Nine dates in the UK have been announced for Glenn Hughes’ joint tour with Living Colour. The dates are slotted between November 8th and 20th, right before the tour moves onto the continent. Tickets are either already on sale or will go shortly.

Full details on our calendar.

Roger Glover sends a brief update on what he’s been up to:

Not much to add since my last report except to say that work continues.

Meanwhile, I’ve had a few precious weeks at home before the next round begins.

My family and I went to a dream called Venice for a few days. A taste of Italy is always welcome. Whilst there, I met up with some old friends and did a show with the great Tolo Marton. We enjoyed a bit of jamming together, played some of his songs, my songs, and a few rock classics. I had a blast.

I thank Tolo and his band for indulging me and also thanks to all who came to the show, you gave me a great welcome.

Good luck,

RG

P.S. My friend Manfred Stoffer brought his camera…

Check out Manfred’s pictures at RogerGlover.com.

Rockpages.gr has an interview with JLT, in which he talks about his current projects (he just finished an acoustic tour of Greece), recalls what happened to Over The Rainbow, and gives his opinion on the current incarnation of Rainbow. Ah, and we think he called us “a bunch of idiots”. For we shall heap coals of fire on our heads. Or something.

Rockpages.gr: In 2009 you formed Over The Rainbow with other ex-Rainbow members, what happened to that?

Joe Lynn Turner: Well, bands are like bad marriages sometimes… and the eagles fly and people get full of themselves and everything happens and… the guys are great guys and also my friends, but it was getting out of control and I was getting very tired of the attitudes that I was hearing. I mean everybody is a full member and need to say this was my mistake of being a generous person. Because, then I couldn’t get control of them. But, everybody had a vote and the votes were getting crazy, so to make a long story sort I just said “look, I wanna drop out okay? You guys want the project? You can keep the project, you can get another singer, whatever, but no promoter will have it”, and they tried Dougie (White), they tried Graham (Bonnet), but nobody wanted to buy it, that says a lot for me.

Rockpages.gr: What is your opinion of what’s called Rainbow now, the new band that Ritchie Blackmore formed?

Joe Lynn Turner: Well, I’ve already come out to the press about it, saying that I don’t believe that this is Rainbow at all! I think that this is a Ritchie Blackmore band, but certainly not Rainbow… in fact, if anything there is three members of Blackmore’s Night. I think Dougie said it best to me, he said: “you know Joe, it’s not Rainbow unless they do an album and a tour”. And I said “I have to agree with you Dougie”. Because, that’s the truth you know… until you can write the songs, make some sense out of it all, do some great gigs, add to the name “Rainbow”… otherwise our legacy, whether it’s Ronnie, God bless him, or Graham, or myself, or even Dougie, comes down in stature. Because, then anybody can be in Rainbow like this. So, I don’t agree with it and I’ll answer probably another question of yours right now… I wanted to create an authentic Rainbow reunion. I was talking to Carol Stevens, the management, over a year and a few months – no kidding! Everyone called my delusional that I believed Ritchie would ever rock again. Everyone called me this, that… I got a lot of crap in the press. I am pretty sick of that by the way, because you are a bunch of idiots, if you don’t realize that! She didn’t want to go along with a multi-million dollar deal I’ve set up with UMG, Universal Music Group, if you don’t know what that is, Rockfuel media for an HD, 3D DVD, who just went to No.1 with the Axl Rose “Appetite For Democracy” DVD, so it’s great people, okay? We were going to have re-packaging of our box sets etc, and I was talking to Rick Franks over to Live Nation who wanted to put us on the biggest festivals. And to my surprise, to my shock… I found out he didn’t want to do it… Why? I will never know. I have my suspicions and I’ve read a lot of fans comments on their suspicions, and some of them I think are correct. But, I really don’t know why. It’s a shame. Because, I believe that the fans deserve it. I believe Rainbow deserves it. I wanted to do something like an extravaganza you know… sing Dio songs, Bonnet songs, everybody… Bob Daisley on bass… I talk to people… and they were all into it. It’s a shame really!

Watch him talking or read the transcript on Rockpages.gr.

Thanks to Dionisis Nikas for the info.

Roger Glover did a series of phone-in interviews on American radio. These appear to have been arranged to promote the Hall of Fame induction broadcast due April 30 on US cable channel HBO.

He soldiered on through some “Mr Grover, Mr Gillian” moments without losing his usual wit and charm even for a second.

103.5 The Fox from Denver, Colorado:

92 KQRS, out of Minnessota (skip to 47:30 into the podcast):

WPYX 106 from Albany, NY:

Thanks to Nigel Young for the info.

