Ritchie Blackmore announces touring line up

Ritchie Blackmore’s touring lineup for his upcoming shows has been revealed.

The guitar icon will hit the road with his new version of Rainbow for two German Monsters Of Rock festivals in June, and an appearance at Birmingham’s Genting Arena the same month.

Promoter Alan Day confirmed the lineup will consist of Blackmore, Lords Of Black singer Ronnie Romero, Stratovarius keyboardist Jens Johansson, Blackmore’s Night drummer David Keith and bassist Bob Nouveau.

They’ll play music from Rainbow and Deep Purple’s back catalogue at the shows.

Blackmore recently said his chosen vocalist was “a cross between Dio and Freddie Mercury.”

He added: "This will mean exposing a new singer to the masses, and I’m sure he’ll become pretty famous because of his voice.”

Further details will be released in due course.