diverse Review´s/Feedbacks usw.

      diverse Review´s/Feedbacks usw.

      Verfasst am: 15.10.2004, 18:59 Titel: Gefunden in Spanien, für Euch übersetzt!




      Wer kennt nicht Ritchie Blackmore? Für den Fall das ihn jemand nicht kennen sollte: er ist der Gründer der Band Deep Purple, eine der großartigsten Bands aller Zeiten und für viele die Band, die den Heavy Metal erfand. Es ist klar das der Name Blackmore damit ein großes Gewicht in der internationalen Rockszene hat, aber wir wollen hier nicht über Ritchie reden, sondern über Jürgen Richard, dem Sohn des berühmten Rockers.

      Jürgen Richard Blackmore wurde 1964 in London geboren, anders gesagt, wir reden hier nicht von einem Bengel der seine erste Gitarrenstunde hatte und jetzt seinen Vater nachahmen will, vielmehr von einem erwachsenen Komponisten der sich seit seinem zehnten Lebensjahr der Musik verschrieben hat. Obwohl es klar ist, dass sein Name in keinster Weise die Popularität von dem seines Vaters erreicht hat (und das es nicht immer leicht ist die Last eines so berühmten Namens zu tragen), so hat er doch dessen musikalisches Talent und Fähigkeit geerbt, für Gitarre zu komponieren.

      Nachdem er mit vielen kleineren (Amateur)-Bands in Berührung kam, stürzte er sich mit „Winds Of War“, einem der größeren Erfolge von Iron Angel, in die Metal Welt. Einige Jahre später, 1990, gründete er J.R.Blackmore’s Superstition, die Formation mit der er seine größten, kommerziellen Erfolge erzielte. Sie veröffentlichten eine CD, „Still Holding On“, die momentan remixed wird, aber nicht viel mehr. Und heute scheint Jürgen im Alleingang (in Zusammenarbeit mit seinem Freund und Keyboarder Malte Rathke) mehr als je bereit, in die Welt des Metal und Hard Rock zu drängen und hätte dafür nichts besseres machen können, als „Recall The Past“ zu veröffentlichen. Eine EP mit vier Tracks, als Appetitmacher für die im Frühjahr 2005 kommende CD, die unter seinem eigenem Label Musikerei veröffentlicht wird, unter dem er bereits diese EP, sowie verschiedene Arbeiten anderer Gruppen veröffentlichte.

      Wenn man sich „Recall The Past“ bzw. die 4 Songs darauf anhört, wird sofort klar das das musikalische Talent in der Familie liegt. Jürgen versucht sich weder mit seinem Vater zu vergleichen, noch möchte er sich dessen Reputation zunutze machen (mit diesem Nachnamen hätte er schon seit Jahren auf der „Welle mitreiten“ können). Die vier Stücke auf der CD demonstrieren eine enorme Kreativität. Sie bewegen sich zwischen Heavy Metal, Hard Rock, Folk Metal und Progressive, der intelligente Einsatz des Orchesters und der sehr originelle Sound der Keyboards jedoch, verleihen der EP etwas Neues, Innovatives. Es ist vielleicht kein Wendepunkt für das Genre, aber mit hoher Wahrscheinlichkeit werden die Anhänger des Heavy Sounds „Recall The Past“ zumindestens erfrischend finden.

      Was kann bei dieser EP hervorgehoben werden? Insbesondere die Qualität der Gitarren-Passagen ist durchgehend außergewöhlich. Die Gitarren-Soli haben eine eigene Identität, erinnern aber dennoch an die Großen, wie Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, King Crimson oder – wie sollte es anders sein - Ritchie Blackmore. Technisch gibt es bei J.R.Blackmore nicht zu kritisieren, mit Sicherheit meistert er alle Bereiche, wie zum Beispiel die letzte Passage von „Invisible Touch“, mit dem sehr emotionalen Solo, im langen Intro zu „Recall The Past“ (dem Stück) mit dem langsamen und komplizierten Zupfen, bei dem man sich mehr als einmal mit offenem Mund und gelöschtem Verstand ertappt, beim folkloristisch anmutendem Ende des gleichen Songs oder in dem im Ohr bleibenden Grundriff von „Time Travelling“. Nicht zu vergessen die Arbeit von Malte Rathke an den Keyboards, der es versteht die Stücke aus dem Hintergrund mit Tiefe und Magie zu füllen und durchaus Ähnlichkeiten zu so vielschichtigen Keyboardern wie Nobuo Uematsu (das beste Beispiel ist der Anfang von „Invisible Touch“), Mike Oldfield (der als einer der Haupteinflüsse des Duo Blackmore-Rathke gilt) oder Rick Wakeman aufweist.

