During a recent interview, legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore opened up about the pivotal moment he decided to leave Deep Purple and forge a new path with his iconic band, Rainbow. Speaking with Guitar Player in conjunction with the release of the massive nine-disc archival box set, Rainbow — The Temple of the King 1975–1976, the 80-year-old virtuoso detailed the internal friction that ultimately pushed him out of the hard rock institution.
According to the guitarist, the breaking point occurred when business interests and personal agendas began overshadowing the actual music. He specifically recalled a deeply discouraging interaction regarding songwriting credits that signaled the beginning of the end.
“The first time was when I thought about doing a song and a band member said, ‘If we didn’t write it there’s no point in doing it because we won’t get writing credits.’ I was really disappointed in that statement,” Ritchie revealed.
The guitarist further explained how the band’s focus shifted away from creative collaboration, likening the internal dynamic to endless, unproductive corporate meetings.
“It was also a time when our management was starting to put together a tour and everybody in the band was busy doing something else — a holiday, producing something, getting married. In my mind this showed that it wasn’t a band anymore. It was just a group of people with high-finance interests, business ventures and personal bookings taking place instead of the band touring. That’s when I started thinking about leaving.”
He pointedly added: “John Cleese once said of Monty Python that there were far too many committee meetings about nothing. We had the same in Purple.”
Seeking a fresh creative outlet, the guitarist eventually connected with a pre-fame Ronnie James Dio, who was fronting the band Elf at the time. A single studio session with the powerhouse vocalist was enough to reignite his passion for playing.
“Then, when I did a session with Ronnie Dio in the studio, I started seeing things in a different light. I started having fun again and music started being important again.”
The duo quickly discovered a shared affinity for Renaissance-style melodies, an element that would become a defining characteristic of early Rainbow material. Ritchie Blackmore praised the late singer’s incredible vocal versatility, noting his unique ability to transition seamlessly between aggressive hard rock and classical stylings.
“We both lived near each other in Los Angeles,” he continued. “He would come over the house I was staying at and we would run through a few ideas. Ironically, the ideas we came up with were extremely Renaissance-sounding. Ronnie Dio had two types of vocal: He could sing heavy rock, but he could also sing the way they did in the 1500s. So our first few ideas, which have been lost somewhere, were based on Renaissance tunes, because he could adapt to that way of thinking and singing, as well as the heavy rock voice he could do. He knew his harmonies for Renaissance songs so well.”
While the guitarist has largely stepped away from touring due to recent health issues, including a severe bout of vertigo that forced the cancellation of last year’s shows with Blackmore’s Night, the newly released The Temple of the King collection offers fans a comprehensive look at the fiery early days of Rainbow.
