Ritchie Blackmore. Biography of the musician

Ritchie Blackmore is one of the brightest and most notable musicians of the second half of the twentieth century. Today it is hard not to notice the contribution that this outstanding guitarist made to the development of hard rock and music in general. Until now, the magnificent guitar parts of Deep Purple, the amazing improvisations of Rainbow and the indescribable beauty of Blackmore's Night melodies are still heard.

Richard Hugh Blackmore born April 14 1945 year in the English town of Weston Super Mare. The first instrument - an ordinary acoustic guitar - was presented to Richie at the age of ten by his father, and it was his father who insisted that Richie take classical guitar lessons. At that time, the Blackmore family was already living in the city of Heston, where, in the house of his grandmother, Richie first heard the music of J.S. Bach, which sunk into the soul of the future virtuoso for the rest of his life.

Parents provided their offspring with a "high start": already at the age of 13, Richie began intensive studies on the instrument under the strict guidance of the then best British guitarist Jim Sullivan. But by this time, Richie already had experience in some compositions that performed skiffle, which was then popular in the British Isles, at an amateur level - Blackmore's first group, in which he began to perform already in 1956 -m, bore the humorous name Dogbox. It was followed by similar lineups of 21's Coffee Bar Junior Skiffle Group, The Dominators and The Condors.

At the beginning 1962 Richie was extraordinarily lucky: not just anyone, but the gloomy hero of overseas rock and roll, Gene Vincent, invited the young guitarist to his accompanying staff, from which Ritchie Blackmore's professional career began. After a European tour and a momentary stop with Mike Dee And The Jaywalkers Richie in May 1962 found himself in the group of one of the most bizarre pop figures in Britain of the 60s, David Sutch Screaming Lord Sutch & His Savages. However, Richie soon became convinced that his employer was much more concerned about the problem of finding his name in the headlines of the British tabloids - David Sutch owned his own pirate radio station, tried to run for the House of Commons with some kind of "18-year-old voting platform" and, long before Alice Cooper, arranged concerts with stage props in the form of coffins and guillotines.

The musical side of the work of the first "king of horrors" of the rock scene instantly ceased to satisfy Blackmore, and after a few months he found himself in the ranks of the fundamentally instrumental composition of The Outlaws, who also worked as his own studio group with the famous producer Joe Meek in those years. AT The Outlaws Ritchie managed to record the sensational singles "Keep A-Knockin" and "Snake With Me", as well as work with such popular British singers at that time as Mike Berry and Heinz, and even for a short time was part of the latter's group - Hainz "Wildboys.

AT 1964 Blackmore recorded his first solo single with the compositions "Little Brown Jug" and "Getaway", and soon joined Neil Christian's band "The Crusaders". returned, he managed to play enough in the compositions of The Lancasters (where for the first time in his life he performed the adaptation of Edvard Grieg's "In the Hall of the Mountain King"), in the newly updated composition of The Savages, this time working as an accompanying line-up on the European tour of Jerry Lee Lewis, in the theatrical rock band Roman Empire and the semi-mythical line-up of Mandrake Root, which broke up in October.

Playing with so many musical groups, Blackmore also managed to work as a radio mechanic at Heathrow Airport, earning money for his first real instrument - a Gibson 335, with which Blackmore did not part for the next ten years.

AT 1967 Ritchie Blackmore traveled to Hamburg on tour with The Savages. After playing shows, the band went home to England, but Richie decided to stay and settled in an apartment with his fiancee Babs. These days, Blackmore was constantly training, honing his skills and virtuosity of the game, moonlighting at the studios in Hamburg. There, Chris Curtis appreciated his skill and skill, which he later told Jon Lord, with whom he decided to assemble a new conceptual group, Roundabout. The first meeting, however, was unsuccessful. Curtis had more and more new ideas, but it didn’t come to practical implementation, soon Jon Lord went to Munich on tour with The Fluopotmen, Curtis, meanwhile, also disappeared somewhere, and Blackmore had to return to Hamburg.

By the end 1967 Years, Blackmore had a difficult situation: there were no real prospects, stable income, and even more fame. True, Blackmore was one of the top ten English guitarists, among whom were Jave Att, Pete Townshed, George Harrison, Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton, Keith Richard. But Blackmore considered himself above all of them, the authorities for him at that time were Albert Lee, Jim Sullivan and somewhat later Jimi Hendrix.

Back in London, Curtis's Roundabout managers Tony Edwards and John Coletta decided to take over the running of the band. In the abandoned village of Saral's Milnes, forty kilometers from London, a huge barn and a house were rented, where the band members could live and rehearse. Jon Lord arrived there, and soon Ritchie Blackmore. By March 1968 the rest of the group was also determined: Nick Simper played bass guitar, Rod Evans became the vocalist, and Ian Pace, who replaced Woodman Clark, who did not really have time to play in the newly formed band, became the drummer. The group rehearsed all spring. At this time, the name Deep Purple was born, which later became legendary.

The house where the musicians rehearsed had a bad reputation, and according to the locals it was inhabited by ghosts. One curious incident that happened to the musicians is connected with these rumors. At night, some howls and sobs often came from the corridor, the closed windows themselves opened, and one night Jon Lord woke up from the fact that a log from the fireplace crawled across his room. The log crawled up to the door and disappeared into the darkness, and a few seconds later an old molding fell from the ceiling behind the wall. The next morning, at breakfast, the musicians told each other with horror about the night they had experienced. Only Ritchie Blackmore smiled...

In May 1968 of the year, in just two days, the first Deep Purple disc - "Shades of Deep Purple" was recorded, which hit the Top 25. A contract was signed with the British company EMI and the American Tettagrommoton. In September, the single "Hush" was released, climbing to 4th place in the charts, which was an incredible success for the new group. In December, significant success accompanied the single "Kentucky Woman".

AT 1969 Ian Gillan and Roger Glover join the Deep Purple group, the albums "The Book of Taliesyn" and "Concerto For Group And Orchestra" are released. For all these albums, Blackmore had a direct relationship: it is easy to see how the group leaned more and more towards what would later become hard rock classics. Far from the last role in the choice of just such creative way belonged to Blackmore.

August 1970 year forever remained in the history of music - the album "In Rock" was released. For more than a year, this record remained in the top four in the British charts. Blackmore's performance on this album, according to all critics, is amazing, and the songs "Child In Time" and "Speed ​​King" have become classics. After the release of the record, the group went on tour until November.

AT 1971 In the same year the musicians began recording the album "Fireball", which they recorded, with tour breaks, until June. Blackmore's favorite hobby in those years was ... shooting from a slingshot. He shot at innocent citizens with ripe gooseberries, and he even managed to knock glasses and cigarettes out of their hands. True, after he almost got caught by road workers, one of whom he had the imprudence to shoot in the head, Richie abandoned this occupation.

In the same year, the group got their own label - Purple (EMI). That year, Perswimmers were heading to Montreaux to record. On December 3rd, while the band was recording at the Casino Concert Hall in Switzerland, a fire broke out during a performance by Frank Zappa and his band and the concert hall burned down. Ritchie Blackmore and the band immortalized this incident in the famous song "Smoke On The Water", which was included on the next album. This album has already been released 1972 year and was called "Machine Head". It topped the UK charts and reached number 7 in America. The album included such heavy rock classics as "Smoke on the Water", "Space Truckin", "Lazy" and "Highway Star". Even thirty years later, "Machine Head" remains one of the best rock albums , which has sold over three million copies.

AT 1973 During the summer tour, the band recorded a live album, "Made In Japan", which was released in January and peaked at No. 6 in the United States. Another album, "Who Do You Think We Are", came out virtually at the same time and peaked at number 15 on the charts. In the middle of the year, due to disagreements with Ritchie Blackmore, Gillan and Glover left the group, just before "Smoke Over the Water" became the number 4 top single and sold over a million copies of it. In September, David Coverdale, who previously sang in The Fabuloser Brothers, and bassist Glenn Hughes (ex-Trapeze) established themselves in Deep Purple.