      Wirklich, „Recall The Past“ ist exzellent, abwechslungsreich, technisch und unterhaltsam, dank der perfekten Kombination von Instrumenten, Sounds und Stilen. Nachdem man diese 4 Stücke gehört hat, wünscht man sich mehr, also bleibt zu hoffen, dass die Zeit bis zum nächsten Release nicht zu lang wird...

      Das Beste: 4 technische Stücke, abwechslungsreich, unterhaltsam und sehr gut produziert. Exzellente Gitarren- und Keyboardpassagen. Sehr gute Orchestrierung.

      Das Schlechteste: Es ist zuwenig. Wann gibt es mehr Material?

      Alternativen: Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Saxon, Deep Purple, Mike Oldfield, Iron Wing, Whitesnake, Blind Guardian, Scorpions, Jaded Heart, Accept
      Quelle: "The Rainbow Fanclan Legacy"

      rainbowfanclan.com/


      Jürgen Richard Blackmore hat mit seinem Keyboarder und langjährigem Freund Malte Rathke 4 Songs auf der EP "Recall The Past" aufgenommen. Diese EP ist ein Vorgeschmack auf das geplante Album, das Anfang nächsten Jahres veröffentlicht werden soll. Jürgen beschreibt es auf seiner Seite so:

      "Mit der Musik von J.R.Blackmore wollen wir versuchen, eine neue Dimension des Rock zu erschliessen, mit modernen Elementen aus verschiedenen Kulturen, klassischen, sowie barocken Einflüßen, orchestralen Arrangments und fetzigen Gitarren Riffs zu verschiedensten Melodien vereint. Wir beide wollen unsere Liebe zum melodischen Rock und klassischer Musik auf einzigartige Weise verbinden."

      Und genau das bekommt man auf dieser EP zu hören. Bereits am Anfang des ersten Songs hört man eine Vielzahl von Stilen. Es ist ein gelungener Mix aus Klassik mit einem Schuss Uli Jon Roth, Scorpions und natürlich seinem Vater zu den guten, alten Tagen. Tolle, rockige Gitarrensoli und Orgeln im Hintergrund. Es ist gut das ein Blackmore noch die E-Gitarre spielt und nicht auf Robin Hood's Neffe macht.

      Obwohl diese instrumental Stücke sehr hörenswert sind, würden sie noch mehr Spass machen wenn Jürgen sich einen heftigen Drummer vom Stile eines Powell oder Rondinelli suchen würde und noch einen guten Rocksänger dazu.....
      ..
      Hardrock Haven - Winter 2004 Premier Edition
      J.R. Blackmore - Recall the Past

      Der Sohn der Rock Legende Ritchie Blackmore, Jürgen Richard Blackmore, hat zusammen mit seinem Keyboarder und langjährigen Freund Malte Rathke eine neue EP mit dem Titel Recall The Past rausgebracht. Auf der EP wurden Stücke des kommenden Albums veröffentlicht, welches Anfang 2005 erscheinen soll.

      Die EP besteht aus vier Instrumental Tracks die unterschiedlichste musikalische Elemente enthalten, unter anderem Rock, Modern, Klassik und Barock. Musikalisch ist Recall The Past eine solide Leistung. Ich wusste nicht was ich von dieser CD erwarten sollte und die Musik auf der CD hat mich total weggeblasen. J.R.Blackmore und Malte Rathke zeigen hier ihre unglaubliche Fähigkeit, Songs zu schreiben, die melodisch sind und ein breites Spektrum an musikalischen Einflüssen enthalten.

