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.