In March 1974 The album "Burn" was released in 2004, which clearly showed the presence of Coverdale and Hughes. Line-up changes did not affect the success and the album reached the top ten of the best. During the year, the Dipper swimmers released another Top 20 album, "Stormbringer".

On March 3, Deep Purple kicked off their American tour with a performance in Detroit. For one hundred twenty-seven thousand dollars a month, the most luxurious aircraft in the world called the Starship was rented. The tour was great and ended in California at a huge rock festival that also featured rock legends such as Yes, Emerson, Lake and Palmer, the Eagles and many more. The performance of Deep Purple was supposed to be the last, but there was a scandal: the drummer of one group refused to go on stage, and Deep Purple began to play instead of this team. But Blackmore was not going to just give up the headliner spot. At that concert, he broke a video camera, the operator of which had to be taken to the first-aid post. On Blackmore's instructions, one of the workers doused the stage with gasoline, which Ritchie set on fire at the end of the performance. There was an explosion, the stage caught fire, but the audience was driven to ecstasy. Naturally, such outrages did not go unnoticed by the police, and the group had to hastily flee on their luxurious plane to a neighboring state. This entire concert was filmed on video by ABC and is readily available today. But the adventures of the group did not end there: in November, a certain young man appeared in America, posing as Ritchie Blackmore, who stole a Porsche car in Iowa and crashed it, although Blackmore and the group were at that time in San Francisco. True, the hooligan was soon arrested and charged with deception.

Despite successful tours and fabulous fees, in April 1975 Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple to form a new band, Rainbow. It included musicians from the little-known American band Elf. When Elf played with DP as an opening act, Blackmore recorded the song "Black Sheep Of The Family" with them on Purple Records. The group had the following line-up: Ronnie James Dio (vocals) - later on was the author of most of the songs, Mickey Lee Soul (keyboards), Craig Gruber (bass) and Gary Driscoll (drums). In May, the album "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow" appeared, recorded at Munich's Musicland Studios. When the album began to rise in the charts (reaching the top thirty in America), Soul, Gruber and Driscoll disappeared from the group, and Blackmore took a bassist in their place Jimmy Bain (ex-Hariot), keyboardist Tony Carey (Blessings) and drummer Cozy Powell (Jeff Beck Group).In July 1976 The band released their first album with the new line-up, "Rainbow Rising". From the beginning of August until the end of the year, the musicians toured America, Japan, Europe and Canada.

1977 the year was marked by new changes in Rainbow, with bassist Mark Clark, formerly of Uriah Heep, replacing Jimmy Bain. In May, immediately after the recording of the new album began, Tony Carey and Mark Clark left. Ritchie Blackmore refocused his efforts on recording a "live" album. The departed were replaced by David Stone and Bob Daisley. As a result, the live album "On Stage" was born, and the song "Kill The King" from this record became Rainbow's first work to hit the charts. In the same year, the musicians began recording their third studio album at Paris Studios. "Long Live Rock" n "Roll" was ready in May and immediately entered the Top 100. In November, after a ten-month tour, Blackmore again became disillusioned with the group, and only Cozy Powell remained from the old musicians (Dio became a member of Black Sabbath) . A month later, Ritchie played in a London club with former Deep Purple bandmate Ian Gillan and invited keyboardist Don Elry to join Rainbow.

AT 1979 In the same year, Ritchie Blackmore completes the formation of a new Rainbow line-up - singer Graham Bonnet, who previously recorded with The Marbles, and former Deep Purple colleague Roger Glover appeared. Glover-produced "Down To Earth" was released in September, and the album's first single, "Since You" ve Been Gone, with lyrics written by Russ Ballard (ex-Argent), was a well-deserved hit at the very end of the year.

In March 1980 Blackmore and Glover's single "All Night Long" was released, which ended up at number 5 in the UK. In August, Rainbow performs at the first Monsters of Rock festival in Donnington. Powell and Bonnet leave immediately afterwards due to their desire to pursue solo careers. Blackmore recruits vocalist Joe Lynn Turner and drummer Bob Rondinelli to take their place. Around the same time, DP's original vocalist Rod Evans formed his own band and began performing under the name Deep Purple. Blackmore and Glover took action to protect the band's name and deter Evans from using it. These actions were expressed in the release of the album "Deepest Purple / The Very Best of Deep Purple". And the appearance at the end of the year of the live disc "In Concert", which included songs recorded in 1970 -1972 years.

In February 1981 Rainbow recorded the album "Difficult To Cure", from which the song "I Surrender", written by Ballard, quickly sold out on the UK charts. Polydor reacted quickly and re-released the band's first hit, "Kill The King", as well as the album, "Ritchie's Blackmore Rainbow". In December, the band recorded the compilation "The Best Of Rainbow".

In April 1982 the album "Strong Between The Eyes" appears. The first single from this disc - "Stone Cold", hits the top 40, and the album in the top thirty. The group tours all over the world. "Deep Purple Live in London" is released in the UK - first recorded in 1974 at the BBC radio studio.

AT 1983 Rainbow, which now includes Blackmore, Glover, Turner and new members - keyboardist Dave Rosenthal and drummer Chuck Bergey, releases "Bent Out of Shape". And on MTV, meanwhile, they banned the video clip for the song "Street of Dreams" from being shown as demonstrating hypnosis. In October, the band will tour the UK for the first time ever with 1981 of the year. A month later, "Bent Out of Shape" generates interest in the States, subsequently peaking at number 34 on the list. best albums, despite the fact that MTV ignored the single.

AT 1984 Ritchie Blackmore decides to put Rainbow on hold as he and Glover decide to resurrect Deep Purple's golden line-up (Gillan, Lord, Pace, Blackmore, Glover). Each of the participants was promised $2 million, and the tour began. Before this trip, Rainbow is doing their last tour in Japan. At the last show, accompanied by a Japanese symphony orchestra, Blackmore's arrangement of Beethoven's 9th symphony sounds. In November, Deep Purple signed a contract with the American studio "Mercury Records" and released the album "Perfect Strangers", which took 17th place. In January 1985 the first single from the album "Perfect Strangers" - "Knocking At Your Back Door" - is released, repeating the success of the title track of the album - "Perfect Strangers". In July, a double collection of Deep Purple - "Anthology" is released.

AT 1986 a double remix compilation "Finyl Vinyl" appears, which includes never heard before "live" recordings of Rainbow, as well as some songs that were previously released only as singles.

1987 the year was marked by a new Deep Purple album - "A House of Blue Light", which was released in February and hit the top ten in America and the UK. The group goes on tour throughout Europe. In July 1988 year, the concert "Nobody's Perfect" is released, recorded live during the band's tour in 1987 . Deep Purple are once again immersed in a concert tour, this time in the USA.

However, despite the apparent success of the group, in 1989 Ian Gillan leaves the band due to "musical differences". AT 1990 Deep Purple, now consisting of Blackmore, Glover, Lord, Pace and early Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, signed to RCA Records. In November, the album "Slaves & Masters" was released. With the new line-up, DP tours in 1991 year with Slaves & Masters in the USA, North America, Europe, England, Japan, Greece, Israel, Hungary and the Pacific coast. But in 1992 , at the suggestion of the RCA studio, Ian Gillan replaces Joe Lynn Turner, and the group begins studio work. The result is the album "The Battle Rages On", produced by Roger Glover and Tom Panunzio.