      Die Phrasierung und der Ton den J.R.Blackmore einfängt, sickert aus den Lautsprechern und bettelt darum gehört zu werden. Es wird schwer fallen, ein Instrumental Release aus 2004 zu finden, das auch nur annähernd an die vier Stücke von Recall The Past herankommt. Sie sind inspiert und gleichzeitig inspirierend und ich kann kaum erwarten das komplette Album zu hören.

      Von John Kindred (hardrockhaven.net)
      ..

      P.S.: "Recall The Past" ist auf Platz 8 von John's persönlicher Top 10 aller 2004er Releases
      Verfasst am: 01.01.2007, 22:08 Titel: Interview with J.R. Blackmore - This Is Rock - June 2006

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      Interview for This Is Rock Magazine
      By Ainhoa Prieto
      thisisrock.net

      How has affected you being constantly compared to your dad? Does it annoy you? It seems a bit unfair all these comparisons, don’t you think?
      I would say at this time I stand above it. I remember in the early years I had some problems with that. I started my career as a musician without telling anybody who I am, but it took only a few days ‘til the press found out about it. Now I take it like it is and I live with it.

      For those people that don’t know you yet, tell us about your background. When did you start playing guitar?
      I started with a cheap acoustic guitar when I was around 10 years old. I played folk songs and that kind of stuff. After I got bored with this, I played rock songs and had much fun with it. I remember the time in the guitar school, when we had to play songs like “This land is your land” and that kind of stuff. I always started playing riffs like AC/DC after the song was finished… all the other kids in the school went crazy, because actually they wanted to learn things like that, but the teacher had his own style to teach guitar. So after a year I left the school because I didn’t want to play folk stuff anymore and I practiced at home by myself. I played onto all my records and that was great fun

      Did you want to follow the footsteps of your dad?
      This is impossible, because he is a guitar hero for millions of fans! I only concentrate myself on making music and hope that there are some people who like my music and my guitar playing style - like every musician does.

      In 1990 you recorded “Still Holding On”. A good hard rock album but for some reason it didn’t get the recognition it deserved. Why do you think this was?
      This was mainly because the record was never officially released. We had some problems with the distributor, who told us that he won’t release the record. For some reason the album got released without our knowledge, but it was only a small pressing and so the album was kind of a collector’s item. In fact, almost nobody knew that we recorded “Still Holding On”, so it’s understandable that the recognition was way under the quality of the album.

      In which other works did you collaborate on?
      I did a cover version of “Smoke on the water” with King Kurlee. For sure, there were many other musicians I worked with and a some projects I played guitar stuff on, but it’s too much to specify.

      What was the reason of your musical inactivity between the 90s and nowadays?
      I went crazy with the music business. All people around me made me crazy because everybody wanted to tell me how to do the next step and I felt like a product not like a human anymore. Also I lost my trust into the people around me. The time had come that I had to change my life, otherwise I really would have went crazy. Also Shirley (my daughter) came into my life and I wanted to be there for her and my wife. In the end I think it was the right way to take this long break from the music public.

      In 2004 you created Musikerei. Can you explain to us what you do at Musikerei?
      I write individual songs for everything. Sometimes I write songs for companies, musicians or only private songs to say “sorry” or “I love you” to the girlfriend. I want to put everything under this label that has to do with music. For me, the Musikerei label is my main work and I have much fun with it.

      How did the idea arise about recording an instrumental album?
      The main reason was that I needed some kind of challenge. Writing a complete album without vocals is much more challenging, because the instruments and melodies have to be more interesting, otherwise the listener might get bored after three songs. Besides this reason, we wanted to create something that gives the listener the possibility to find his own interpretation of the songs. There isn’t much description in the booklet of the album, so everyone who is listening to the album will have his/her own feelings about the message of the songs and this is quite interesting for us.

