Written by Rainer Duda

Translate by Rainer Klos

At the beginning of this year nobody would have thought what a great time and what wonderful concerts Blackmore’s Night were going to present us.

It began fairly early in the year, in beautiful Newcastle, when Susanne and I and other friends and fans got the chance to witness the presentation of the new album ‘Fires at Midnight’. We had a wonderful time at Lumley Castle. We saw a band excelling themselves in their joy of playing and enchanting us with their presentation of the new album. You could feel yourself drifting into a different world, forgetting all about your surroundings, all problems and worries were forgotten. This breathtaking atmosphere and this music played with such an amount of feeling filled our hearts with warmth and happiness beyond any description. At dinner we listened to the new album for the first time, it came as a real bombshell, fantastic ! From this day on we were just waiting for the day the album would be for sale.

Here I’d like to say thank you very much to both Carole Stevens and SPV, who made this magnificent weekend possible for us. We will never forget it !

With their new album ‘Fires at Midnight’ Blackmore’s Night have released an album beyond any musical dimensions. It is impossible to pick a favourite song. All of them are performed wonderfully and all of them have got a charm of their own. Each song has its own magic, you can listen to the album over and over again and it will always be as nice as the very first time. This experience was something to relish on for a long time. All our thoughts lingered on Lumley Castle and the wonderful, unforgettable time we were allowed to spend with friends and Blackmore’s Night.

The summer brought another tour, at last, which we had been longing for. To experience the new songs in a live concert atmosphere – we were so excited we could hardly sleep. That’s why we went to Heidelberg 2 days before the first concert. And it turned out we were not the only people doing this, so we spent a couple of very nice evenings with other fans and friends. We celebrated the forthcoming event as if it was one of the seven wonders of the world. Which it is, in a certain way.

At last the moment came and the gates opened, the seats in the theatre being taken rapidly. I was still waiting for 3 people from Finland, and when they still hadn’t turned up half an hour after the gates had been opened, I sold their tickets to other fans waiting outside. This very soon turned out to be a big mistake, when one of the security people informed me about 3 Finnish people waiting outside. Now I was in a fix, what was there to do ? When I saw the girl crying bitterly, I felt miserable, too! Why on Earth had I not waited longer ? But there was the one person to bring help! I went to Carole Stevens and told her about the mishap. She at once abandoned all her other tasks and made sure the 3 people from Finland ended up on the guest list and thus could eventually see the concert.

Thanks a lot, Carole, you’re the best !

When it was discovered that the tickets for the first 2 rows had been sold twice everybody could see how Carol does everything to help the fans. She did everything for them, who had been the ones cheated. Not even when the local promoter threatened to call the concert off, if she put a single extra chair inside, did she give up. She put up a fight in favour of the fans and did really manage to get them all inside. She is more than a manager, she is the mother of the Blackmore’s Night family spread all over the world. Carole, don’t you ever give up your job! We all need you !

During the German tour we saw many great concerts. It’s impossible to say which ones were better or worse than the others. They all were fantastic in their own way.

And yet there was one concert which must be amongst the best concerts of all times. It was the show in Memmingen. Blackmore’s Night played a fabulous 3 hours and 20 minutes. The band, especially Ritchie and Candice, had such a lot of fun playing, that they couldn’t bring themselves to end the show. The whole band played as if they were not of this planet. Those of you who witnessed the rise of the Beatles – Blckmore’s Night would have deserved the same with just this one show. I don’t want to discredit the Beatles, as I love them very much indeed, I just want to compare the dimensions. Nobody who was lucky enough to witness this night will ever forget it. How can you forget such an outstandingly beautiful night ? And everybody was sure: That’s it, never again will we experience such a wonderful concert. But this was to be a wrong assumption !

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After a long tour in England and concerts in Holland and Denmark we got a message that Blackmore’s Night wanted to give a special concert at Castle Rabenstein in a part of Bavaria called the ‘Fränkische Schweiz’. It was to be a show for 200 people only. Susanne and I at once started working on it, together with Felix, the owner of the castle. We wrote 100s of e-mails, made numerous phone calls, had to keep on changing the list of the people attending the show, but it turned out to have been a job done well. We did everything we could to make the concert really special for the fans as well as for Blackmore’s Night. Our first aim was to get all the fans to wear costumes and I think we managed to do this, I haven’t seen anybody without garb. This made us a little proud and a big thank you to all the fans making this possible.

Nobody could have known that we were to see what is probably the best and most superb concert ever. It was a great joy to see the fans arriving bit by bit throughout the whole morning. There was a lot to talk about and everybody was very much looking forward to the special event. And there were fans from 11 different countries around the whole globe, something unprecedented. 200 fans from 11 different countries, that’s unbelievable, Michael Jackson and the Stones can dream of such fans, they’ll never break this record. And the nicest part is the blind faith you can have in all Blackmore’s Night fans. I had promised Felix to pay for every ticket not claimed with my own money. I was sure nobody would let me down, and I was right. Blackmore’s Night fans are the best ones in the whole world. nobody has got a community of fans showing such a devotion and dedication. Just to mention one example, four fans called from Ljubliana and having been told it was possible to come made their way to the castle.

