Folks, even if you have my little Rainbow book from 2005, I urge you to consider this massive overhaul.

• First off, this book is 50% longer, a whopping 120,000 words and 318 pages
• No pictures in the old one – two swell colour sections of photos in this one.
• New interview footage with Ritchie Blackmore, Ronnie James Dio, Roger Glover, Jimmy Bain, Tony Carey, Graham Bonnet, Craig Gruber, Cozy Powell and more.
• major overhaul in the writing and analysis by me
• loads more research of the press, breakdown of the songs, production, album covers etc.
• old one was smaller format; this one is my usual 6” x 9”
• old one… hey, it was one of my very first band biographies; it was long overdue for a re-engineering and this is probably my best yet. So, as the back cover sez…
• reissues and live output covered in more detail
• brought up to date with the Ronnie Romero era live shows and new songs

The Man in Black!

His name is Ritchie Blackmore and his reputation is legion. But is it warranted? Find out now, as we look at the man’s career as reigning lord over the constantly evolving consortium of monster talents known as Rainbow.

Ronnie James Dio, Craig Gruber, Jimmy Bain, Tony Carey, Joe Lynn Turner, Graham Bonnet, Roger Glover, Bobby Rondinelli, Bob Daisley, Jimmy Bain, Doogie White and of course Ritchie himself… they all get their say through pages and pages of previously unpublished interview footage, on what makes the Man in Black tick, his pranks, his sly hirings and swift firings.

And of course, there’s the music. From the raw and fiery Dio years, through the criminally under-rated Down to Earth album, the smooth crooning Joe Lynn Turner era and into one final somewhat forgotten record fronted by Doogie White, it’s all examined here, track by track, fascinating tale by trick.

And let’s not forget, Rainbow is the band that wrote “Man on the Silver Mountain,” “Sixteenth Century Greensleeves,” “Stargazer,” “A Light in the Black,” “Tarot Woman,” “Long Live Rock ‘n’ Roll,” “Gates Of Babylon,” “All Night Long,” “Eyes of the World,” “Spotlight Kid,” “Can’t Happen Here,” “Stone Cold,” “Street of Dreams,” “Can’t Let You Go” and “Hunting Humans,” and this is the book you should read to find out why!

Prices including shipping:

Book will be signed to you from me, so let me know if it is a present for someone else, or you don’t want it signed.

PayPal happily accepted! Ask me if you'd like a PayPal invoice (please indicate what country you are in), or just do yer usual and direct funds to [email protected].

Sweet postage savings to be had for multiple orders (or two of pretty much anything—long story, ask me!). Given new mailing system, works best for US orders.

Or mail payment (personal check in US funds, cash, or INTERNATIONAL money order), to:

Martin Popoff
P.O. Box 65208, 358 Danforth Ave.
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
M4K 2Z2