Danke, I had no idea, but it makes sense if you remember how he wanted to play with Phil Lynott too following DP Mk II. Blackers is sometimes accused of disliking black people, but aside from his love for Hendrix he has always had a penchant for black or black-sounding voices (Rodgers, Lawton, Hughes, Coverdale), he just doesn't like funk.
King's X - the band that never really was despite all (well-founded) high hopes for them and high acclaim by fellow musicians (often a death warrant to any career!). There is no justice in the rock world. Bands with black players that do not subscribe to either the RnB or Blues formula seem to be jinxed, just look at what happened (or did not happen) to Living Color, Mothers Finest
or him.
I'm not sure whether Pinnick would have had the range a DP singer generally needs to have, but it sure would have been interesting. Most DP diehards hate the early nineties phase of the band without Gillan when Joelene stepped in (this must have been the time D(o)ug P had the job offer), but I'm not among them,
I liked the album they did and I saw them at Hammersmith. If you make allowances for Turner's ham-fisted stage raps (ouch!), then it was one of the musically most satisfying DP concerts I've seen (and I've seen something like 30-40).