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And yet there was one thing making me sad. I was not able to help a girl from Poland, it was impossible. I told Susanne I’d drive over to Kattowice to pick her up and Susanne told me to go ahead, but it just couldn’t be made possible. So this was the only thing that made me a little sad, not having been able to fulfil a fan’s wish to see Blackmore’s Night play at Rabenstein. But I’ll try to make up for it. Now back to Rabenstein.

When the doors opened at 5pm everybody got a shock – a very pleasant one. Of course we’d all expected a buffet for our money, but what we got was way more than could be expected, loads and loads of delicious food, a nice variety of different meats. We sure stared at this sight. And all the beer was included in the ticket, too – drink as much as you can ! I have to say that Felix and his crew did a great job here. The hours before the concert passed really quickly in that way. Thank you Felix for your great hospitality. And thanks a lot to those working in the kitchen or elsewhere in the castle. The long-awaited moment was soon to come. I was told that the fans could now make their way to the beautiful Renaissance Hall, so I rushed off to tell them. It was a dream come true to see all the fans in costumes walking up the stairs, a feeling I’ll never forget. The hall was soon filled, in contrast to other concerts nobody remained at the bar for extra beers, everybody came to witness this unique event. And everybody was wearing costumes, which made you feel actually living in that time a few hundred years back rather than having been transferred to it.

Charming Lady Vita opened the ceremonies, playing a few songs of her own album. After the roaring applause that followed her first song. She was no more nervous. A great beginning of an unforgettable evening. Now the well-known sound of the bagpipes could be heard. Albert Dannenmann of the Geyers, and an almost regular member of Blackmore’s Night began playing his set. You could have heard a pin drop, such was the silence in the audience with everybody listening to Albert’s bagpipes. It was a gigantic performance by Albert, being highlighted by Ritchie joining him on stage. When Albert left the stage he was accompanied by a thundering applause, endangering everybody’s ears.

The suspense rose beyond limits. The moment came, Ritchie’s guitar could be heard. An intro that made everybody’s bones shake and tremble with awe, so beautiful it cannot be expressed in words, I could have listened to it for hours. As soon as Ritchie’s last note died down, we could see Candice float onto the stage like an enchanting angel. Immediately the audience applauded, only to let a silence of an almost haunted nature follow. Candice began singing the intro to Shadow of the Moon. Her voice was as clear and pure as a diamond, her charisma overwhelming, everybody was speechless, holding their breath, so they were sure not to disturb her at all. The feeling made you go Goosebumps.

And Ritchie also played his guitars with an incomparably warm feeling, you could hear his words through the guitars, saying ‘you’re all great, thanks for this nice evening.’

Even when he did not change over to the Strat for playing the solo in ‘Fires at Midnight’, nobody minded because he played a breathtaking solo, depriving everybody of their common sense by it’s sheer beauty. Candice, Ritchie and the whole band put such a superb feeling into their playing that night, everybody thought they just could not be of this planet. All song were performed with a great feeling of happiness. That night the band and the audience grew together like a unit. The wonderful songs cast a spell on everybody.

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The light in Candice’s happy eyes shone like a thousand stars in the darkest night, and even Ritchie showed that he is not void of emotions, as some might have been thinking. Looking at his face you could see how deeply he was moved. It was reflected in his music. And after all the beautiful songs that night he then played ‘Beyond the Sunset’. This beat everything. We could very often just keep control over ourselves, but now it was too much. I took young Rainer’s hand and cried bitterly. And I saw that he, as well as many others, was just as moved. It is very difficult to listen to this song on the album, it being so moving, but what Ritchie did that night just released an overwhelming amount of feelings. Nobody had ever listened to such a version, every single note went straight to the heart. Thank you Ritchie for all this. No other guitarist on Earth. No matter how good he is, is able to express his words and feelings with his guitar in such a way. And all of us understand you only too well. Later Candice made all of us cry in the same way Ritchie had done. Nobody could have been left unemotional by this heart-rending version of Now and Then. Here a big thank you to Candice for all her wonderful and deeply touching lyrics. All the fans in the hall were very sad and very happy at the same time, witnessing this fantastic concert. I talked to a lot of people after the concert and all of them told me it was the greatest they had ever seen. It is unforgettable for all of us.

This is where I wanted to end this report, but I have to add something important and very personal.

After this concert a wonderful night with Blackmore’s Night followed. Many fans who joined our company later can verify that this night had been enchanted. One of the most important moments was the moon rising over the hills around Rabenstein. That moment Ritchie told all those present the moon would bring us luck. And he was so right. That night, after Ritchie had spoken these words, I found a friend I never ever want to miss again. Thank you moon.

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