Watch Ritchie Blackmore play first Rainbow gig in 19 years

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

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Mike has been Editor-in-Chief of GuitarWorld.com since 2019, and an offset fiend and recovering pedal addict for far longer. He has a master's degree in journalism from Cardiff University, and 15 years' experience writing and editing for guitar publications including MusicRadar, Total Guitar and Guitarist, as well as 20 years of recording and live experience in original and function bands. During his career, he has interviewed the likes of John Frusciante, Chris Cornell, Tom Morello, Matt Bellamy, Kirk Hammett, Jerry Cantrell, Joe Satriani, Tom DeLonge, Radiohead's Ed O'Brien, Polyphia, Tosin Abasi, Yvette Young and many more. His writing also appears in the The Cambridge Companion to the Electric Guitar. In his free time, you'll find him making progressive instrumental rock as Maebe.