Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW At Castle Donington 1980; Rare Video Streaming
February 18, 2016, 8 years ago
Streaming below is rare footage of Ritchie Blackmore with Rainbow at Castle Donington in 1980. It was a massive moment for the band, but incredibly turned out to be Cozy Powell and Graham Bonnet's final performances with Rainbow.
Rainbow will be back to the stages of rock in 2016. Two shows in Germany are 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 at Genting Arena in Birmingham, England.
Blackmore has revealed his band lineup for these exclusive shows, which 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.”
