Ritchie Blackmore s Rainbow, with the great Ronnie James Dio on vocals, played New York City’s Palladium with the now legendary AC/DC opening.
AC/DC with the Young brothers on guitars and Bon Scott on vocals obliterated the theatre with their high voltage rock and roll. Bon Scott tragically passed away in 1980 but the band achieved even greater heights in years to come (to include what might have turned out to be a final tour with Axel Rose on vocals).
Rainbow took the stage with a giant neon rainbow overhead that ran the length of the stage that changed colors flickering throughout the first song to nice effect. The dynamic Dio demanded the rabid audience’s attention. Ritchie Blackmore played guitar for what would turn out to be the only time I would see him perform and before he went medieval. After a song, maybe mid-two, the band unexpectedly left the stage. After what seemed like a lengthy delay, it was announced that due to technical issues the concert was canceled and you could get refunds at place of purchase. The story we heard was the perfectionist Blackmore heard a buzzing in a speaker and the show would not go on. This was not the news anyone wanted to hear and honestly the band was so loud that this “buzz” was unnoticeable to us, but in the end we got to see AC/DC and a glimmer of Rainbow for free.
Refunds are few and far between as no one wants to return money. The last time this happened to me was at a Marylin Manson show at Jones Beach when an unrelenting summer lightening storm came through making an outdoor show that night unsafe. Rainbow would later change members and had some success, Ronnie James Dio would have a successful solo career and later join Black Sabbath, and AC/DC would overcome tragedy and become stadium headliners.
It’s a Long Way to the Top
if You Want to Rock and Roll
Rock on!
GQ
I was at the show, I was 16 and had a friend who was an usher at the palladium and used to get us in for free. We used to see Frank Zappa and the Mothers there every Halloween, half the neighborhood from Middle Village Queens would go. Anyway, nobody knew who AC/DC was at the time, they totally rocked the place, everyone was going nuts. We came to see Rainbow because of Dio and Blackmore. After a couple of songs they quit, the rumor walking out was that they shared the Amp’s with AC/DC and they blew one of the speakers, then a little while later it was said they quit because the crowd did not go as crazy for them as we did for AC/DC and that they quit due to jealousy. To this day at 60 years old I still don’t know the truth of way Rainbow walked off the stage. But it is sure a great memory getting to see AC/DC in their infancy and obviously they are legends.
The buzz was very annoying. If you noticed in mistreated Ritchie could never stop playing during the mellow part because of buzz