      The EP “Recall the Past”, which you recorded in 2004, got very good reviews. Did it reach your expectations?
      In fact the reviews were way above our expectations. We knew it would be hard to release an instrumental project, because everybody is focused on the instruments and playing techniques – which are in the foreground all the time. We are really amazed, that we didn’t get one bad review for “Recall The Past”. One or two reviewers complained about the missing vocals, but never complained about the music itself. And the reviews we’ve got for “Between Darkness & Light” so far are really, really good as well.

      Your new album “Between Darkness and Light” which has just been released worldwide seems very personal. What is the message you wanted to transmit with it?
      The main message is: everyone has to go through dark times, but there will be times of light eventually. If we accept the times of darkness as a challenge and if we believe that the good times will come in the end, then we are able to carry the burden with more ease. It is not always easy to see the light in the darkest times, but if we don’t believe in the light, we might get stuck on the dark side. Sounds esoteric, but it’s just a metaphor for the things we all know just too well.

      It’s clear that Malte Rathke plays a mayor part on the composition of “Between Darkness and Light”. The keyboard and orchestral arrangements alongside your exquisite guitar passages and inspiring melodies make of this album very appealing and easy to listen to…
      Malte and I know each other for more then 25 years and we first worked together about 18 years ago - we wrote all the songs for the album “Still Holding On” (except the song “Still Holding On”, which I wrote with Michael Bormann). Since then we were always good friends and we still are. It’s always a pleasure to work with Malte, because we don’t need many words to understand each other. If I give him a melody that I played with the guitar, he’s giving me just the orchestration I had in mind for the melody and vice versa. We simply complement each other perfectly and the album would have been totally different without Malte, because in the end we wrote everything together and the spectrum of the compositions was very much broadened due to our collaboration.

      Do you think that this is your finest work so far?
      I think it isn’t comparable with the older works. Everything I did so far had vocals on it; the actual album has a very different style. But yes, thinking of the song writing, it’s by far the most complex work and I think the best for now. But I think it’s always getting better with every release and this is not the last one – promised.

      Any plans on bringing this adventure live? Hope you can bring it to Spain. We heard you were living here for a while…
      At the moment there are no plans for live gigs, but maybe next year. We are currently planning some “meet & greet” parties in Germany (Cologne, Berlin and Munich), where we present our new album, talk to our fans, but don’t play live. Maybe we can have such a party somewhere in Spain, which would be great! Also we are recording some video material in the next weeks, so be aware that there will be some music videos from us in the near future.
      And yes, I have lived in Spain for about a year with a friend of mine. We had a beach place in front of a big hotel in Almeria. We leased jet skis and water skis and all this stuff and had so much fun at this time. I also met 3 spanish persons I never forget, they were so helpful and nice that I am very sad I lost contact with them. If they read this, I would be happy if they contact me. I love Spain, it’s my favourite country and I hope I can live there forever in the future. I love the spanish people and also the landscape, everything is amazing there.

      What does the future hold for you? Can we expect more albums from you?
      You will be hearing from us in the future, that’s for sure. At the moment, we are planning our next steps. We don’t know if the next release will be an instrumental album, but this is not the end of the J.R.Blackmore project.

      Are you working on any other projects that we can know about?
      I’m currently playing some solo guitars for Iron Angel’s next release. This is much fun, because Iron Angel’s style is so different – kind of speed metal. Besides this I’m fully concentrated on my own works.

      On behalf of This Is Rock thank you so much for your time and we wish you all the best success! Now briefly could you say few words about each song of the new album? What is the song about etc.
      I hope you understand, that most of the songs don’t have a story behind them.

