Rainbow Live In Japan 1984 (2015)

The date is March 14, 1984, and it's one of the more interesting twists and turns of the convoluted "Deep Purple Family Tree" saga, a majestic rock soap opera that has been unfolding since the early sixties and is still going strong to the present day. Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow are playing live for the second night in a row at Tokyo's prestigious, 14500-capacity Budokan hall, scene of some of rock's most memorable live engagements (and recordings) over the decades, starting with the Beatles' first (and only) Japanese dates in 1966…

RAINBOW'S tour of Japan in March 1984 would be their final set of live shows before they disbanded in April that year with Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover joining the Deep Purple Mark II reunion. This show from the famous Budokan in Tokyo captures the band in scintillating form performing tracks from across their career including a stunning version of "Difficult To Cure" with full orchestra and other classics including "Spotlight Kid", "I Surrender", "Catch The Rainbow", "All Night Long", "Can't Happen Here" and more.

The first of its kind, this career box set covers the entire Polydor career of Rainbow, featuring rare and unheard tracks as well as fan favourites as well as the band in concert at Monsters of Rock in 1980, compiled by Blackmore expert Andy Francis it presents the story of the band though words, pictures and music. The extensive booklet features many rare photos (by Ross Halfin) as well as memorabilia, picture covers and the story of the band…

Rainbow (also known as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow or Blackmore's Rainbow) are a British rock band led by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Estabilished in 1975…

Ritchie Blackmore is beyond doubt one of the all-time great guitar players. From his pop roots with The Outlaws and his many session recordings in the sixties, through defining hard rock with Deep Purple and Rainbow in the seventies and eighties and on to the renaissance rock of Blackmore s Night, Ritchie has proved that he is a master of the guitar across a multitude of styles…

Rainbow (also known as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow or Blackmore's Rainbow) are a British rock band led by guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Estabilished in 1975…

Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. The band is considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical approach changed over the years. Originally formed as a progressive rock band, the band shifted to a heavier sound in 1970. Deep Purple, together with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, have been referred to as the "unholy trinity of British hard rock and heavy metal in the early to mid-seventies". They were listed in the 1975 Guinness Book of World Records as "the globe's loudest band" for a 1972 concert at London's Rainbow Theatre, and have sold over 100 million albums worldwide…

Akiko Yano is a Japanese pop and jazz musician and singer. She was born Akiko Suzuki (鈴木 顕子 Suzuki Akiko) in Tokyo and raised in Aomori, Aomori, and later began her singing career in the mid-1970s. Her vocals and singing style have been compared to British singer Kate Bush.