European tour dates set for 2016…

The enigma that is and has always been Ritchie Blackmore, lead guitarist of Deep Purple and his own band, Rainbow has announced the latter are to reform for a short tour in June 2016. Before anyone gets too excited, Blackmore has stated that it is a one-off, four dates in Europe with only one date in the UK.

The set list, we are told will be a combination of Rainbow and Purple tracks but the line-up is yet to be finalised. Former lead singer Joe Lynn Turner is strongly rumoured to be taking part in what Blackmore has described as a bit of fun and a nostalgic trip ‘before it’s too late’.

So if you want to see a seventy year old Ritchie Blackmore go electric one last time then you’d better hurry up, there will be no shortage of interest in seeing him play the old favourites. It would be easy to be cynical about this but for lovers of the genre it is getting increasingly harder to see or hear anything by those bands we all grew up with. Blackmore is set to enjoy a healthy pay day before returning to his love of all things medieval, leaving the increasingly decrepit Black Sabbath and Motorhead to slog it out until they drop.

Whilst there will be undoubted interest in the reformation it will pale in comparison to the next Iron Maiden tour and both will be dwarfed by the news of the classic Guns and Roses line-up reforming for next year. That pay check will be eye watering.