      1. Between Darkness And Light:
      It’s the main theme, as mentioned above, it’s about looking forward to and believe in better times if the times are bad at the moment.
      2.Nine Lives:
      Really nothing special to say about this one, a fine track though!
      3.Time Travelling:
      A short trip through the history of musical styles.
      4.Recall The Past:
      I always remembered old times when listening to this track, hence the title.
      5.Dreams:
      The perfect track to lean back and dream your own dream.
      6.Invisible Touch:
      Do you sometimes have the feeling that someone or something touched you? That’s what this track is about.
      7.Sheet Lightning
      We had a mighty thunderstorm some day when writing this track, hence the title.
      8.Tears of the Dragons
      Mighty and powerful creatures and still they are vulnerable and able to cry tears of sorrow and pain.
      9.Total Eclipse
      There is so much going on in this track. The title reflects this
      Verfasst am: 01.01.2007, 18:15 Titel: Interview with J.R. Blackmore - Hush Magazine - May 2004

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      Hello everybody!
      I thought I'd share with you an interview I did with Jürgen for a Spanish magazine. Hope you enjoy it!

      Ainhoa

      For Hush Magazine
      cadp-hushmagazine.com

      -----------------------

      A.P: First of all welcome to "Hush" and thank you for spending some time with us...
      I’d like to start asking you about when it all began, when did you decide
      you were going to be a musician?
      J.B: I think I was about twenty when I did get this feeling to be a musician

      A.P: Who were your main influences?
      J.B: I think it was AC/DC, VAN HALEN, GARY MOORE, ACCEPT,RAINBOW, STATUS QUO, and many, many more.

      A.P: In 1979 you studied at the Georg’s Music Shop as guitar maker
      apprenticeship. What can you tell us about that experience?
      J.B: My school period was over and I had to find a job…so I went to the guitar shop where I since bought my first guitar and asked about working…so George said ok lets have a try….I was very happy about it. It was a small music shop only two persons worked there and the basement of this shop was guitars.
      So I learned from everything a bit…technical stuff, keyboards, drums, you name it. We also build our own guitars …I had a great time at that place and it was a bridge into my life as a musician.

      A.P: After that you played in some small bands gaining experience but did you go to guitar lessons or were you self-taught?
      J.B:When I was ten years old I went for 4 weeks to a guitar school but it wasn’t fun…..because we had to play things like “This land is your land” or “House of the Rising Sun” …but I wanted to play like AC/DC So I practiced at home with all my LP’s and played playback to them…and that was fun.

      A.P: In 1986 you recorded "Winds of War" with the band "Iron Angel" and that was a turning point in your career. Can you tell us more about your
      professional career at that point? Bands you played in or collaborations...
      J.B: My friends from Iron Angel asked me to join the band…I thought that’s maybe cool…but I had to learn very quickly the songs because they booked a studio to make the new CD.
      After we went into the studio I realized that I was not ready to play in a band yet… so I played only a solo on one song and disembarked again. But all this helped me a lot because after this experience I was frustrated about myself that I was so badly guitar playing ….so I kicked my ass from that time every day to play guitar.
      After all that time practicing I felt I wanted to be a musician so I started my first own band called Straight….we only had a rehearsal room, but it was great to feel the atmosphere, to be in a band …and at this time I could play a bit better After that I had another band called Superstition but the German people couldn’t spell that so we changed it to J.R. Blackmore Group.

      A.P: In 1990 you founded "J.R. Blackmore Group" and recorded a great album called "Still Holding On". For the people that have not heard it (yet) what can you tell us about the album? Did you go on tour with that band?
      J.B: Yes this band was the first professional band with great musicians.
      We did gigs and a big tour through Czechoslovakia …after that they wanted us in Russia, but we only had a small VW bus and it was winter, so our management said it was too dangerous to go there because if we had a breakdown somewhere on the road it might be killing us, so we didn’t do it and went home instead.

      A.P: What did you do after "Still Holding On"?
      J.B: After we came back from the tour we tried to find a record deal…but everybody tried to pull us over and it was a nightmare, I had conversations every day with another idiot…after a while I said to myself, “This business is not my business” and I stopped being a musician and went to Spain, found a beach place renting jet-skis and boats.
      But in my soul there was always something missing….my music. ….so after a long time I said: “Come on! F**k all these business people! Make only music and concentrate only on making music.
      So I started my next round as a musician.