AT 1993 Deep Purple with Ian Gillan begins touring Europe. But in the middle of the tour, Blackmore makes it clear to everyone that he is still not satisfied with Gillan's work and is going to leave at the end of the tour. It got to the point where the band completed a tour in Japan with guitarist Joe Satriani. Blackmore, having returned to the States, begins to look for musicians to recreate the Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow group. Towards the end 1994 Ritchie Blackmore is putting together a new line-up of Rainbow. The new band now includes: Scottish singer Dougle White (ex-Praying Mantis), keyboardist Paul Morris, formerly of Doro Pesch, bassist Greg Smith, who worked with Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult and Joe Lynn Turner, drummer John O "Reilly, who played in Blue Oyster Cult, and backing vocalist Candice Knight, with whom the single "Ariel" was recorded. 1995 year the group makes records and in September completes the album "Stranger In Us All". BMG International releases the album and sells over 100,000 copies in Japan in the first week. This remarkable fact was exploited by Burrn! magazine, announcing that Ritchie Blackmore has received no less than seven readers' poll awards, including Best Guitarist, Best Songwriter, Best Live Show, and "Song of the Year" - for the hit "Black Masquerade". Similar honors were given to Ritchie in Germany, where he was named "Best Guitarist" in a reader poll. Shortly after the release of Stranger In Us All, the music video for "Ariel" was played frequently on European MTV. Toward the end of the year, the band began touring Europe. Chuck Bergy, who played with Rainbow in 1983 , replaced John O "Reilly, who, just after the recording of the album was completed, was injured while playing football.

AT 1996 Rainbow has been played with resounding success in places like Chile, Curittiba, Argentina and Brazil. After such a successful tour of South America, the band performed in front of hundreds of thousands of people during a European tour with ZZ Top, Little Feat and Deep Blue Something. The most large audience had 40,000 spectators. After one of the Rainbow concerts in Germany, Ritchie Blackmore received a call from Pat Boone and offered to participate in his new album of rock stars - "Pat Boone: Metal Thoughts". Flattered by Richie, this seemed funny, and he played the guitar part in Boone's arrangement of "Smoke Over the Water". In addition to this work, Richie recorded the song "Apache" for Hank Marvin's album and "The Shadows". In October, Blackmore began recording his "Renaissance" album, as he puts it, "Shadow Of The Moon", which will not be part of the Rainbow project. The new group will be called Blackmore's Night and implements the ideas of the two main organizers of the project - Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Knight. The album will include four medieval melodies set to poems by Candice Knight and performed in a modern manner. Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull will make his contribution into one of the songs, "Play, Minstrel, Play" BMG Japan will document the songwriting process and release three music videos.

Starting February 20 1997 Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow is touring the United States with the "Stranger In Us All" program. The American tour coincided with the release of Blackmore's Night's debut album - "Shadow Of The Moon", the pearl of which was Candice Knight, lyricist and performer most songs. The album was released at the end of August. In Japan, over 100 thousand copies were sold in the first week, and the album itself hit the Billboard Album Charts at number 14. On May 31, at the Esberg Rock Festival in Sweden, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow gathered 30 thousand viewers. In early June, the album "Shadow Of The Moon" was released in Europe and remained on the charts for 17 weeks. In July of the same year, the album "Deepest Purple" goes gold and silver at the same time in the States. The "Shadow Of The Moon" acoustic tour takes place in Japan and Europe.

February 17 1998 2009, the album "Shadow Of The Moon" was released in the USA, and in March the radio single "No Second Chance" was released in Brazil, which held the fifth position for three weeks on Brazilian radio. On May 8, the first radio single "Wish You Were Here" was released, and in May the hit "Shadow Of The Moon" received the status of "Golden Track". In June - Candice Knight and Ritchie Blackmore return to the studio to record the next Blackmore's Night album, which was completed in the spring 1999 . All this time, Blackmore's Night toured extensively, giving concerts in temples, castles and theaters.

Richie has been divorced three times. His first wife (in 1964 -1969 years), a German woman, named Margrit, from this marriage Ritchie has a son, Jürgen Blackmore, who also makes music.

Divorced in 1969 year, he married Barbel Hardy, also a German. Blackmore's third marriage 1981 -1987 was with Amy Rothman.

After one of the football matches that Richie so adored, among those who wanted an autograph was an 18-year-old girl, a journalist from the WBAB radio station, Candice Knight. Blackmore complimented her and they then met at a local bar. Richie fell in love with her at first sight. When it came time to go on tour, he sent her postcards from all over the world. When Blackmore returned to the United States, they saw each other again and from that moment began to meet.

It is difficult to appreciate the contribution that Ritchie Blackmore made to the development of guitar music. This musician caused thousands of imitations, for many hundreds he was an unspoken teacher. In fact, all hard rock since the seventies has been Blackmore's titanic influence. And today, already at a very respectable age, Blackmore continues to amaze his fans. New Blackmore's Night albums are released regularly, which means that the guitarist's creative biography is still very far from complete.

Richard Hugh Blackmore was born April 14, 1945 in Weston Super Mare, a small British town. Two years later, his parents moved to Heston, the western suburb of London, where Richie spent his childhood. Arnold Blackmore, his father, who taught mathematics in his youth, made money building and repairing runways at Heathrow Airport. Richie's mother ran a small shop.

Richie was a reserved boy, but shyness in his character was combined with a desire to stand out. He never shone with academic success - not because he could not cope with the lessons, but simply never liked school and teachers. Of all the teachers, only the music teacher, who approached the classes very creatively, enjoyed his respect. The only hobby for Richie was sports - swimming, football, javelin throwing, and at the age of ten he asked his parents to buy him a guitar. The father agreed, putting forward a condition for the boy - not to play the fool, but really learn to play. The guitar was quite expensive - eight guineas, and Richie took his father's words seriously.

Arnold Blackmore insisted that his son take classical guitar lessons, and forced him to listen to records of musicians who played outside the box and interestingly. Richie was also very lucky with the teacher - he became Jim Sullivan, perhaps the best English guitarist at that time. It was Sullivan who taught him many tricks and managed to explain what exactly to copy famous musicians not worth it: you need to have your own style of play.

Richie got his first band together at school. It was named after the cafe where many celebrities performed: “21’s Coffee Bar Junior Skiffle Group”, and young musicians played instruments traditional in skiffle groups - washboards and tea boxes with poles stuck in them. The washboard as a rhythm instrument did not suit Richie for long: he made an electric guitar out of his acoustic guitar, and made a column and amplifier out of an old radio.

Richie did not have a chance to study in high school: in 1960, he failed the transitional exams and got a job at the airport repairing aircraft receivers. He soon re-formed the band, calling it the "Dominators" and inviting his friend, Mick Underwood, to play. A little later, both moved to The Settlers. The repertoire of this group consisted mainly of cover versions of other people's compositions, and The Settlers worked anywhere - at parties, weddings and other similar events. It turned out to be very difficult for Blackmore to combine performances with the work of a radio mechanic, because the musicians sometimes played far from London, and it was impossible to be late for work at the airport.

The money earned from performances, Richie set aside for the guitar and saved up for his first professional instrument - "Gibson ES-335", semi-acoustic, exactly the same as Chuck Barry's. He played - in addition to parties - for six hours a day, and such diligence, coupled with undoubted talent, helped him achieve incredible technique and virtuosity, which so many musicians envied. In 1961, Ritchie entered the correspondence department of the London Conservatory in the violin class.

In January 1962, the great English rock and roll artist Gene Vincent hired him to accompany his band for a European tour. After this tour, Richie managed to play in the Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers group and in May got into Screaming Lord Sutch & the Savages, the group of one of the founders of shock rock, David Sutch. Lord Sutch's concerts were real shows with "risings from the coffin" and other exotic and eccentric things, and in six months Richie got a lot of stage experience, but the musical part disappointed him almost instantly.

Blackmore was offered a new job by Joe Meek, a well-known producer and owner of his own record company. Richie became the guitarist in Mick's studio band The Outlaws, where he played for about a year and a half and earned a lifelong aversion to the press and any interviews, believing that journalists were only interested in costumes, hairstyles and anything but music itself. In 1964, Ritchie left The Outlaws for the Southampton band Heinz And The Wild Boys, and with the band toured Australia and Scandinavia for several months. It is curious that in Sweden to this day Blackmore is much better remembered for his "twisted" solos in the Heinz and the Savages group, and not at all in Deep Purple.

In the same 1964, nineteen-year-old Richie managed to get married. His fiancee's name was Margaret, she was German by nationality and gave birth to the guitarist boy Jurgen, but a divorce followed five years later.

