![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse7.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/morse2.jpg)
Somebody might turn up
Fireworks magazine has an interview with Blackmore’s Night as their cover story for issue 71 (September-October 2015). They talk about their new album, a bit of the past, and at the end, the future.
The story behind Writing On The Wall, which back in the day have caused a raised eyebrow or three:
R: There’s quite a few songs, when I look back, that I think we could have done better. ‘Writing On The Wall’ for definite, that’s probably our worst song. I don’t know what happened with that one. I think we were in a hurry to get out, left it to Pat and he thought we wanted a disco thing.
I have to say, I do like ‘Writing On the Wall’, but it’s sound is very different to the rest of the album, it sounds a bit at odds with the rest of the material.
R: I think the idea is good, but the finished product is nothing like we wanted. We should do that one again.
C: I think what Ritchie explained to Pat and how Pat interpreted it turned out to be two different things, and at that point we needed to be delivering it to the record label and didn’t really have chance to go back and make it what we wanted it to be.
On the planned foray back into rock’n’roll:
However, I’ll probably do something next June, doing all the Rainbow and Purple songs for a few nights, maybe four nights. I don’t know whether it’ll be a festival or what yet, but I’ll pick some people to do those old songs and jam some Rock N’ Roll, that I would find exciting. I won’t know who the singer will be yet for a few weeks. I have a good idea who it is, but I want to try and recreate the sound… there will be a lot of Dio stuff, but he can’t be the singer, obviously. That would have been something! I noticed when I wrote the list of songs I wanted to do, it was a lot of Dio stuff. There was some Deep Purple, and probably ‘I Surrender’ would be in there too, that kind of thing. That’s still in the talking process at the moment, but yeah, looking at doing three or four festivals or shows in June. Hopefully somebody will be interested and turn up.
You’re not going to tell me who the singer is when you haven’t got anything confirmed – is it someone you have worked with before, or somebody new?
R: Somebody new. I like finding new singers, I like to think I’ve done a good job of that in the past.
This issue of the magazine can be purchased from Rocktopia in both dead tree and paperless incarnations.
Thanks to Yvonne for the info.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Sorry…too busy watching To The Rising Sun did…..??????
August 28th, 2015 at 19:36@1 What a fantastic product the Rising Sun video is. I can’t wait to see negative comments about it and shred them to bits, it’s as good as it gets! Simply crazy!
As for this, thanks for posting, it confirms some suspicion out there including Graham’s and Joe’s opportunities to plug their own agendas and respond concerning it. 😀
August 28th, 2015 at 21:56I wish it was Jorn Lande… the only singer that could do Dio stuff properly. Can`t wait!
August 28th, 2015 at 22:55Ian Paice or John Bonham ????
August 29th, 2015 at 00:26Absolutely 100% Excellent. New singer and lots of Dio era material spells I need to start planning now to go to a show next June, wherever it may be.
August 29th, 2015 at 02:12Blackmore
August 29th, 2015 at 07:59Lande
Portnoy
Sherinian
Sheehan
I’m thinking Joe Retta (Dio’s Disciples and Heaven&Earth with Ritchies pal Stuart Smith) would be the perfect guy to sing. Best Voice in Rock at the moment?
August 29th, 2015 at 10:37Thanks for this article. Is there a link where we can find the whole interview ?
August 29th, 2015 at 11:41well…then he’s 71 years old. Maybe Robert Plant wants to come to the party ?
August 30th, 2015 at 12:02Granddads rock ?
RITCHIE!! Take Jorn Lande..
August 30th, 2015 at 13:35I’d agree about finding good singers. Some of the greatest of all time!!!
August 30th, 2015 at 14:15I have a feeling it will be the European singer Jorn…..
August 30th, 2015 at 22:28Very interesting article and new, fresh ( younger ) musicians to breed new enthusiasm into the classic Dio songs…awesome…here’s hoping. I also would like to hear the Dio songs that were not played during the live shows in the 1970s…Self Portrait, Snake Charmer, Run to the Wolves, Tarot Woman, Lady of the Lake
September 1st, 2015 at 14:06Jorn Lande is too famous to be chosen by RB.. He will choose unknown or little known musicians , That’s what he has done in Blackmore’s Night all this years. He wants to be the king on stage.. Frankly , I don’t expect too much from this “returning to rock”
September 1st, 2015 at 15:50It’s a wind up. Has anyone ever known Ritchie do anything half-heartedly? If he were serious he’d have a band sorted out, the studio booked and a new album with the band recorded. Quite frankly I’ll believe it when the tickets go on sale. Then, if I’m lucky, I’ll get one. 🙂
September 3rd, 2015 at 16:31Then again, If Ritchie decided to try a new project, I’d love the following to be in the band….