      A.P:In 2000 you started writing melodies for children. Being a rock musician was it too difficult to write these melodies? Who was your inspiration?
      J.B: When Shirley grew up I saw all these children’s TV-shows and sometimes there was such awful music that I thought …why do they make such bad music for kids.
      So I wrote some songs for kids, only for me and my daughter …it was a funny thing.

      A.P:In 2003 you created the label Musikerei. Can you describe for our readers what Musikerei is and how does it work?
      J.B: Musikerei is my own label to produce only my own records and in the future maybe more. We are also doing songs for special events, like birthday, to say sorry, or only to say someone “I love you”.
      We produce the songs with the name of the birthday child or the name of the person who wants to say “I love you” and also the person who will get the song.
      It’s a really great thing to say “I love you” to your girlfriend or boyfriend in a song.

      A.P: I heard that you are working on an instrumental album which sounds very promising. Is this the one you are working on with the band "X-Century" or a solo album? What can you tell us about it?
      J.B: We wanted to start Xcentury but the musicians who were invited in that project are very busy all the time doing their regular work, so in the end I had to say: sorry but it’s all over now with that project.
      But in the last two month I did get so many emails from all over the world where people told me that they liked my music and they were sad that I never had done a record anymore…..so I thought about all this and came to the conclusion to make a solo CD especially for them, where I don’t need anybody else to get it done.

      A.P:Musically who are your influences nowadays?
      J.B: Nowadays I haven’t anybody who influences me in these days, because I found my own way in music and I don’t listen to musicians any longer to try to play like them or sound like them….I only listen to music like every other person, just to enjoy it…and that is music from all styles.

      A.P: Can you describe us a normal day in the life of Jürgen Blackmore?
      J.B: I love animals that’s why I have a dog, four rabbits and many fishes and I am the godfather for many birds and cats around my place…so I have to give some time to them.
      Just now it took me days to heal a fish from his nearly death…but I have done it and I am very happy to see how the fish is swimming again….so please forgive me if the solo CD comes out 7 days later
      But most of the time I am working in my studio to get this CD finished and produce the commissioned songs, but I also have to get my home fixed because we moved here in December and it was a place like a ruin…and this is much work.

      A.P: Do you want to add some final words to our readers?
      J.B: I hope you will enjoy my solo CD and also I wish that real, handmade music never dies. So I wish all the musicians all over the world the best and please keep on rockin’!
      Verfasst am: 01.01.2007, 18:07 Titel: Interview with J.R.Blackmore - Metalkings.com - October 2004

      --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

      Interview for metalkings.com by "Dead Ripper"
      metalkings.com/reviews/Jurgen-…en-Blackmore-eng-2004.htm



      MetalKings.com: Your official site says you were born in London. Why not in Germany?
      Jurgen Blackmore: That first question is easy to answer! (laughs) Because I was really born in London in 1964. We lived for about 4 years in England.

      MetalKings.com: Where did you live in Germany originally and where do you live nowadays?
      Jurgen Blackmore: Since I was 4 years old I lived in Hamburg and now I live about 30 km from Hamburg in a town called Quickborn. It's a nice small village.

      MetalKings.com: How did you get into rock music? Did your father influence your style or not?
      Jurgen Blackmore: I came into rock music because my friends and I always listened to rock music. We loved the rock music. But my father didn't influence me much, it came out of me.

      MetalKings.com: What rock music idols did you have in the beginning?
      Jurgen Blackmore: Gary Moore, Van Halen, Accept, AC/DC, Status Quo and many more.

      MetalKings.com: Did German heavy metal music like Helloween or Steeler with Axel Rudi Pell influence your musical style or not?
      Jurgen Blackmore: No, not at all. The only German band I liked was Accept.

      MetalKings.com: What were your first bands? Did they play only cover songs or original material as well?
      Jurgen Blackmore: They were Iron Angel, Straight, Superstition, J.R.Blackmore Group. We always wrote own material. Don't count "Smoke On The Water" rap! That wasn't my project, I was just a guest.

