Joe Lynn Turner sat down with Backstage Pass to discuss his role in Rainbow. During the conversation, the singer revealed receiving hate and backlash from fans.
The rocker took the place of Ronnie James Dio in Rainbow for four years, but he wasn’t welcomed that nicely. Instead, he received ‘nothing but backlash.’
When asked about the criticism in the band due to the change in the sound, he laughed and said:
“I received nothing but backlash. No, actually it was a lot backlash. But I think that happens when anybody new comes into an established band the old guard really resents the new guard. People don’t like change and that’s okay because it was a completely different sound we were going for anyway. We were not trying to be comparative in any way. So yes, [I] received a lot of backlash. I always just kept saying, ‘We are not the deal here.’”
He then explained what the band members wanted to do with their music and careers:
“Are we more commercial? Yes. We are, we want to be. That’s what we want. We want to get our songs on the radio, we want to be on MTV. That’s what we want, okay? Ronnie’s doing great doing what he does. I love Ronnie. Ronnie I knew from upstate New York. When he was in Elf, all these guys that played from this area, Lou Gramm was in Black Sheep and all that, we all played clubs up there. I was in a band called Ezra then. So I knew all these guys. I had no animosities or jealousies or any of that stuff because it was always a different thing.”
Turner Got ‘Crucified’ When He Joined Deep Purple
When both Dio and Ian Gillan left their bands Rainbow and Deep Purple, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore turned to Turner to fill their shoes. Turner took over the frontman role for Rainbow from 1980 to 1984 and later joined Deep Purple in 1990 for the ‘Slaves and Masters’ album and tour. But this time fans were less accepting of him as the new lead singer.
The album didn’t sell well and received harsh criticism from fans. Gillan returned to the band shortly after the tour ended, and he’s still the frontman of Deep Purple to this day.
Turner thinks fans are going to crucify the new sound in the band whether they like it or not. During another interview, he explained:
“My theory is that fans find it difficult to reconcile what they’re used to hearing with something new. I don’t care who you replace or whatever happens. If they don’t hear that old familiar, they’re going to crucify you. I got crucified several times.”
You can watch the interview below.