An interesting gig popped up in our calendar. And it’s a family affair in more than one sense:

• billed as Ian Gillan;
• performing with Don Airey Band;
• and an orchestra conducted by Stephen Bentley-Klein, who conducted the Deep Purple orchestral tour a few years back;
• supported by Papa Le Gál, the band where Ian’s daughter Grace is a singer.

To quote a rather well connected source:

I have it on good authority that it won’t just be well known DP songs in the repertoire – maybe Anya and Razzle Dazzle – but also some material from IG’s catalogue outside of DP.

Quite possibly these might include numbers like No More Cane on the Brazos, Hang Me Out to Dry, A Day Late and a Dollar Short, and No Lotion For That.

It is not beyond the bounds of possibility in this quantum universe, beset as it is with Schrodinger’s cat, that more [gigs] will follow.

Thanks to Lutz Reinert, Nigel Young, and Georgi Zbirchev for the info.

Extra! Extra!

Looks like the supergroup Black Country Communion that imploded in late 2012 / early 2013 over what at the time seemed to be irreconcilable differences, might rise from the ashes some time next year. Glenn Hughes posted this on his Facebook today, April 20:

The lads …to quote Joe this morning …”maybe it’s time
To break out the heavy bats again..” #REUNITEDFRONT #BCC #BROTHERS #BONHAM #SHERINIAN #HUGHES #BONAMASSA

Which was followed a few hours later by:

Preparing BCC Rocket Ship Re-launch for 2017? all systems go @joebonamassa @glennhughesonline @jasonbonhamofficial @derek_sherinian @kevthecave ✌✌?✌✌✌

Producer Kevin Shirley confirms:

“We’re refurbishing the fuel tanks and refitting the rocket. Getting ready for takeoff in 2017 again, and I’m fired up … Who’s ready for another dose of BCC!?

Jason Bonham responded with a stock picture of the band simply titled “2017 !!!!”

Thanks to Blabbermouth for the heads up.

Rainbow’s Boston 1981 is being released by Cleopatra Records — the same label that brought you the three 1979 Rainbow live releases. The show was broadcast on the radio at the time and was subsequently widely bootlegged. The CD appears to be already available from the label store, with a gatefold double LP on colour vinyl promised to be in the works. Amazon lists CD availability dates at May 13 for the US, May 20 for UK, and May 27 for Germany.

Track listing:

1. Spotlight Kid
2. Love’s No Friend
3. I Surrender
4. Man On The Silver Mountain
5. Catch The Rainbow
6. Can’t Happen Here
7. Lost In Hollywood
8. Difficult To Cure
9. Long Live Rock N’ Roll
10. Smoke On The Water

Thanks to Anthony for the heads up.

Blackmore did an interview with German publication Spiegel Online, and it is quite an entertaining read even in reverse translation done by a machine. He reveals in the interview that he visited Germany for the first time in 1563 as a touring minstrel. Blackmore’s Night is an attempt to recreate those fabulous times — that knew no radio, nor annoying PR manager, let alone the internet — but skipping the wars, severed heads, plague, and cholera. He also confesses his love for the country, German women (he got married to them — twice!), Franz Beckenbauer, cabbage rolls and Schlager. He also said that after the infamous spaghetti incident in 1993 him and Big Ian had a laugh about it.

It’s up to you whether to believe any of it, but one can’t argue the interview is quite entertaining. Go practice your Deutschlish.

Thanks to Timo for the info.

Bernie Marsden is crowdfunding his new book called Where’s My Guitar: On the tour bus with the Snakeman through pledgemusic.com. And although we’re rather late to the party (the project is already 96% claimed at the time of this writing), you can still preorder your copy signed by Bernie for just £22. The list of options goes on and on, up to booking him for a house gig (that’d set you back £2,000 and only available in the UK).

There’s a nice video with a convincing pitch for the book (which does not appear to be embeddable here), so head over to pledgemusic.com for further details.

Thanks to Jörg Planer for the info.

Stay Tuned 1.5 is an all-star charity album to be released on August 5 for the benefit of Linda McCartney Centre cancer treatment facility at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. The project is a brainchild of Austrian drummer Bernhard Welz and features an impressive list of contributors, which include Don Airey, Roger Glover, Steve Morse, Ian Paice, the late Jon Lord, Paul McCartney, Guy Pratt, Steve Lukather, Dan McCafferty, Tony Martin, Neil Murray, and many others.

The album can be preordered from the project page.

Thanks to Andrey Gusenkov (deep-purple.ru) for the info.