UNCOVERED: 2 | History Defined

“If somebody’s got an alcohol problem or a drug problem, there’s nothing you can do”: the epic life of Don Airey, the man who has worked with Ozzy Osbourne, Ritchie Blackmore and Gary Moore and lived to tell the tale

Ozzy, Richie Blackmore, Gary Moore - keyboard maestro Don Airey has worked with them all and has the stories to prove it

Louder · Mar 24, 2024

"It was starting to feel like the band had run its course": Whitesnake entered 1984 on a high, but everything was about to change

Whitesnake's last album before MTV propelled them towards US superstardom, Slide It In marked the end of an era for the band

Louder · Mar 20, 2024

“There was an amazing synergy. The longest single session was 72 hours. We fed the engineer speed pills… we’d scramble to write lyrics then pluck vocal harmonies out of the air”: How Nektar’s ambition and effort gave the world Remember The Future

The Bluebird character was invented at the same time by different creatives, a technical issue nearly killed off the recorded musical energy – and drugs fuelled almost every aspect of the production. But the resulting environment-themed epic was worth all the hard graft

Louder · Mar 5, 2024

In 1979, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow began making their fourth album, Down To Earth. Cue pranks, tantrums, line-up changes, bad vibes and really bad hair days

"I didn’t look like them and I wasn't into their music" - Graham Bonnet on being offered the job of Rainbow singer

Louder · Dec 27, 2023

"It was the most scary thing any of us had ever been through." Ronnie James Dio on the "evil spirit" that apparently sabotaged Rainbow and ended up pushing his wife down the stairs

While recording in a haunted château, Ronnie James Dio believed he'd accidentally summoned a "really evil spirit" that caused chaos during their sessions

Metal Hammer · Dec 6, 2023

"I'll be honest here – I think they blew us off stage every single night": what happened when AC/DC went on tour with Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow

In 1976 Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow embarked on the Rising tour of Europe with a young band from Australia in tow: Ronnie James Dio was watching them very closely

Metal Hammer · Dec 5, 2023

Bernie Marsden obituary

Powerfully expressive British guitarist and songwriter who was a key member of the rock band Whitesnake

The Guardian - UK · Aug 28, 2023

“My mum said, ‘What about the drink and drugs and wild women?’ I said, ‘That‘s what I want to do this for!’”: the life and times of Bernie Marsden, British blues-rock‘s secret weapon

In 2020, Classic Rock sat down with late ex-Whitesnake guitarist Bernie Marsden to talk fistfights with UFO, patching things up with David Coverdale and meeting James Bond

Louder · Aug 25, 2023

‘If I get covered in urine, that means I’ve arrived’: the birth of Monsters of Rock festival

In an extract from new book Denim and Leather, an oral history of 80s British heavy metal, Judas Priest, Saxon, Rainbow and others describe the 1980 debut of an event that cemented the UK rock community

The Guardian - UK · Feb 21, 2022