Ritchie Blackmore

Latest about Ritchie Blackmore

Simon McBride Deep Purple perform at Freiluftarena B on July 13, 2023 in Graz, Austria
Simon McBride on how he’s made the Deep Purple catalog his own – while paying homage to the icons who came before him

By Matt Owen Published

McBride was appointed Deep Purple's lead guitarist in 2022, following in the footsteps of some of the most revered players of all time

Guitarists
Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore on why he switched from the 335 to the Stratocaster – and the one he used to record Smoke on the Water

By Andrew Daly Published

Deep Purple icon Ritchie Blackmore tells us how a visit from Slowhand’s roadie turned him into a Fender Strat diehard – and why he kept breaking whammy bars

Guitarists
Left-Simon McBride of the English rock band Deep Purple performs in concert during Alma Festival on June 13, 2024 in Madrid, Spain; Right-Ritchie Blackmore of the British band Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow performs live on stage during a concert at the Velodrom on April 18, 2018 in Berlin, Germany
Deep Purple’s Simon McBride on the Ritchie Blackmore lick he found most difficult to learn

By Janelle Borg Published

McBride has also discussed where he thinks Blackmore's compositional strength lies

Guitarists
Roger Glover, Ian Gillan and Simon McBride of the English rock band Deep Purple perform in concert during Alma Festival on June 13, 2024 in Madrid, Spain
Deep Purple play Smoke on the Water on the lake that inspired it – with actual fire in the sky

By Janelle Borg Published

The band return to Montreux, the site of the 1971 casino fire depicted in the lyrics of their iconic track

Concert, Gigs & Tours
Ritchie Blackmore
How Ritchie Blackmore ended up buying his first-ever Fender Stratocaster from Eric Clapton

By Matt Owen Published

Blackmore switched up his ES-335 for a Strat after he was given the chance to buy one of Clapton's own examples – and the rest was history

Electric Guitars
Ritchie Blackmore performs onstage at the Velodrom in Berlin, Germany on April 18, 2018
Ritchie Blackmore swapped rock for Renaissance music – but says he’s still not above cranking a tube amp once in awhile

By Janelle Borg Published

The former Deep Purple guitarist says he's still disenchanted with rock, but not with his Engl amp

Guitarists
Ritchie Blackmore
Deep Purple almost lost the legendary Smoke on the Water riff because of armed police storming their studio

By Matt Owen Published

Despite having a self-imposed 10pm noise curfew while recording in Montreux's Pavilion, the band continued playing until four in the morning – and the resulting “racket” riled up some unhappy locals

Bands
Ritchie Blackmore
Ritchie Blackmore based Smoke on the Water on a classical masterpiece – and the riff’s roots might surprise you

By Matt Owen Published

The Deep Purple legend divulged the origin of the riff in an interview back in 2007. But was he telling the truth?

Guitars
Eddie Van Halen
Get to the roots of Eddie Van Halen’s groundbreaking playing with this lesson on his biggest influences

By Phil Short Published

In six immersive studies, we approach Eddie’s playing style from the perspective of the players he idolized

Lessons
Ritchie Blackmore performs with Deep Purple at the Hammersmith Odeon in London on March 14, 1991
Ritchie Blackmore: "It's much easier to flow across the strings on a Gibson. Fenders have more tension, so you have to fight them a little bit"

By Mordechai Kleidermacher Published

In this classic 1991 GW interview, the Deep Purple guitar hero chats about his whammy bar violence, his switch from Gibsons to Strats, and why he thinks Smoke on the Water has endured as a rock classic

Electric Guitars
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