Ritchie Blackmore could play more shows with his new Rainbow lineup if the three planned performances go well.

And he’s revealed that he’s beginning to suffer from arthritis in his hands, requiring him to take more care of himself.

The 70-year-old recently announced a temporary return to rock in 2016 – the first time he’ll play heavier music since forming Blackmore’s Night in 1997.

Rainbow will appear at the Monsters Of Rock festivals in Germany on June 17 and 18, then at the Genting Arena in Birmingham, UK, on June 25. The lineup features vocalist Ronnie Romero, bassist Bob Nouveau, keyboardist Jens Johansson and drummer David Keith.

Blackmore tells Rich Davenport’s Rock Show: “This is just a brief intermission of playing some good old rock, with some good friends and good musicians. Hopefully everyone’s there for the same reason – music and nostalgia.

“If it works, we’ll do more dates. We’re only doing three this first time, but if it works we’ll do more later on.”

The guitarist stopped playing rock after a career that included co-founding Deep Purple, and since then he’s been playing different forms of guitar-based music. He says: “In rock I was just churning out riffs. It was becoming stale and redundant. I got kind of bored with the whole thing.

“Now I’m always sitting with a guitar and playing finger-style when I’m trying to come up with ideas, and it’s a very natural process. I felt that, in rock, it was becoming contrived. I was starting to repeat myself.”

He hopes Blackmore’s Night will continue indefinetely, but adds: “I think the biggest enemy is things like arthritis, which is creeping up on me in my hands, so I have to combat that.”

Will Ritchie's Rainbow rise... or plummet down to Earth?