Blackmore did not like the position of accompanying guitarist at all, and he dreamed of his own musical career. This dream came not only from ambition - the musician simply did not have enough money, and they did not take him as a solo guitarist, because in addition to a high level of playing, good vocal skills were also required. In 1965, he began working in the Crusaders, then returned to Lord Sutch, who nevertheless paid his musicians well, but after a couple of months he left again, taking drummer Evans and bass player Anderson at the same time. This trio went on tour in Germany with singer Jerry Lee Lewis, who offered Blackmore, Anderson and Evans a long-term contract. But Richie did not want to be an instrumentalist with a star, and the trio remained in the German city of Bochum, where in the winter of 1966 they performed under the name "Three Musketeers" in a music club. In the spring they returned to England and joined the new Crusaders. Blackmore's "It's Fine" reached number fourteen in the UK Singles Chart - the only one where Ritchie sings the lead himself. But in the summer of 1967, Blackmore once again made peace with Lord Sutch and began to play in his new band, the Roman Empire.

The "Roman Empire" included very strong musicians, but this did not help anything, and the group broke up, mainly due to Sutch's oddities. Richie went to Germany, where he again played with the Crusaders for some time. He himself, talking about this period of his life, says that the groups changed, as if in a kaleidoscope, and none corresponded to the ideal. The kaleidoscope could go on forever, and Blackmore decided to interrupt his musical career for a while. He settled in Hamburg with a new girlfriend Barbel Hardy, worked part-time at recording studios, played the guitar for himself and studied for the final exam at the conservatory. He managed to create a new group - "Mandrake Root", which collapsed almost immediately. In October, Richie went to England, received a conservatory diploma and returned to Germany again. His reputation as a guitarist was incredibly high: Blackmore was considered one of the top ten British guitarists, only in his lifetime. given fact So far, absolutely nothing has changed. Richie saw the coming 1968 as a gloomy and unpromising year - but in early November he received an offer from London from Chris Curtis, which seemed to him very tempting.

Several songs were rehearsed in the apartment of keyboardist Jon Lord, managers Tony Edwards and John Coleta were invited to audition, and they were delighted. The project conceived by Curtis was called "Roundabout" ("Carousel"), but Chris himself quickly became disillusioned with it, and Colette and Edwards practically embodied his project. For rehearsals, they rented a house in an abandoned village near London. Local residents claimed that this house was full of ghosts, and according to the musicians, there really was at least a poltergeist there, howling at night and slamming windows and doors. But be that as it may, the legendary band "Deep Purple" was born here.

They recorded their first disc literally in two days in May 1968. The album "Shades of Deep Purple" instantly appeared in the top twenty of the hit parade, and the group signed a contract with the English company EMI, and then with the American Tettragrommoton. The September single "Hush" took fourth place in the charts, at the same time the group's second album, The Book of Taliesyn, appeared, and six months later, the third, Deep Purple. In July 1969, three of the original line-up remained in the group: Ritchie Blackmore, Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice, and Ian Gillan and Roger Glover replaced vocalist Rod Evans and bass guitarist Nick Simper.

New composition experimented with symphonic music, but clearly inclined towards hard rock, and in August 1970 the famous album "In Rock" was released, which stayed on the top lines of the British charts for more than a year. In 1971, "Fireball" appeared, reaching number one in England and rising high in the US. The group went on tour to America, and before that they gave a grand show at the Albert Hall in London, where the parents of the musicians were also present, sitting in the royal box. Fame came to Deep Purple, and Blackmore, who became the leader of the group, completely gave free rein to his eccentricity - he played as he wanted, up to one hundred and fifty bars of one solo, and no one stopped him. By that time, he had already been divorced and married again - to his Hamburg girlfriend Barbel, with whom he lived until 1981.

At the end of 1971, one of the brightest songs was recorded - "Smoke On The Water", and the album "Machine Head", released in 1972, became a rock classic. Even the departure of Gillan and Glover in 1973 did not affect the success of the group - they were replaced by David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes, and the albums with their participation "Burn" and "Stormbringer" turned out to be quite successful. The American tour of 1974 ended at a rock festival in California - and ended in scandal: by coincidence, the Deep Purple group, which was supposed to perform last, had to replace one of the participants, and Blackmore, not wanting to give up the headliner spot, set fire to end of stage performance. The audience was ecstatic, but the police had to flee to a neighboring state - on a luxury plane, rented for big money especially for the tour.

At the height of Deep Purple's fame, Blackmore was dubbed the "dark king of hard rock guitar," and the title was well deserved. Since childhood, adoring classical music, especially the violin and cello, Richie played not only technically perfect, but absolutely individual. Well, the "gloom" came from the "medieval" style of his clothes.

However, despite the fabulous fees and successful tours, Blackmore was tired of "Deep Purple" - in his words, from lazy colleagues and a lack of new ideas. In April 1975, he stated that creativity had become a craft and left the group. His new group included American musicians from the Elf group, who played during the tour as the opening act for Deep Purple. The group was called "Rainbow" and quickly became famous. Its composition also changed, and in 1979 bassist Roger Glover, a former member of Deep Purple, joined Rainbow. In 1980, Blackmore and Glover released the single "All Night Long", which rose to number five in the UK. At the same time, Rod Evans, the first vocalist of Deep Purple, assembled a group that began performing under the name Deep Purple, but Blackmore and Glover managed to protect the legendary name and at the end of the year released a live album, In concert, which included songs of 1970-72.

The popularity of "Rainbow" almost reached the level of "Deep Purple", and Richie stopped liking it. Probably, rock did not bring him complete satisfaction - Blackmore's dream was classical music, and rock was just a compromise between the boredom of symphony orchestras and a medieval traveling booth. The Rainbow group broke up, and in 1984 Richie tried to revive Deep Purple as part of Blackmore - Gillan - Lord Pace, but eventually had a fight with Gillan and finally left the group. In 1993, he recreated "Rainbow", but recorded only one album with the new line-up called "Stranger in Us All", which includes, in particular, the arrangement of Grieg's composition. By the way, Blackmore's work in the Rainbow group did not receive a single negative review from music critics.

In the late eighties, the life of Ritchie Blackmore lit up new love. Having managed by this time to marry and divorce for the third time, he became interested in the eighteen-year-old poetess and singer Candice Knight. The difference of twenty-six years did not prevent Candace from reciprocating the famous guitarist - and this Richie romance became happy for many years. Since 1991, they have not parted with Candace, although they got engaged only in 2008. In May 2010, Candace gave birth to a daughter, Esmeralda, and two years later, a boy, Rory.

But the union of Richie and Candace also brought creative results: in 1997, the folk-rock band Blackmore's Night appeared, which is still flourishing to this day. The work of this group, apparently, perfectly suits the "king of the guitar" - "Blackmore's Night" perform acoustic ballads in the style of the Renaissance, using brass, classical and folk instruments, and Richie himself began to play mainly on acoustic guitar.

Ritchie Blackmore is an English rock musician, one of the most respected and influential guitarists in the world. He belongs to those brilliant musicians who turn everything they touch into gold. At the dawn of the 70s, together with him, he opened hard rock to people, became the founder of the legendary rock band Rainbow. And in 1997 he became one of the most popular folk musicians as part of the Blackmore's Night group.

Childhood and youth

The full name of the musician sounds like Richard Hugh Blackmore, the nickname Richie appeared later. A boy was born in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset. When he was 2 years old, his parents decided to move to Heston. His mother, Violet Short, ran the store, and his father, Lewis Jay Blackmore, worked at the airport.

Richard grew up as a reserved child. One day, the parents decided to arrange a fun birthday for their son, invited guests, but he immediately ran away from the celebration to the attic, from where he left only when everyone left.

He did not like to study at school, he did not find the language with teachers, and he did not please with grades. As a child, he admired Gene Vincent, Tommy Steele and Hank Marvin. At the age of 11, he received his first guitar from his father, but with one condition: Richie had to learn how to play the guitar correctly, so his father paid him classical guitar lessons for a whole year.

In addition to music, Blackmore devoted time to sports. He achieved results in football, swimming, javelin throwing - he won competitions more than once.

