Rainbow release On Stage

On Stage is a live album originally released by Rainbow in 1977 on Oyster - Polydor SPDLP6B (2657 016) . The album features a cover of a song from Blackmore's previous band Deep Purple: "Mistreated."

The album was recorded live over several German and Japanese dates in late 1976 during the Rising world tour. Many of the tracks were spliced together from different dates by producer Martin Birch, and the running order was changed to more easily fit four sides of vinyl.

The recording features the customary introduction to a Rainbow show – the classic quote from The Wizard of Oz, "Toto: I have a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore. We must be over the rainbow!" with the last word repeated as an echo, then the actual band plays a musical phrase from the song "Somewhere over the Rainbow" before breaking into "Kill the King".

A more representative example of a Rainbow concert of the time was the 1991 release Live in Germany, which featured unedited concert performances and includes both tour staple "Stargazer" and the usual encore " Do You Close Your Eyes".

The song "Kill the King" appeared on this album before it was recorded for a studio album. A studio version appears on the follow-up release, 1977's Long Live Rock 'n' Roll.

The single "Kill The King / Man On the Silver Mountain / Mistreated" was also re-released in the UK in July 1981.