Portraits of Rainbow - The Dio Years book is a photographic celebration of Ritchie Blackmore’s supergroup, formed in 1975 by the guitarist as he left Deep Purple and recruited four members of the band Elf, including singer Ronnie James Dio. However, the band really took off when Blackmore recruited Cozy Powell, Jimmy Bain and Tony Carey and recorded the seminal album “Rising” in 1976. Sounds writer Geoff Barton remembers: "I marvelled at the fist-thunderin’ maelstrom depicted on the cover, a pulse-poundin’ paintin’ by Ken (Kiss, Manowar) Kelly. I also offered the following description of the album’s musical content: THERMO-NUCLEAR ROCK’N’ROLL!”

Rainbow were underway and although this less commercial variant of the band that went on to conquer the rock world in the 1980s was relatively short-lived it remains, for most fans, the definitive sound and image of Rainbow with the combination of Blackmore, Dio and Powell creating a powerful, progressive rock band. It all came to an end in 1979 when Ritchie decided to take the band in a new, more commercial direction.

The book features hundreds of classic and unseen, carefully restored, black and white images of Rainbow at play and playing live at a series of stunning, unforgettable shows. Legendary writer and journalist Geoff Barton has written an introductory text based on his professional experience with Ritchie and the band in the 1970s.

The book is 230mm square, case-bound, 240 pages, printed on luxury 170gsm matt-coated paper. The book comes with a fold out poster and is presented in a black slipcase with a gold foil logo. The main edition comes in 666 numbered copies and sells for £55 plus shipping. 

THE NEW PORTRAITS SERIES FROM RUFUS

Portraits is a new series of titles from Rufus and will comprise beautiful 230mm square books, each presented in a slipcase, and will feature a range of artistes. Each title will be created using the work of a main photographer associated with the artiste, plus supplementary imagery to complement the main images. The books are printed and bound in the UK and presented in a luxury, foiled slipcase. The books are not signed but will be numbered and will come with an exclusive poster or print.

Portraits will grow into a series of books released across the year and will be produced in a limited, worldwide run of 666 numbered unofficial books.