Osnabrueck 16 Oct. 1995

Okay now on my own to the little town of Osnabrueck in the north, near what they call "Fishhead land". There was a hotel conveniently located near the railway station and as my bags were feeling particulary heavy, I decided to stay there, even though it was the most expensive hotel in Osnabrueck. I thought maybe,....just maybe...... someone might be staying there. I check in and go to my room. I am unpacking and resting up when I hear an American voice throught the wall on the phone. When I heard "I dont care ..Ritchie hasn't seen the prototypes in 5 months.." I immediately took notice and started listening. It was obvious RB's manager had the room next to mine!!!! I went next door and introduced myself. The guy was Joe Boyland, RB's manager(i.e. Big manager, not tour manager) from Legend in the states!!! When I told him my name he recognized me from the fax Henry had sent to Legend about my visit and requesting complimentary tickets. He made sure I would have a ticket that night. We talked about Ritchie's Fender contract for the Signature series edition RB strats ( I cant wait), the new single, the video, Ritchie's web page that I am trying to involve myself with, and other related goodies. he is a really nice guy who is just loving being RB's manager. He told me the new single in Germany will be Ariel with also Temple of the King on it. I think Temple will be a live version (perhaps the one from Dusseldorf). The band shot the video for the single before the gig in Dusseldorf. It appears the only thing holding up the RB strat release is a contract dispute over 8% of what. The contract didnt specify 8% of what so there is some dispute about what term to insert. Henry has been involved with the RB web site and I have offered to help in any way I can. Legend was approached to see if this can be the official web site. Joe apologized for not getting in better contact and vowed in a few weeks when things simmer down a bit to get in contact with us and help us out. Just as Joe took a call from the states, Paul Morris walked in. He had time for a quick autograph and was pleasantly surprised to see someone from the states there in Osnabrueck (it ain't Vegas as Joe put it....). The band were actually checking out at 4pm. It seems by having a late check out at 4pm in Osnabrueck and then going by bus to Rotterdam and having early check in there, the band could save a nights hotel charges. I went down to the lobby and saw Chuck Burgi again. I sat with him and had a long chat. I asked him about what he did in between Rainbows. He stated he did a lot with Meatloaf, did a few solo band projects, did some with JLT and he was most proud of his stint with Blue Oyster Cult. As he put it "we were good, damn good." I told him he sounded lots heavier than previous Rainbow. He attributed that to more use of the double bass. Then the rest of the band walked in sans Ritchie. Doogie remembered me immediately and came over to chat. I told the band what a treasure Rainbow Eyes was to hear live. They seemed to agree. (later they did it that night and Doogie told me he did it with me in mind!). I got a nice poster signed and chatted with them for some time. I met Greg finally. He is quite a nice guy and a hell of a player. He told me the bass he using is a $2,500 specially made Spectrum bass. The manufacturer only makes one per day. He was proud of his stint with Alice Cooper and loved what he did with JLT. He smiled though and said he likes what he is doing now the best of all. He told me "now I get to play what I would play on my stereo at home." He is a seasoned pro and hell of a nice guy. Very deferential to Ritchie and the others and is just happy as a lark to be on the album and tour. Doogie of course remembered me from Berlin and checked to be sure I was still on the list for Rotterdam. We talked for a while longer and then the band left to go to the gig. As I left for the gig and came down the stairs, I saw some of the Rainbow entourage bringing some lugggage into the hotel. I thought it was strange since the band had checked out already. The luggage was definitely female luggage. Then I saw the dark Mercedes with the license plate BB-something or other. Hmmmm. .... I surmised that RB was staying at the hotel that night despite sending the band on to Rotterdam. I missed him by a minute or so. Bah!!

The gig was another cracker! This time they did Rainbow Eyes like I mentioned previously, and did smoking versions of Ariel, Too late for Tears, Hall of the Mountain King and Burn. After the show as I was around the stage as they were taking the set down, Doogie saw me there and came out to say hello again. We talked about Doogie's home or lack of home I should say. It seems Doogie is homeless at the moment with only a blue and orange sleeping bag to his name. He doesnt want to rent for only two months somewhere ( if he could find such a place) and isn't quite in a position to buy something just yet. He has his gear stored at Jannick Gers house but wonders where it is cos Jannick just re-did the room that he had his gear in and made it into a gym. Doogie told me about his longtime membership in DPAS. He has a stack of old Stargazers somewhere he assures me. He can't understand why Simon doesn't like the album. He said he gets the biggest thrill every night just watching RB pull out the stops.

After Doogie left for the backstage area again, I went around the back by the tour busses. The band all came out again (minus RB who escaped by secret entrance). I talked to them all again. the only one who didn't impress me was Paul. He was nice enough to me so I hate to say anything bad about him (he wanted to be sure I had a pass for the next night in Rotterdam) but I was not too thrilled by a few things he said. When I asked him about how he got hooked up with Ritchie, he seemed annoyed at the question and told me he would give me the "short version-cos it was a long story." He proceeded to tell me about his friend who had tried out and originally almost had the gig. Something fell through and Paul was recommended to RB. As Paul put it " then I got to try out for RB and of course when he heard me I got the spot." Rather cocky I guess but otherwise he was very nice to me and impressed I came over from the states. Chuck told me about future touring plans. After the Europe and Japan tours, next year will see Rainbow in some exotic places like Egypt, Singapore and then to South America and Canada. No US plans yet. Supposedly the album is being negotiated with a record company for release in the US. The band hopes to get there eventually, at least for a few one off gigs, perhaps festivals. As most of the fans left, I was talking to Doogie again and told him there was a pub right around the corner. I offered to buy him a drink and he took me up on it!!!!! He told the tour manager not to leave without him and that he would be around the corner having a drink. We walked around the corner only to find it shut. oh well. For future reference, know you all that Doogie can be bribed with a Jack Daniels and water!!! The band left for Rotterdam and next morning so did I.