Richie failed the final exam, which made it possible to go to high school. He left school at 15 and started working as an assistant mechanic for an airport radio. In his spare time, he studied electric guitar with Jimmy Sullivan.

Music

In the 60s, Ritchie Blackmore changed more than one Music band. But the first recognition came to him in the group "The Savages". He soon moved to The Outlaws. The group was distinguished by its recklessness, they behaved defiantly and more than once ended up in the police station for hooliganism.

For a while, the band accompanied Gene Vincent, and it was then that Richie visited Germany for the first time, touring with the singer. Since then, this country has become his favorite. But the guitarist was not satisfied with the role of an accompanist, he dreamed of his own team.

In 1968, Blackmore joined the band that Chris Curtis was putting together. True, Curtis left the band even before the group was formed. The name "Deep Purple" was coined by Richie. The team was doomed to success and became the "pioneer" of hard rock.

At first they sang covers of already popular compositions, but since 1970 the group has been recording successful albums one after another, making videos, which allows them to become one of the leading groups of that time. Then they release their most famous hits - "Smoke On The Water", "Highway Star", "Child in Time".

In 1974, Richie became involved in a scandalous situation that occurred at a rock festival in California. At that time, "Deep Purple" was so popular that at any concert they were headliners and performed last. And this time their performance was scheduled for the “post-sunset” time. The group had a laser show and fireworks prepared.

However, for some reason, the number of speakers was reduced, and the team had to leave earlier. Richie categorically refused and simply closed himself in the dressing room. To pull him onto the stage, the organizers of the festival called the police and used force.

It was then that the frustrated Blackmore smashed to pieces not only his guitar, but also the operator's camera. In the end, the show was a success. But due to disagreements in the future direction of the group, Ritchie Blackmore left Deep Purple in 1975. A year later, the team broke up.

In the same year, the musician moved to America and gathered a new team there - Rainbow. They played heavy metal and hard rock music. Richie, as the leader of the group, changed members more than once. During the existence of the group, 8 albums were recorded, and each with a new line-up.

In 1984, the "classic" line-up of Deep Purple reunited again. The musicians recorded two studio albums and one live album. Fans of the group compared the new work of the group with "Rainbow". Against all odds, Deep Purple had a successful tour in support of Perfect Strangers.

But, as before, Richie and vocalist Gillan did not find a common language, Blackmore invited the vocalist of "Rainbow" to take his place, but such a replacement was met with disapproval by the rest of the participants. As a result, Richie left Deep Purple for good in 1993. And again recreated "Rainbow".

In the late 80s, Richie met the vocalist, as well as his future wife Candice Knight. In 1997, Ritchie, together with Candice, founded the Blackmore's Night group, which was radically different from Blackmore's past projects. These were acoustic lyrical ballads, folk and folk songs were present in the compositions. classical instruments. The most popular with listeners are "Wish You Were Here", "Under a Violet Moon", "Ghost of a Rose".

Later, parties for the electric guitar began to appear in the group's repertoire. And sometimes at concerts, the musicians performed the songs "Deep Purple" and "Rainbow".

Personal life

Ritchie Blackmore has never lacked female attention. Therefore, it is not surprising that he was married four times. His first wife was German Margrit Volkmar. They married in 1964 and lived in Germany. Soon the couple had their first child - son Jurgen Blackmore. By the way, he also devoted his life to music.

In 1969, Richie and Margrit divorced, but the man did not stay single. He married the German dancer Barbel Hardy. But their marriage broke up the next year. Thanks to these two marriages, the musician is fluent in German.

After moving to America, in 1978 Blackmore met Amy Rothman. They got married in 1981 and divorced in 1983.

His fourth wife, Candace Knight, was a fan of Rainbow and, meeting Ritchie Blackmore at a football match, decided to ask the musician for an autograph. As the musician himself says, he immediately liked the girl. In 1991, they began to live together, in 1993 they got engaged, and officially married only in 2008.

They had two children - in 2010, daughter Autumn Esmeralda, and in 2012, son Rory D'Artagnan.

Ritchie Blackmore now

In 2018, the musician announced the reunion of the Rainbow group. He decided to do this in order to put the final chord in the career of a hard rock musician.

In April 2018, the guitarist gave concerts in Russia. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, he presented a new program - Memories in Rock 2018. In addition to the popular hits "Rainbow", they also performed their favorite songs of the group "Deep Purple".

AT this moment Richie lives with his family on Long Island, USA.

Discography

As part of "Deep Puple":

• 1968 - "Shades of Deep Purple"
• 1974 - Stormbringer
• 1984 - "Perfect Strangers"
• 1987 - "The House of Blue Light"
• 1993 - "The Battle Rages on..."

As part of "Rainbow":

• 1975 - Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow
• 1978 - "Long Live Rock" n "Roll"
• 1982 - "Straight Between the Eyes"
• 1983 - Bent out of Shape
• 1995 - "Stranger in Us All"

As part of "Blackmore's Night":

• 1997 - "Shadow of the Moon"
• 1999 - "Under a Violet Moon"
• 2003 - "Ghost of a Rose"
• 2010 - "Autumn Sky"
• 2015 - "All Our Yesterdays"

Few people, even a little versed in rock music, have not heard who Ritchie Blackmore. And no wonder, over a half-century career, he managed to participate in three super projects - Deep Purple, Rainbow and Blackmore's Night and many lesser-known groups.

Biography begins Ritchie Blackmorein Weston-super-Mare in England in the distant and turbulent year 1945. From school, he developed an aversion to the rules and patterns that were stuffed into his education. At that time he was fond of sports, and it seemed that he would connect his future with him, but one day at school he saw a guitar, and this changed his life interests in a different direction. The first guitar lessons were taught to him by his father, then Richie studied with Jimmy Sullivan, a famous guitarist at that time.

His first team was the 21 "s Coffee Bar Junior Skiffle Group. At that time, he was refurbishing his acoustic guitar in electro. In the early 60s, Richie changed many bands, but the first recognition came to him in team The Savages, where Ritchie Blackmore received a lot of lessons on how to behave on stage. Soon, leaving the group, he moves into the first truly famous team— The Outlaws. The group was characterized by reckless behavior and more than once fell into the pencil of the police. For some time the group was the accompanist of Gene Vincent and went on foreign tours with him. After that, our hero tries himself in many groups, at the same time wanting to create his own group.

Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple

Finally, in 1968, a group was formed that included Chris Curtis, Blackmore, Pace and Jon Lord. The name of the group was invented by myself Ritchie Blackmore. This team was doomed to success and became one of the pioneers of hard rock. The group was called Deep Purple. At first, the group tried to copy someone else's style and the first albums consisted mainly of hits from other groups. Finally, in 1969, after recording with the orchestra, the group's business went better. At that time, Ian Gillan and Roger Glover were already performing in the team, forming the golden composition of the group. Since 1970, the group has been releasing one after another a number of successful albums, which allowed them to become one of the leading groups of that time. At that time, the group created their most famous hits in which Richie invested a lot. Especially in the legendary riff in the song Smoke on the Water - the hallmark of Deep Purple. But Richie always tried to do what he liked and gradually relations in the team worsened, soon Gillan and Glover left the group, and after disagreements in the further direction of the group's movements in 1975, Blackmore himself leaves the group.

Ritchie Blackmore: Rainbow

At that time he met American group Elf. He was struck by their playing and especially by the vocalist with his powerful voice. His name was Ronnie James Dio, who then recorded the disc Holy Diver. Soon Ritchie Blackmore invited them to join his new group, called Rainbow. Soon the first album of the group was recorded, which became a continuation of the Machine Head line and contained powerful hard rock, which was so characteristic of the group in the late 70s. The group was also characterized by lyrical ballads, which were contained on each album. As a whole, the group became one of the most influential in the hard rock scene, but was characterized by a constant rotation of the line-up, which changed on each album. As a result, already in 1979, only Blackmore himself remained from the first composition.

