Watch: JOE LYNN TURNER Performs DEEP PURPLE Classic With PRAGUE PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA In Vienna

Legendary hard rock singer Joe Lynn Turner joined the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra on stage last night (Saturday, August 27) at the Vienna State Opera in Vienna, Austria. The “Rock The Opera” event brought two things together that you wouldn’t normally find paired in a way like this — rock songs and a philharmonic orchestra. Instead of distorted guitar sounds blaring through an amplifier, attendees got to hear symphonic rearrangements of rock classics by iconic bands such as PINK FLOYD, LED ZEPPELIN, U2, QUEEN, DEEP PURPLE and others.

After the show, Joe took to his social media to share a video from the concert, and he included the following message: “Never ending standing ovation last night at the fully sold out Vienna State Opera! It felt so good to be back! What an incredible concert we have all shared! Thank you so much for all the love, support and admiration! I love you all!”

This past week, Joe received praise from fans and fellow rock musicians for finally deciding to drop the hairpiece he has worn since the age of 14 after being diagnosed with alopecia at three years old. (Note: For the Vienna concert, Turner went back to wearing the wig.)

The former RAINBOW and DEEP PURPLE singer, who turned 71 earlier this month, went public with his new look on Thursday (August 25) in a series publicity images released to promote his upcoming solo album, “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.”

“In a way, it’s a blessing and a curse,” Joe admitted. “I have nothing to prove, and I can wear a wig — or not. I am free to do what I want. I’m a grown man, and I’m getting to be an older man.

“Many men in this business eventually come to the decision to continue to ‘wear hair’ or shave their head which is very fashionable today. Either way, it takes a lot of personal courage. Assholes in high school trying to kick me around made me stronger and gave me the necessary motivation and strength to rise above the rest. Anger and pain are a great tool. If applied correctly, it could develop you to become the best version of yourself. Instead of running away, I was ‘hiding in plain sight.'”

Alopecia areata is a disease that happens when the immune system attacks hair follicles and causes hair loss. Hair follicles are the structures in skin that form hair. While hair can be lost from any part of the body, alopecia areata usually affects the head and face. Hair typically falls out in small, round patches about the size of a quarter, but in some cases, hair loss is more extensive. Most people with the disease are healthy and have no other symptoms.

Alopecia became a topic of discussion in the mainstream media in March when actor Will Smith slapped comedian Chris Rock at the Oscars ceremony. Will‘s wife, the 50-year-old actress Jade Pinkett Smith, experienced hair loss due to alopecia and has always openly shared her struggle. The confrontation took place after Rock made a joke, calling Pinkett Smith “G.I. Jane” in reference to her bald head, which she has previously explained is due to alopecia. The shocking incident saw Will storm on stage to hit Chris following the offending comment before returning to his seat and yelling “keep my wife’s name out of your fucking mouth” shortly before he collected his best actor gong for his role in “King Richard”.

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.

Photo credit: Agata Nigrovskaya