      MetalKings.com: How did you join Iron Angel?
      Jurgen Blackmore: We were friends for many years and one day they asked me if I would like to join the band… so I started practicing and we went in the studio. But in the studio we found out that 3 guitarist are one too many. At that point in time it was my first band and my guitar playing wasn't that good (laughs) so I left them to improve my guitar playing.

      MetalKings.com: I only have the re-issued version of the album "Winds Of War" and it does not list you in the musicians list. Why? On what songs did you play?
      Jurgen Blackmore: I only played the solo guitar on "Sea Of Flames" and I hate it! Hahahhahaha!!!

      MetalKings.com: Did you write any songs for Iron Angel?
      Jurgen Blackmore: No, I only came in and dropped out again.

      MetalKings.com: Did you play live with Iron Angel outside Germany?
      Jurgen Blackmore: No after studio sessions I left them, so I never played with Iron Angel on stage.

      MetalKings.com: Why did Iron Angel split?
      Jurgen Blackmore: They did their last Tour as opener for King Diamond and after this tour they split. I think it was a time for changing…. they had different feelings about the new way of music.

      MetalKings.com: What was the band Straight about? Who played in it? Does it have any studio recordings?
      Jurgen Blackmore: Straight was only a short formation with unknown musicians. We never went in a studio together, only played in the rehearsal room.

      MetalKings.com: I saw ads in the Metal Hammer magazine about live concerts of Superstition and that the band planned to record a studio album soon. Why the album never materialized?
      Jurgen Blackmore: Oh no we released it …but we changed the singers two times and the band name …so it came out under J.R.Blackmore Group "Still holding on"

      MetalKings.com: Who is King Kurly from the photo on your official site?
      Jurgen Blackmore: King Kurly is an American rap guy; he is a very funny person. I was guest on his cover version of "Smoke On The Water", and we had much fun together.

      MetalKings.com: The photo in the magazine "Metal Hammer" did not have Michael Bormann on it but in the 1993 issue of the Japanese magazine "Burrn!" he said that he toured Czechoslovakia with you. When did Michael join your band and how long did he stay?
      Jurgen Blackmore: We met for the first time in "Studio M" near Hannover, it must have been around 1988. We were trying hard to find a singer. After that meeting we came again together and he joined the band, it must have been around 1990. So he re-sang the complete album and we went together on tour. We only stayed together for that Czechoslovakia tour and after that he wanted to do his own band Jaded Heart again, this was always in his mind.

      MetalKings.com: Why Superstition never recorded an album? I believe it was a strong band especially with Michael Bormann's vocals.
      Jurgen Blackmore: Actually Superstition was a different formation with Mike Matthes (ex-Iron Angel), Malte Rathke, Dirk Schroeder (ex-Iron Angel), Wolfgang Beisel (ex-Roy Last Group) and me.

      MetalKings.com: When was the J. R. Blackmore Group album "Still Holding On" recorded?
      Jurgen Blackmore: Oh, it took us about 3 years to release, because we always changed the singers and had much trouble with very important people …but with Michael we recorded the voices and released it in 1990.

      MetalKings.com: Who designed the original cover of that album?
      Jurgen Blackmore: It was Angelika, girlfriend of the album's producer Bob Rose.

      MetalKings.com: Why the album was released on some indie label and not on a major one like "EMI Elektrola" or something?
      Jurgen Blackmore: Because we started the record company (Antares) with 4 people including me. We wanted to do it by ourselves after we went a crazy time through the music business.

      MetalKings.com: Your official site says you collaborated with Wolf Hoffmann. When and where?
      Jurgen Blackmore: I think I met Wolf in 1990 in the rehearsal room where I was working with Michael Bormann. Me and Michael played some stuff and he wanted to produce it and his girlfriend Gabi wanted to manage us at that time. In the end we went our own ways without Gabi and Wolf, but we are still friends.