After long attempts to get financial success from their music, the band decides to change their style to a more commercial one and for this they invite a vocalist who could give it a new charm. At first, Graham Bonnet became them, and then Joe Lynn Turner came to replace him. At the time, the band had a stellar line-up - Ritchie Blackmore, Roger Glover on bass, Cozy Powell on drums and Don Airey on keyboards. The group, having become commercially successful, nevertheless did not abandon their unbridled image, both on and off stage. The ringleader was, of course, Blackmore himself.

Finally, in 1984, the group broke up, as its leader returned to the re-created in the golden composition of Deep Purple. At first, Richie was tolerant of Gillan, with whom he had a difficult relationship, but then the band was forced to part ways with the vocalist. Finally, in 1993, the long-term relationship between Richie and Deep Purple came to an end. On November 17, he played his last gig with them and shortly thereafter resurrected Rainbow and recorded another album.

Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Knight

In 1997, the Rainbow page in Richie's life was closed forever, and together with his common-law wife Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Knight organized something completely new for themselves. The Blackmore's Night group played folk rock that was completely atypical for Richie.He still plays in this group, releasing 8 albums over the years. Ritchie Blackmore's personal life seems to have finally become idyllic. He married Candace in 2008, and soon they had a daughter. Prior to that, Richie had been married three times and had a son, Jurgen, in his first marriage.

In general, Ritchie Blackmore's contribution to the development of music is simply enormous. He is not only one of the most famous guitar virtuosos, and in fact, besides the guitar, he plays other instruments, but also gave way to life for many bands, for example, Wishborne Ash. Also, his manner of playing the guitar formed the basis of the game of many guitarists.

Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore (born April 14, 1945, Weston-super-Mare, England) is an outstanding English rock musician, known as one of the first guitarists who connected the elements classical music with rock. One of the founders of the Deep Purple group, after leaving which he created the group. One of the most respected and influential guitarists in the world. In 1997, he created the Blackmore's Night project, in which he participates to the present.

FIN COSTELLO/GETTY IMAGES

Ritchie Blackmore ( full name Richard Hugh Blackmore was born on April 15, 1945 in the small English town of Weston - Super Mayor. At the age of 10, Richie became seriously interested in playing the guitar. His father bought him his first guitar, promising to "smash the instrument on his head if he doesn't learn to play the thing."

Richie was so carried away by the guitar that by the age of 16 he owned the instrument at a very high level. His father brought him to the first audition in a professional group. Despite the fact that none of the candidates could show such skill as Ritchie, young Blackmore was in no hurry to accept invitations from different groups He continued to hone his craft. His first electric guitar was a £22 Hofner Club 50, after buying a new guitar, Blackmore began working with various musical groups in the evenings. His goal was a new guitar, but there was no money to buy it, so Richie worked as a radio mechanic at the airport.

And in the evening after work, he continued to break the strings and improve his skills. 2 years of hard work paid off - Blackmore became the owner of a brand new "GIBSON ES-335". This guitar becomes his closest companion for the next 10 years.

In the mid-60s, Blackmore, being a fairly popular guitarist, worked in various bands - such as The Outlaws, The Crusaders, The Lancasters, Roman Empire, Mandrake Root and others. By chance, being in Hamburg, he meets there with Chris Curtis - the man who changed his fate. Chris Curtis was friends with Jon Lord, a young virtuoso organist, and it was to him that he told about a certain guitarist spinning dashing solos on his guitar. John invited Ritchie to London where he was going to start a professional band with dedicated keyboards. The idea seemed interesting to Richie, and he went to London. After rehearsing for several days, he was satisfied and agreed to participate in the group.

The problem was that Chris Curtis was a talker. Every minute he was visited by various ideas, he talked a lot, but did nothing. The prospect of working in a new group was fading before our eyes, and an upset Richie leaves London. A few months later, he is found by the future manager Deep Purple Colette, and invites you to work. Richie is flying back to London. As it turned out, he flew towards Deep Purple ....

In addition to Richie and Lord, the new band included bassist Nick Simper, singer Rod Evans, and drummer Bobby Clarke. Once, when the drummer left for his favorite cigarettes, the musicians invited a new candidate for drummers - Jan Pace. He brought his installation and began to knock out incredible fractions. When Clark returned, it became clear that Pace would take the drum seat.

Initially, the group was supposed to be called "Carousel", but each musician could offer his own name. Once Richie offered his own version - Deep Purple (Dark Purple) - it was a phrase from his grandmother's favorite song. The name was adopted unanimously... So one of the greatest rock bands modernity.

1968 was the year of birth of one of the most best rock bands world, which gave rise to a whole era and a completely new style. But it will be later, but for now, the musicians of the newly minted group rented a small barn on the outskirts of London, and began to rehearse new songs. Ritchie Blackmore showed remarkable imagination in terms of intimidating new friends - at night the shutters and doors creaked, not letting anyone sleep, a log crawled around the rooms, and the sounds of Richie's amplifier were simply heartbreaking - it seemed that the house was inhabited by ghosts. However, despite this atmosphere, debut album groups took place. It was called "Shades of Deep Purple" and quickly made it into the top 25.

In 1969, the group released a new album "The Book to Taliesyn", and six months later - the third, with the name "Deep Purple", also known as "Aprile". Blackmore is dissatisfied with the band's sound, believing that they should play harder music, Lord insists on his own. Ultimately, Blackmore wins, on general council it was decided to change the singer and bassist. They are replaced by Roger Glover and Ian Gillan from Episode Six. Lord dreams of writing a suite for a group with an orchestra, this idea finds support in the ranks of the team. Six months later, Deep Purple performs at the Royal Albert Hall with the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The concert brought the group unheard of success and desired promotion, but did not change Blackmore's plans to "heavier" the sound at all.

In 1970, the new album "Deep Purple In Rock" was released, which gave the impression of a bombshell. it was he who became an example for many rock bands, and is still considered the heaviest album in the history of Deep Purple. In the same 1970, Ian Gillan was invited to perform the vocal part of Jesus Christ in the cult rock opera Jesus Christ Superstar. In the fall of 1970, the group held an active tour of Scandinavia, which resulted in the release of the live record "Scandinavian Nights".

In 1971, the group sits down to record a new album, "The Fireball". The album was written in between numerous tours, which were very successful, except for the mysterious illness of Roger Glover - during the concert he was disturbed by colic in the stomach. No doctor could determine the cause until Roger turned to a hypnotist. It turns out that everything was from excitement before going on stage. The autumn tour was crumpled - Gillan fell ill with jaundice, and the tour was postponed to the beginning of 1972.

Taking advantage of an unexpected pause, the band gathered in Switzerland, where they began recording a new album on a mobile studio. Recording was supposed to be in the concert hall "Casino", but unexpectedly during a Frank Zappa concert, a fan fired a flare gun at the ceiling, causing a fire, the hall burned to the ground. The musicians immortalized this event in the song "Smoke on the Water", which is still considered the most hit rock thing to this day. Recording continued in an empty hotel, despite all these difficulties, the album "Machine Head" turned out great. In July the band traveled to Italy to record their next album. Tired, exhausted by a heavy tour schedule, the musicians could not tune in to inspiration. It was during this period that friction began between Blackmore and Gillan. After a little rest, the group leaves for Japan, where they give a series of concerts. As a result of these tours, the disc "Made In Japan" is released - the best live record of the group.

1973 The record "Who Do You Think We Are?" The situation in the group left much to be desired - Gillan decided to leave the group, Blackmore and Paice also talked about leaving and creating their own bands. After negotiations with managers, Blackmore agreed to stay, on the condition that the bassist also leave. Glover was offended and immediately wrote a statement. Thus, in June 1973, the last joint concert of the "golden line-up" was played in Japan. The new bassist was Glenn Hughes, a member of the group "Trapeze". A vocalist was needed to replace Gillan. The group announced a competition and was literally inundated with recordings of potential singers. After a long selection, an unknown clothing salesman David Coverdale was invited to the group. As a result of long rehearsals, the new album "Burn" was born, dated already in the new 1974.

