Rainbow was formed by Ritchie Blackmore in 1975 after he left Deep
Purple at the height of their fame. They were instantly successful and
released a string of hit albums, with an ever-changing line up, between
1975 and 1983 when Blackmore broke up the group to join the reformed
Deep Purple. This concert from their European tour in 1977 features the
line up responsible for the "Long Live Rock ’n’ Roll" album released
later that year, including vocalist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Cozy
Powell. Blackmore had to be smuggled out of Austria after trouble with
the police at a gig two nights earlier, and was very late arriving in
Munich, all of which seemed to inspire both the band and the audience to
create a truly remarkable gig.
