JOE LYNN TURNER Is Hoping To Release Next Solo Album In 2025

In a new interview with VRP Rocks, former RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE frontman Joe Lynn Turner spoke about a possible follow-up to his latest solo album, "Belly Of The Beast", which came out in October 2022 via Music Theories Recordings/Mascot Label Group. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Now, at this stage in my life and in my career, I probably could do anything I want, really. And I just had a conversation with the president of Mascot, and he said, 'Just make the record you wanna make.' And I said, 'Well, what about this? And what about critics? And what about people slagging me off?' and all. He said, 'Do you really give a shit?' And I said, 'No.' I've never heard this from a record company exec; I love that guy. And I said, 'No, I really don't.' He said, 'Well, make the record you want. Screw everybody.' And I said, 'Well, I'm writing a lot of kind of cool AOR songs again.' I never stopped that AOR stuff. It's one of my first loves. And he said, 'Well, go that direction. Do what you want.' And I said, 'Okay.' So I'm still finding out the direction after the [last] album. Because I have songs written here this way and I have songs written this way. A songwriter writes. So I really don't know where I'm gonna end up. But wherever I end up, I've got people to support me. And that's my fans — they stick with you through thick and thin. They're wonderful. I owe them everything, really."

Asked about a tentative time frame for the release of his next LP, Joe, who turned 72 last August, said: "Well, fingers crossed for '25. Fingers crossed. But we'll see. Because I'm a new father again. So, I'm spending a lot of time with my son. And it's just my number one priority in life right now. I've already got two grandchildren. But this little guy, he is just a blessing. So it's taking up my time and I want it to take up my time, because I intend to make a productive and creative human being, and that is the greatest — it's better than any song I've ever written, better than any band I've ever been in. This is something really special, because before — for example, with my daughter, I was always on the road. I'd come back and she'd look at me, like, 'Are you my daddy?' 'Yeah, that's me.' So this one I can actually put some time into. And it's just thrilling for me to be able to do that. So I'm hoping '25 I'll get the album out, but there's a lot of distance in the world situation between now and then. So we'll see what happens."

Joe was the singer of RAINBOW between 1980 and 1984 and he sang on the album "Difficult To Cure", which featured the band's most successful U.K. single, "I Surrender".

During Turner's time with RAINBOW, the band had its first USA chart success and recorded songs that helped define the melodic rock genre.

1990 saw Turner reunited with RAINBOW leader Ritchie Blackmore in a reformed DEEP PURPLE for the "Slaves And Masters" album.

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."