birmingham, including performances of “Soldier Of Fortune” and “Burn” from the Mark III Deep Purple era that weren’t in the German shows.

The lineup for the Birmingham show featured Ritchie Blackmore (Guitar); Ronnie Romero (Vocals); David Keith (Drums); Bob Nouveau (Bass); Jens Johanssen (Keyboards); Candice Night (Backing Vocals); Lady Lynn (Backing Vocals).

A true celebration of Ritchie Blackmore’s career and legacy, Live In Birmingham 2016 excellently captures an astounding night of music.

Tracklisting:

Disc One
“Over The Rainbow” / “Highway Star”
“Spotlight Kid”
“Mistreated”
“Since You Been Gone”
“Man On The Silver Mountain”
“Soldier Of Fortune”
Medley: “Difficult To Cure (Beethoven’s Ninth)” / Drum Solo / Bass Solo / Band Jam / Keyboard Solo (inc. Toccata & Fugue in Dm) / “Difficult To Cure (Beethoven’s Ninth”
“Catch The Rainbow”

Disc Two
“Perfect Strangers”
“Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll”
“Child In Time”
“Stargazer”
Medley: “Black Night” / “Woman From Tokyo” / “Black Night”
“Burn”
“Smoke On The Water”