Ritchie Blackmore
| Ritchie Blackmore | |
|---|---|
Blackmore in 2016
|
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Richard Hugh Blackmore |
| Born |
14 April 1945 Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England |
| Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal, blues rock, progressive rock, folk rock |
| Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter |
| Instruments | Guitar, mandolin, domra, hurdy-gurdy |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Labels | Polydor, BMG, Edel, SPV, Ariola, Frontiers |
| Associated acts | Rainbow, Blackmore's Night, Deep Purple, The Outlaws, Glenda Collins, Heinz, Screaming Lord Sutch, Neil Christian |
| Website | blackmoresnight.com |
| Notable instruments | |
|
Gibson ES-335 Picato Strings |
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Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was one of the founding members of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard-rock music which mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. During his solo career, he established a heavy metal band called Rainbow which fused baroque music influences and elements of hard rock. Rainbow steadily moved to catchy pop-style mainstream rock. Later in life, he formed the traditional folk rock project Blackmore's Night transitioning to vocalist-centred sounds. As a member of Deep Purple, Blackmore was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2016.
Blackmore was born at Allendale Nursing Home in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, as second son to Lewis J. Blackmore and Violet (née Short). The family moved to Heston, Middlesex, when Blackmore was two. He was 11 when he was given his first guitar by his father on certain conditions, including learning how to play properly, so he took classical guitar lessons for one year.
In an interview with Sounds magazine in 1979, Blackmore said that he started the guitar because he wanted to be like Tommy Steele, who used to just jump around and play. Blackmore loathed school and hated his teachers.
While at school, he participated in sports including the javelin. Blackmore left school at age 15 and started work as an apprentice radio mechanic at nearby Heathrow Airport. He took electric guitar lessons from session guitarist Big Jim Sullivan.
In 1960 he began to work as a session player for Joe Meek's music productions, and performed in several bands. He was initially a member of the instrumental band The Outlaws, who played in both studio recordings and live concerts. Otherwise, in mainly studio recordings, he backed female singer Glenda Collins, German-born pop singer Heinz (playing on his top ten hit "Just Like Eddie", "Beating Of My Heart"), and others. Thereafter, in mainly live concerts, he backed horror-themed singer Screaming Lord Sutch, beat singer Neil Christian, and others.
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