PETER GOALBY Says He Was Asked To Join RAINBOW During ‘Down To Earth’ Sessions, Only To Be Let Go A Short Time Later: ‘It Really Hurt Me’

In a new interview with Rock Daydream Nation, former URIAH HEEP singer Peter Goalby reflected on being asked by Ritchie Blackmore to join RAINBOW during the sessions for the latter band’s 1979 album “Down To Earth”, only to be let go a very short time later, with Blackmore eventually recruiting ex-MARBLES singer Graham Bonnet. Goalby said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It really hurt me, because I didn’t understand what I’d done wrong. And it wasn’t until — I think it was probably at least about a year that the story filtered through why, and the reason why is because I couldn’t sing high enough — my range wasn’t high enough. Now, my answer to that is I didn’t ask to join RAINBOW. They asked me. And I read somewhere that Ritchie said words to the effect of, ‘He was inadequate, so we sent him away.’ And I thought, ‘Well, thanks a million, Ritchie.’ But a year later or two years later, I joined URIAH HEEP. That’s what he said — he said, ‘The top note of his range is an A.’ That’s not true. It’s not true. If you listen to [URIAH HEEP’s 1982 album] ‘Abominog’, there’s a lot bigger notes than A going on in practically every song that I sang.”

Peter continued: “I didn’t understand what was expected of me. I’d never worked in a band. I’d always worked — because I was a writer, or I’m singing songs that are already established, and then I learn the song. I’d never worked in an environment where you walk into a rehearsal room and the band are already playing a riff and you’re supposed to walk up and just scat and sing anything. I thought that was fucking stupid.”

After the interviewer noted that Goalby could have handled all the songs from “Down To Earth” as well as the material from the Joe Lynn Turner era of RAINBOW, Peter said: “If you’re in a band and you’re learning a song, you can change the key. You can take the key down. I mean, people do it every day. So, when I did… I don’t know whether I should tell you this. When I did my version of [RAINBOW’s rendition of the Russ Ballard song] ‘Since You Been Gone’, and the answer’s no, you’re not gonna ever hear it. I’ve got it, but nobody’s ever gonna hear it. I did it in a lower key. I think it was probably a tone down from Graham. Graham’s got an incredible voice. He’s almost got — I don’t mean this in a bad way — he’s almost got a female range. It just goes up and up and up, whereas most male singers, you get to a certain note and then you have to go into falsetto. Graham manages to open his throat up, which is fantastic. When I went to [then-RAINBOW bassist] Roger Glover’s house and recorded the demo of ‘Since You Been Gone’, it was fine. As I say, I’ve actually got the demo, and Ritchie makes a mistake. How much is that worth? He makes a mistake on the demo; he plays the wrong fucking chords.”

Earlier this month, Goalby released his “long-lost” solo album “Don’t Think This Is Over”.

Goalby was the lead singer of URIAH HEEP during the band’s classic “Abominog” (1982) era and also wrote URIAH HEEP’s 1980s hit “Blood Red Roses”. He also sang on the band’s albums “Head First” (1983) and “Equator” (1985).

In addition to URIAH HEEP, Goalby was the lead singer of TRAPEZE and FABLE but has now retired from the music industry after an illustrious career.

Peter had been living with the knowledge he’d recorded a solo album just after leaving URIAH HEEP but it was only when a poorly labeled DAT was spotted, at a storage facility over 30 years later, that the lost album was found.

The album was finished when his URIAH HEEP bandmates Mick Box (guitar) and John Sinclair (keys) added the final overdubs to the tracks in 2025. The nine-track album was personally overseen (from tape transfer, mastering and artwork) by Goalby.

Goalby explained the background to the release: “In 1987 I was offered a recording and publishing contract with RAK Records just after I’d left URIAH HEEP. I thought these songs would be very commercial in the 1980s and SMOKIE recorded ‘Fallin’ Apart’. I later found out the master tapes had been lost and I silently carried the disappointment that music I’d put my heart and soul into was gone forever. Never say never!”

The lost album’s release follows the successful release of “Easy With The Heartaches” and then “I Will Come Runnin'”.

All Peter Goalby solo albums are also available from Cherry Red.