The beginning of 1974 was spent on tour. The American tour began in March, Deep Purple were on top - personal jet, incredible fees ... In April 1974, the group ended the American tour at a grand rock festival with the participation of such stars as ELP, The Eagles, and others. By agreement, the group had to go on stage at sunset, thereby enhancing the stage effect. But for some reason the organizers changed their plans and asked the team to perform earlier. Blackmore flatly refused. A scandal was brewing, the organizers threatened that the group would not perform at all. Through various tricks, the musicians were able to delay the time, and took the stage at the moment when the picturesque California sun was setting over the horizon. The effect was amazing! Nevertheless, Blackmore harbored a grudge against the organizers of the show, especially at the representative of the ABC television company who was constantly "getting" him. During the performance of the last composition, Richie slammed his guitar neck into the TV camera with all his might. The frightened operator was taken off the stage, and Blackmore continued to rage: having broken the guitar, he doused the equipment with gasoline and ordered it all to be set on fire. The show ended with a beautiful fire, and the perpetrators had to escape by helicopter. The concert was subsequently released on video, and to this day is the most scandalous concert of the group. Toward the end of 1974, the group released another record, "Stormbringer". Newcomers Coverdale and Hughes had a huge impact on the sound of this record. Blackmore again thought about leaving Deep Purple - in his opinion, the group had lost its "metal" sound. In early 1975, he went to Germany to record a solo album, along with fellow musicians from the group "Elf" - it was this group that accompanied Deep Purple on American tours. Blackmore officially announced his departure in June 1975. The Deep Purple era for Blackmore was over, the Rainbow era was beginning...

Ritchie Blackmore`s Rainbow - that was the name of the first disc of Blackmore's new band. The music on the new disc was not very different from the one that the great guitarist played with Deep Purple, but for Blackmore himself it was a huge step forward. "I'm tired of playing with a group from which they downloaded hits. Finally, I can play what I like," he said. Blackmore's departure from Deep Purple was preceded by a telephone conversation between the two leaders - Blackmore and Lord. "John, do you really think our music is good? - No, Richie, I'm also soaked through with the molasses of the last two albums. - John, remember how we started! Let's leave together before it's too late! - If I don't believe in our joint opuses - this does not mean that I do not believe in Deep Purple" - Lord answered and hung up. Blackmore was replaced by American guitarist Tommy Bolin. Everyone liked his work in the studio, and in the same 1975 the album "Come Taste The Band" was released. The album was a logical continuation of two previous albums by Deep Purple - there were more than enough elements of funk and soul music in it, but there was no longer a real "purple" sound.

In 1976, Rainbow sits down to record a new album "Rainbow Rising". The composition of the group was radically updated - of the founders of the group, only Blackmore and Dio remained. The Munich Philharmonic Symphony Orchestra was invited to record the song "Stargazer". The album turned out to be interesting, one might say, one of the best in the history of Rainbow. The group successfully tours around the world, running around new material. At the same time, Deep Purple is doing very badly. Guitarist Tommy Bolin can't play even the simplest chords because of his addiction to drugs. At concerts, fans demand Blackmore, which unsettles the band members. The group eventually breaks up, and in December, Tommy Bolin dies of a drug overdose.

The indefatigable Ritchie Blackmore continues to tour successfully, just as successfully changing the composition of his offspring. The whole of 1977 is spent on tour, with a short break to record a studio album. As a result of concert tours, the hall album "On Stage" is released. The album turned out to be very interesting, once again proving that Blackmore's concert sound simply has no equal. And finally, the single "Kill The King" became the band's first single to hit the charts.

1978 was completely spent on tour. Saw the light and another studio album"Long Live Rock" n "Roll", instantly hit the Top 100. But the further, the more Blackmore is dissatisfied with the composition of the group. In his opinion, the group stopped in its development. One of the stumbling blocks was the lyrics, which were mostly written by Dio. The band's producers insisted on a more commercial sound, and medieval stories about witches, devils, knights and princesses irritated them more and more. Ultimately, Blackmore and drummer Cozy Powell are left alone. By the end of the year, keyboardist Don Airey joins the group.

In 1979, Blackmore invited former Deep Purple bassist Roger Glover, also known for his production skills. And finally, Graham Bonnet comes to the place of the vocalist - a singer with quite powerful voice data. The new album "Down To Earth", produced by Glover, was an incredible commercial success, although its sound is much softer than the band's previous work. Despite the success, Richie remains dissatisfied, and the cup of his patience continues to fill up.

1980 continued to bring success to the group - primarily due to the commercial sound of the new album and the single "All Night Long". In the summer, the band successfully performs at the "Monsters of Rock" festival, after which Blackmore is again left without a vocalist and drummer - the leader's quarrelsome character and dissatisfaction with the quality of the material once again made themselves felt. The most talented Bob Rondinelli comes to the place of the drummer. Blackmore meets with Gillan and invites him to the Rainbow, but is rejected. The idea of ​​reincarnating Deep Purple without destroying Rainbow fails. As a result, the vocalist was taken by Joe Lynn Turner from the Fandango group, who would later play many important roles in Blackmore's life.

In early 1981, the new album "Difficult To Cure" was released, which determined the group's "signature" sound. The success of the album was so high that the company "Polydor" in the wake of this success re-released the first album of the group in 1975, and at the same time - the single "Kill The King". A truly stellar time begins for Rainbow, which, however, does not save the team from personnel changes. In particular, keyboardist Don Airey is being replaced by a young American pianist, David Rosenthal.

1982 passes in a busy schedule - tours alternate with studio work. The group is given a particularly warm welcome in Japan - Blackmore is practically cult character. The new album "Strong Between The Eyes" is released in April, and immediately takes a place in the top 30.

1983 was marked by a line-up adjustment - instead of Bob Rondinelli, Chuck Bergi took the place behind the drums. The next album "Bent Out of Shape" is released. The sound of the group is increasingly slipping towards commercial - to the delight of the fans, but the old Blackmore is still dissatisfied. What he ran away from, leaving Deep Purple, was repeated - wild popularity, hits to order, lack of understanding with the team ... At the end of the year, Blackmore and Glover meet with former members of Deep Purple and, after negotiations, decide to restore the group in "gold" composition 1970-1973. Not the last role in the restoration of the group was played by the two-million-dollar fees promised to the participants. One way or another, but the fate of Rainbow was sealed.

In 1984, Rainbow held his last tour of Japan. At the last concert, Blackmore, seeking to "leave beautifully", invites a symphony orchestra, with which he plays Beethoven's 9th symphony. The concert was recorded on video, later fragments from it were included in the video history of the group, and the audio recordings were included in the 1986 compilation "Finyl Vinyl". Despite the actual dissolution of the group, only the "suspension of the group" was officially announced, which indicates that Blackmore was not sure of the success of the venture with the restoration of Deep Purple, and left a "fallback" option. Unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, the guitarist returned to the "backup" version only after a long 10 years...

So, 1984 pleased all Deep Purple fans with the reunion of the group. Yes, and in the "gold" composition, which created the "King of Speed", "Child in Time" and "Smoke on the Water" ... After Blackmore worked recent concerts with Rainbow, the musicians sat down in a small studio near London to record a new album. This album was to make a splash in the world of rock music. Therefore, Blackmore was more partial to himself than ever. Lord took over as arranger, Glover as producer. Many tunes in the album were intended for Rainbow, so the album is close in sound to the last opuses of this group, and some incompatibility is also noticeable in Gillan's work. But the experience of professionals blocked minor flaws, and in November the new album "Dark Purple" called "Perfect Strangers" (Completely Alien) hits the shelves of music stores. Initially, the album was planned to be called "Who would have thought!", But Glover felt that it was better to play it safe in case of failure. However, these fears were in vain - the album was a resounding success.

In 1985, Deep Purple actively toured, running in new material, but mostly they performed old things, without which Deep Purple is impossible to imagine. Despite the full halls and the outwardly stable situation in the team, Blackmore no longer enjoys work. Gillan is not the same as he was before, often his voice is not heard because of the music, it is difficult for him to take the top notes (the consequences of a surgery on the ligaments). Nostalgia for Rainbow can be traced even in Deep Purple's repertoire - in solo losses, Richie often inserts Rainbow melodies, and the processing of Beethoven's 9th symphony is a separate number at all, not a single concert can do without it. Now Richie is obsessed with a new idea: how to revive Rainbow without leaving Deep Purple.