Vocal – Joss Stone or Graeme Bonnet
September 3rd, 2015 at 16:42Keyboards – Colin Towns
Bass Guitar – Tal Wilkenfeld
Drums – Jason Bonham
@15 – Here it is on THS for all to read, there are 17 comments, is the interest he speaks of still there? This was once the biggest Purple fan site on the net, and it still is the best. With this little of feedback here, again “interest” comes to mind, which this appears to be one hell of a lack of. Yes, lots of people read and don’t comment, but this is the one big thing everyone is obviously after and has been for so long now. Empty chairs do concern myself as well as what I’ve been hearing the management had major thoughts about when talking with JLT, or so he claims and I believe him. Ritchie’s not stupid for mentioning “a few might be interested.” And yes, that can happen to ANYONE who walks away and expects to walk right back in at a time of their own choosing, rather than when the demand is actually there and cooking. I can tell you the industry is not what it used to be, and promoters albeit pretty bad over the decades, have never had their heads further up their own asses in the history of rock, and most of it a sheer lack of experience, leading to heaps of a lack of interest and knowledge concerning what to do with such an enigma as Ritchie. He will need to be messing around very carefully when it comes to promoter interest, and that’s likely why festivals are being mentioned. As a single attraction in this economy, a much more complicated thing.
September 4th, 2015 at 14:46I think I found a band for him:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0m1GoQpxxM
September 4th, 2015 at 15:08At comment 5
This is now the second time that Ritchie has said he is doing a return to rock so it hardly sounds like he is winding people up.
It is a temporary return,doing a small number of gigs and its quite clear (as it stands) that he is not going to reform Rainbow and go into the studio to do a new Rainbow/rock album.
I can only hope that the number of dates that he is thinking about increases as the demand in Europe will be phenomenal.
September 6th, 2015 at 12:01I was hoping for John Lawton, I always thought Ritchie and John would go great together.
September 7th, 2015 at 14:04Dear Honorable Ritchie,
Morse is making a lot of money off YOUR WORK with Purple. The wisest thing for you to do is to COME BACK TO YOUR HOME GROUP, where YOUR HEART and LEGACY are.
September 7th, 2015 at 15:12Niki @ 15- What is it with the studio booked & a new album rave? That was never mentioned at all. He does have the band sorted though, apparently. That is good enough me thinks. Cheers.
September 9th, 2015 at 07:57LRT @ 17 – I would think that in today’s media savvy world, promotion is there for all & sundry. That & the fact Blackmore has such a full on history in classic rock. Plus, he has stated he is only playing 4 concerts, he isn’t announcing a world tour reunion of sorts! I think he will have no problem getting the attention desired for a positive outcome! Cheers.
September 9th, 2015 at 10:53Perfect band list:
September 9th, 2015 at 13:02Daviv Coverdale – vicals
Tony Carrey -keys
Roger Glover/Glenn Huges – bass
Ian Pace – drums
@ 21:
This is a very offensive comment. Without Steve we could only talk about a Deep Purple that existed some 21 years ago. There’s no one in the band who would appreciate a line-up change like this. Let’s not forget about the fact that TMIB got paid a buttload of money to carry on with Gillan for just a bit longer than a year after JLT had to leave. Deep Purple will most likely die before there’ll be another line-up change. And think about all the brilliant live recordings and orchestra projects that wouldn’t have been possible with TMIB for sure. To me it’s a shame that TMIB for whatever reason didn’t at least participate in the Concerto for Group and Orchestra studio recording. Jon needed three guitarists to replace him.
September 10th, 2015 at 13:04Beth Hart of course.
September 10th, 2015 at 15:18And Ritchie says:
…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.”
What did I say…
Always new guys …
bye bye Joe …
It will be genius
Kraatzy
September 11th, 2015 at 13:46