After announcing his return to the electric guitar earlier this year, Ritchie Blackmore donned his Fender Strat once more to play his first gigs in 19 years over the weekend at Germany's Monsters Of Rock festival.
The setlist was crammed with bona fide rock anthems, including Rainbow's Since You Been Gone, Stargazer and Long Live Rock 'N' Roll, while Deep Purple's Highway Star, Black Night and - yes - Smoke On The Water also made an appearance. You can watch footage of the highlights below.
Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow consists of Lords Of Black singer Ronnie Romero, Stradovarius keyboardist Jens Johansson, Blackmore's Night drummer David Keith and ex-Blackmore's Night bassist Bob Nouveau. The band's brief run of dates culminate at Birmingham's Genting Arena on 25 June.
Black Night
Stargazer
Highway Star
Child In Time
Long Live Rock 'N' Roll
“It’s been road-tested, dropped on its head, kicked around, x-rayed, strummed, chicken-picked, and arpeggio swept!” Fender and Chris Shiflett team up for signature Cleaver Telecaster Deluxe
![Eric Clapton and his gold-plated Cry Baby: [Left] a black and white image of Clapton playing his Bigsby-equipped Gibson Les Paul standard live on stage with Cream.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aPowLRdfjdvVAiwU8PYuBh-1280-80.jpg.webp)
“We are honoured that our company’s relationship with the legendary guitar player continues to this day”: Dunlop salutes wah pedal pioneer Eric Clapton with a gold-plated signature Cry Baby
“It’s been road-tested, dropped on its head, kicked around, x-rayed, strummed, chicken-picked, and arpeggio swept!” Fender and Chris Shiflett team up for signature Cleaver Telecaster Deluxe
“We are honoured that our company’s relationship with the legendary guitar player continues to this day”: Dunlop salutes wah pedal pioneer Eric Clapton with a gold-plated signature Cry Baby