In 1986, Deep Purple is still touring, the density of the schedule does not allow the musicians to do studio work. At this time, another event fuels public interest in Rainbow: the double disc "Finyl Vinyl" is released, which includes previously unreleased recordings and singles of the group. The video compilation "The Final Cut" is also released - this is a kind of video history of the group in the period from 1979 to 1984. Of particular note is the presence in the collection of a video clip for the song "Street of dreams" - at one time the clip was banned from showing on MTV due to the demonstration of hypnosis. Needless to say, a great gift for all Rainbow fans. At the end of the year, Deep Purple finally finds time and sits down to record a new album.

In early 1987, the new album "A House of Blue Light" is ready. To promote the album, the group releases a collection of video clips of the same name, which includes two clips for songs from the previous album, and two from the new one. It should be especially noted that the album "House of the Blue Light" is the first full-fledged album of the group, officially released in the USSR. Before that, there was only a collection best songs Deep Purple until 1973, and a collection of Rainbow's best songs. Throughout 1987, the band was testing new material, not forgetting, however, about the old songs.

1988 - tours, tours, tours... One day, while listening to live recordings in the studio, the musicians thought: why not release a live record? Having carefully selected and mixed some records, the hall album "Nobody's Perfect" was released. As a bonus, the song "Hush" was added to it, previously performed by the old line-up of Deep Purple. As the band members themselves say, they just rehearsed in the studio, the sound engineers were adjusting the sound, and the song appeared on the tape quite by accident.A video clip was later shot for this song.

In 1989, Blackmore publicly expressed his dissatisfaction with Gillan's work. Richie still remembered his idea of ​​recreating Rainbow, so the only compromise for Deep Purple's existence was Gillan's departure. I had to urgently look for a vocalist, many famous singers were offered, but Blackmore balked and said that Turner should sing in Deep Purple. Former vocalist Rainbow at that time worked in the group of Yngwie Malmsteen, had a successful tour with this group, swept around the world and even performed in Leningrad. Turner gladly accepted the group's offer, and the musicians sat down for a new album.

The album "Slaves & Masters" became for Blackmore the embodiment of the idea of ​​​​reviving the Rainbow. Indeed, in the current composition of Deep Purple, three Rainbow musicians played at once - Blackmore himself, Glover and Turner, the great Lord was on the keys, and Pace was on the drums! This composition was for Blackmore the most desirable - after all, he changed the composition of Rainbow so many times, striving for the perfect sound. Now, with the advent of Turner, Rainbow songs appeared in Deep Purple's repertoire, which also could not but inspire nostalgia for past successes. The group successfully tours with a new line-up, running in a new album.

In 1992, the group continues to tour and is preparing to record a new album. But the record company is unhappy with the sales of the latest album, which sounds exactly like the latest Rainbow albums. A lot of money is at stake, and Turner has to leave the group. Gillan appears behind the microphone again, and the group sits down to record the next album.

1993 was marked by the new album "The Battle Rages On", vocals - Gillan. The third revival of the group in the "golden" line-up, which took place against the will of Blackmore, turns out to be decisive - another bowl of patience of the great guitarist overflows. The question of the incompatibility of vocals and music is raised again - most of the things are written under the voice of Turner, and Gillan simply does not pull them out. Blackmore and Gillan don't talk, they don't travel together. On tour during the "break-in" of the new album, Blackmore refuses to go on stage. One of the last joint concerts was filmed. The concert begins without Blackmore - he comes out only in the second half of the opening song, during the guitar solo. Outraged, Gillan tries to explain something to the guitarist, in response, a glass of water flies into his head ... Blackmore leaves the band right in the middle of the tour, thus ending the story with Deep Purple.

Blackmore left Deep Purple in the midst of a tour, completely unconcerned about the fate of the group. To end the tour, the musicians urgently had to look for a replacement. She came in the form of Joe Satriani, who finished playing the parts of Blackmore. The musician refused to stay in Deep Purple, citing a heavy workload in his own projects, and after a while Steve Morse became Deep Purple's guitarist. Finishing the conversation about Deep Purple, let's say that the band's line-up later suffered only one change, and it is also indirectly connected with the name of Blackmore - instead of the aged Jon Lord, Don Airey, ex-Rainbow, became the new keyboardist of the group. Deep Purple still works in this line-up - successfully tours, releases new albums. But for many fans of the great guitarist, Deep Purple has ceased to exist since Blackmore left him. Listening to Deep Purple's new recordings, watching concert performances, we involuntarily compare Morse's playing with Blackmore's and admit that he is a wonderful guitarist, but far from Blackmore...

Well, meanwhile, in the yard in 1994, Ritchie Blackmore is looking for musicians for the revival of Rainbow - we remember that the group was not officially disbanded. After some time, the team was assembled: in addition to Blackmore and his new passion, backing vocalists Candice Knight, included vocalist Doogie White, keyboardist Paul Morris, bassist Greg Smith and drummer John O'Reilly.

In 1995, the long-awaited album of the revived Rainbow "Stranger In Us All" was released - work on the album lasted more than six months. The release of the album is especially anticipated in Japan, where over 100,000 copies were sold in the first week alone. Immediately after the release of the album, some changes took place in the composition of Rainbow - instead of the drummer O'Reilly, an old acquaintance Chuck Bergey, a member of the Rainbow of 83-84, appeared in the group. In this composition, the group actively tours, many concerts were filmed.

1996 was a turning point in the fate of Blackmore. He revels in the success of the revived Rainbow band, actively tours, takes part in various festivals, accepts various awards, helps other musicians in their own projects ... and begins work on a new solo project. More precisely, this is not just a solo project, this is a joint project with his young wife Candice Knight, who never leaves her famous husband, taking part in the recording of his latest albums and touring with him as a backing vocalist. Blackmore's old friend Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull also "marked" himself in the recording of this album. Blackmore seemed happy. Are you happy?

In 1997, Blackmore's solo album was released, about which there was so much talk. Released under the name "Blackmore's Night", which can be translated as "Blackmore's Nights", although in fact it is just a combination of the names of Blackmore himself and his wife Candice Knight. Blackmore is actively touring with Rainbow, but all his thoughts are already far from At the peak of Rainbow's popularity, Blackmore announces the "temporary suspension" of Rainbow. This ends the story of Rainbow, but given that the group has not officially disbanded, one can only hope that we will see a third revival of one from the best bands in the world.

Further milestones in the biography of the great Maestro of the guitar are associated only with Blackmores Knight. The events that took place in Richie's life during this period are worthy of a separate site, so we will limit ourselves to a brief listing of the main episodes:

In 1997, the first album of the Shadow of the Moon project was released;
In 1998, the video Shadow Of The Moon Live In Germany is released;
In 1999, the second album Under a Violet Moon was released;
In 2000, the video Under A Violet Moon Tour Live In Germany is released;
In 2001, the album Fires at Midnight was released;
In 2002, the single Home Again was released;
In 2003, the studio album Ghost of a Rose and the live album Past Times with Good Company were released;
In 2004, the collection of ballads Beyond the Sunset: The Romantic Collection was released;
In 2005, the first official DVD of Castles and Dreams is released;
In 2006, two albums were released at once: The Village Lanterne and Winter Carols;
In 2007, the second official DVD Paris Moon was released, the set includes an audio CD of the same name;
In 2008, the album Secret Voyage was released.

All the time the group is actively touring - their performances are always interesting and unexpected. The scenery is made in the style of a medieval square. Blackmore uses a huge number of folk instruments - here are flutes, and sitars, and lutes, and bagpipes, and even some kind of hurdy-gurdy. But nevertheless, thousands of spectators are looking forward to the moment when the master picks up an old Stratocaster and makes "Black Night" or ""...