JOE LYNN TURNER Says His Next Album Will See Him 'Going Back To Very Classy, Well-Produced Material With Modern Production'

In a recent interview with Finland's Southeast Wreckmetal, legendary hard rock singer Joe Lynn Turner (RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE) was asked if his next studio album will see him reteaming with Swedish producer Peter Tägtgren (HYPOCRISY, PAIN, LINDEMANN),who worked on Joe's latest LP, 2022's "Belly Of The Beast". He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No, actually, I talked to Peter, and even a year ago, he said his calendar is so full right now. He's working two bands. I mean, he was doing LINDEMANN, but that's over with and so on. But he's just really, really too busy, and he needed a break. So he said, 'I'm sorry, man. I can't do a second record.' I said, 'Do you know something? That's okay.'

"I don't intend on repeating myself," Joe explained. "I think it was David Bowie who said an artist should never repeat himself. And I did 'Belly Of The Beast' as a major project to send out not only the music, but the message. And I think that message is still there. I don't need to repeat this message over and over again. I'm not trying to preach. What I'm trying to do is put it in a musical form to educate people. However, I've been writing with a couple of Swedish guys right now who are brilliant. And I went back to actually writing songs that are meaningful personally to people. Not that 'Belly Of The Beast' isn't, but what I'm trying to say is if you look at my past, it's great songs, great hooks, great melodies that you can walk away singing, whistling, whatever, remembering, and that's what I'm doing now. I'm not so concerned with trying to… I'm not gonna save the world. It's already proven that they cannot be saved. The only way you can save it is by saving yourself. So I urge everyone to be awake, save yourself. Me, I'm going back to very classy, well-produced sort of — it's like great material with a modern production. I wanna change up that too as well, so I don't wanna repeat myself."

Asked when he expects to release his next studio album, Joe said: "Oh, definitely not until '26 at this point. I really wanna finish the summer things that I have — a lot of festivals, individual gigs. I have a new two-year-old boy, so I wanna spend time with Matteo and watch him grow. He's fantastic. And I wanna take a holiday, and I will not tour in the winter because it is too dangerous with travel. It honestly is. I've been in too many situations in the past. So I will be able, fortunately enough, to take the winter off, work on the record, come out in the spring, something '26. And I'm in no rush."

Joe continued: "The world's in flux right now. The world is a bit chaotic, and I think that we need to settle down a bit. Otherwise your release will get lost in all of the fluff, as I say. So I'm in no hurry, for various reasons. But I've got 10 songs already perfectly written — more than 10, but I know 10 are solid, killer. And I'm very excited about them. Each song for me is a gem. It's a diamond. They're so good… And for my fans out there and my [fan]base — guys, you won't be disappointed. You're just gonna love this record. It's what Joe Lynn Turner is all about. And I'm being true, as usual, to my integrity and to myself, and I think that's extremely important. That I'm not trying to change with the times, I'm not trying to alter anything — I'm just being who I am. And I think that would be good advice for a lot of people."

Joe founded FANDANGO in 1977 and sang for the band for four records before RAINBOW guitarist Ritchie Blackmore rang. His vocals powered the seminal "Difficult To Cure" in 1981, going gold in the U.K., France, and Japan in addition to cracking the Top 50 of the Billboard 200 and Top 3 on the U.K. albums chart. A year later, he ignited RAINBOW's "Straight Between The Eyes", which Guitar World retrospectively hailed as one of "The 25 Greatest Rock Guitar Albums" of 1982. It also spawned the Hot 100 hit "Stone Cold". During 1988, a Polygram VP wanted Turner to extend his writing and singing skills to collaborate with legendary shred virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen for his project RISING FORCE. Their album, "Odyssey", scaled the Top 40 of the Top 200, marking Malmsteen's highest bow on the respective chart and going gold in Sweden. Not long after, he reteamed with Blackmore for DEEP PURPLE's "Slaves And Masters" (1990),reaching gold status in Switzerland and Japan.

In addition, he has co-written for and appeared on classics such as Mick Jones's "Mick Jones" (1989),RIOT's "The Privilege Of Power" (1990) and Lita Ford's "Dangerous Curves" (1991),to name a few. Not to mention, he lent his background vocals to Michael Bolton's double-platinum "The Hunger" (1987),Cher's platinum "Cher" (1987),Billy Joel's Grammy Award-nominated quadruple-platinum "Storm Front" (1989),and many more. From 2001 to 2004 he teamed up with his friend and counterpart Glenn Hughes and formed HTP (HUGHES TURNER PROJECT). The release of two highly acclaimed original albums and two world tours in support gave him further recognition. Other collaborations range from shining on stage with "Raiding The Rock Vault" at LVH Hotel and Casino and an unforgettable turn on "X Factor Bulgaria" to two cuts on MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP's 2021 album, "Immortal".

In 2017, he initially met Peter after performing at his brother's private birthday party. Soon later, Joe and Peter collaborated on their first track "Don't Fear The Dark", cementing their creative partnership and assembling what would become "Belly Of The Beast".

Joe performed without his trademark wig live for the first time in June 2023 at the Rock Orchestra Fest at Dinamo National Olympic Stadium in Minsk, the capital and the largest city of Belarus.

The singer said in 2022 that now was the right time to finally drop the hairpiece he has worn since the age of 14 after being diagnosed with alopecia at three years old.

Turner went public with his new look in August 2022 in a series publicity images released to promote "Belly Of The Beast". In a press release for the LP, Joe said that he started wearing the wig to deal with "emotional and psychological damage from cruel bullying in school."