Former Rainbow singer Joe Lynn Turner recently accused guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen of songwriting theft and criticized his behavior while discussing their history in an interview with Cassius Morris Official.
Turner explained that he discovered discrepancies in his publishing rights, claiming that Malmsteen was taking credit for songs they had worked on together.
“And I had people check on my publishing and still found out that there were some songs that Yngwie was claiming that he wrote,” Turner said. “And yeah, and that’s unfortunate. But we’ve been straightening that out now and collecting my share of the publishing on that because that’s just theft. And whether he knew it or not or his people were doing it or whatever, I don’t know. I’m not casting any blame, but it’s certainly suspicious that he’s still trying to have an iron fist, so to speak, and take credit for things he didn’t do.”
He then commented on Malmsteen’s attitude and how he handles past conflicts, comparing him to someone yelling at the clouds.
“I mean, if you get under somebody’s skin that badly, you own them for life,” Turner continued. “When you have that type of problem and you keep it for years and years and years, whether it’s Ritchie and Gillan or anything, any kind of problem, they own that person because you’re irritated by it. You’re still pontificating and you know, I think one guy said one comment was, ‘Oh, he’s an old man screaming at the clouds.’ Which is an old saying, you know. And I said, ‘Yeah, yeah, he’s yelling at the clouds,’ you know, like there’s something wrong here. There’s no need for that.”
Turner also recalled past statements from Malmsteen regarding his singers and defended his own contribution to the guitarist’s career.
“And years ago, he said something about he never needed any of us singers,” Turner added. “And I think all of us, Mike Visera and Jeff Scott Soto and everybody got together and started saying basically, ‘Hey, dude, you know, this is way out of line and you’re out of your mind for saying this. Why do you have to go back to that?’ So, look, I did my job. I did it well. And I put him on a map that he would never be on, okay? Until, you know, and now look, he’s got his hardcore fans. He’s got his fan base. God bless. Now he’s trying to do drums and produce and sing and write. Good. God bless you. Now you’re in full control.”
Regarding their current relationship, Turner noted that they have not spoken in a very long time and that he prefers to let professionals handle any legal disputes.
“The last time I spoke to him was ages ago,” Turner stated. “Ages ago. I don’t, you know, it’s like there are certain guys in rock and roll that we remain friends and, you know, reach out on holidays or just, you know, intimately we do, but no, something like that. No, there’s no reason for me to say, ‘Hi, Yngwie. How’s it going?’ Not for any other reason except I have nothing to say. I don’t have anything to say to him. You know, if I’m worried about a publishing, I let publishers deal with it. I let my people deal with that. I don’t have to say anything to him because I already know what he said. He already said it in the press. What am I going to pick up and say, ‘Hey, you’re full of shit, man. You know, what are you talking about?’ Please never argue with a fool because they’ll bring you down to their level and you’ll never win. Never. You just have to ignore it.”
“Legal is legal. Let them handle it,” Turner continued. “I’m not going to start arguing why did you say that and why did you think this and that’s childish. A lot of rock and roll is still childish, you know. It’s very, um, arrested development or something. It’s like they’re still in the basement coming out, ‘Hey, what the hell you say that for?’”
Turner’s comments refer to a collaboration that dates back to the late 1980s, when he joined Yngwie Malmsteen’s Rising Force for the band’s 1988 album Odyssey. The album was released on April 4, 1988, with Turner performing vocals on most of the record.
The songwriting credits remain central to the history of the project. Discogs lists Malmsteen as the composer and Turner as the writer of the lyrics on the album’s principal vocal tracks, while Malmsteen wrote the music and Turner wrote all of the lyrics.
Malmsteen later described the creative process differently. Excerpts from Malmsteen’s autobiography state that much of the material had already been written before Turner joined, with Turner adding lyrics to songs including “Dreaming,” “Now Is the Time” and “Heaven Tonight.”
The two musicians have also exchanged criticism publicly in the years since their collaboration. In 2017, Malmsteen said he had no interest in working with singers such as Turner, Jeff Scott Soto and Tim “Ripper” Owens again. Turner responded by describing Malmsteen’s remarks as “the rantings of a megalomaniac desperately trying to justify his own insecurity.”
Despite their disagreements, Turner has continued to praise Odyssey. In a 2024 interview, he called the album a “super, super, super record” and said he had wanted to make a follow-up. In the same discussion, Turner described Malmsteen as “his own worst enemy.”
Neither Malmsteen nor his representatives has publicly responded to Turner’s latest comments.