      MetalKings.com: In the interview I did with Michael Bormann in 2001 he said that when he played with you everybody tried to make a rip-off of you because of the name. Is that true? Do you think your name has a negative influence on your personal music career?
      Jurgen Blackmore: Of course, everybody is only interested in my name… That is extremely depressing sometimes… But after all these years I found out how to handle it.

      MetalKings.com: Why it took over 10 years for you to come back on the market with the solo release?
      Jurgen Blackmore: Because I hated the music business with all these very important people who try to rip me off. Now I don't need anybody anymore, because I am doing it by myself and have so much fun…. I love the guitar playing and writing songs… That's why I said, "It is time to come back."

      MetalKings.com: Why did you decide to make an instrumental album? Don't you think it might somehow limit its sales?
      Jurgen Blackmore: I tell you something - I am not making music anymore to try selling millions of records… I only want to have fun, fun, fun and that is the most important thing for me. Also, I love this kind of music, instrumental. I can let the feelings go more into my music as when a singer is shouting over all and singing from love like everybody else is doing. And in these days of rap and hip hop stuff I think there is enough talking in the music. I love real instruments, this is what I call music. I like simply to sit back and listen to the instruments.

      MetalKings.com: How did you learn that the J. R. Blackmore Group album "Still Holding On" is sold at expensive prices in record stores?
      Jurgen Blackmore: A lot of people wrote to me about it. Just have a look at the eBay auction or some other pages to see people selling my "Still Holding On" CD. I saw that everywhere the CD went for 30 to 50 dollars per copy. The funny thing was that I never got paid for even one sold CD, because the fistributor went insolvent and they said they never sold a record. That's why I decided that we have to stop this and that's why we are selling it now for a regular price and with a better quality.

      MetalKings.com: Who remixed the album?
      Jurgen Blackmore: The album was originally mixed by Bob Rose in 1990 and Mike Matthes remixed it in 2003.

      MetalKings.com: Does the new remixed version of the album "Still Holding On" have lyrics in the booklet? If not, is it possible to find them anywhere?
      Jurgen Blackmore: No, the lyrics are not in the CD booklet but I will do the Download section on my Web site in the next several weeks and do something to help people download the complete lyrics (you can already find them in the forum - editor) and some other interesting stuff.

      MetalKings.com: Can you write the complete list of all the hard rock music albums you were involved in?
      Jurgen Blackmore: I hope I did not write too many of them (laughs) I haven't done many albums in the past, because I only worked on my guitar playing and play only for me and friends and did some gigs for blind children. Here is the list:
      Iron Angel "Winds of War" (1986)
      King Kurly "Smoke On The Water" (1990)
      J.R.Blackmore Group "Still Holding On" (1993)
      J.R.Blackmore "Recall The Past"
      Plus some more albums with different musicians, which have never been released.

      MetalKings.com: And your personal message to fans…
      Jurgen Blackmore: I want that all people to know that I am doing the music not for selling, only for fun, for them and me. Also I am really happy that we are living now in the world with Internet and PCs so it is possible to do everything without any of these very important people. Even if I sell only a few copies I get feedback directly from my fans per e-mail. That gives me more pleasant feelings than selling thousands of CD´s without knowing who buys them and what they think about it. I want to say thanks to all people who advertise me (magazines, radio stations, Internet sites, TV and more) and I hope that all my fans will stay with me so that I will give my love through the music back to them.

      Dead Ripper
      MetalKings.com
      (October, 2004)
      Nachdem ja nun auch ich in die aktuelle Blackmore - Between Darkness and Light reingehört habe - gefällt mir ziemlich gut und hätte das auch nicht gedacht. Wahrscheinlich weil ich total auf Sänger fixiert bin und mir deswegen normalerweise keine Instrumentalplatten anhöre.
      Aber das was mir vorliegt gefällt mir. Am besten legt man sich beim Hören nach Einbruch der Dämmerung vor das Balkonfenster mit Blick auf den klaren Himmel, betrachtet die Sterne und läßt seine Gedanken schweifen. Dann öffnet sich diese Instrumentalmusik von ganz alleine.
      BLESS SUNDAY WITH BLACK SABBATH!