Ritchie Blackmore and his band. Blackmore's Depression Period

The outstanding English guitar virtuoso and composer Ritchie Blackmore was born on April 14, 1945 in a small provincial town, then the Blackmore family moved to one of the suburbs of London. There, schoolboy Ritchie organized his first group with a very long name: “TWENTY ONCE COFFEE BAR JUNIOR SKIFFLE GROUP”. In it, the young man played an acoustic rhythm guitar. Second group young talent was called "DOMINATORES". By the way, another talented musician began his career there - Mick Underwood, who appeared in the group "GILLAN" in 1978-1982. The lead guitarist in DOMINATORES was Roger Meangay, and the bassist was Alan Dunklean. The next group, "CONDORS", became Ritchie's last amateur group. From that time on, he entered the professional stage.

In May 1961, the SAVAGES group announced a competition to fill the vacant position of lead guitarist. The band's leader, singer Lord Sutch, was rejecting a dozen candidates when a middle-aged man walked into the rehearsal room, dragging a teenager with a guitar. The man's name was Arnold Blackmore, and the teenager's name was Richard. During the audition, Blackmore Sr. sat on a stool next to his son. Sixteen-year-old Ritchie demonstrated such mastery of the instrument, such a gift for improvisation, that the band's regular guitarist Roger Mingay (the same one from DOMINATORES) resigned the next day: there was no talk of any competition. But Blackmore was in no hurry to accept the offer, considering himself not quite ready for professional performances - in the same 1961, he entered the correspondence department of the London Conservatory to study violin. And only a year later, in April 1962, Ritchie decided that he was ready to work with SAVAGES.

The young musician’s collaboration with this group did not last long, and already in October 1962 he took the place of guitarist in OUTLAWS. Before Ritchie arrived, the lead guitarist of this group was... the same Mingey. It seemed that Blackmore had set himself the goal of eliminating Roger from rock altogether. And, I must say, he succeeded - after leaving OUTLAWS, Mingey emigrated to Australia, where traces of him were lost.

Blackmore played in "OUTLAWS" for a year and a half - during this time the group recorded four "forty-fives" and gave a series of concerts with such famous performers as Gene Vincent, Jerry Lee Lewis and John Laton. . The musicians played quite well, but the official press did not accept the band because of its shocking image and behavior that matched the name (outlaws means “outlawed”). Since then, Ritchie has developed an instinctive aversion to the press and especially to interviews.

Believing that OUTLAWS had absolutely no future, Blackmore left the group in April 1964. Soon he was invited by the group from Southampton “Heinz and the Savages”: in a few months these “savages” managed to tour Scandinavia and Australia, leaving a wonderful impression of themselves there. In Sweden, for example, Blackmore the “savage” is remembered almost as well as for his performances with DEEP PURPLE.

The following year, 1965, found Ritchie Blackmore in the new group "CRUSADERS", which was led by the then famous singer Neil Christian, and in which the excellent guitarist Albert Lee began his career. The news of Ritchie's supposed participation in the band's concerts drove out its good guitarist Phil McLeel, who has since disappeared from the music arena without a trace. There is a deep-rooted belief among English guitarists that getting in the way of Ritchie Blackmore is unsafe. Ritchie's collaboration with CRUSADERS took place in three stages, but in the first - from January to February 1965 - it was formal: Blackmore only confirmed his desire to work with the group, nothing more. He returned to SAVAGES, but discussions about the band's prospects with leader Lord Sutch gradually became so heated that Blackmore left three months later, taking with him guitarist Avede Andersen and drummer Tornado Evans.

The trio offered their services to Jerry Lee Lewis, who accepted them and went on tour to Germany. Having completed concert program, Lewis offered the musicians a long-term contract, but since Blackmore had never been attracted to a career as an auxiliary accompanist, he refused. The musicians remained in Germany, where in December 1965 they were invited to perform by the Star music club in Bochum. The trio called themselves “The Three Musketeers” - the musicians went on stage in camisoles and swords, and in between songs they staged fencing performances. Everything was going great, but the club administration decided that the musketeer fun was too noisy and terminated the contract. In January 1966, the Three Musketeers laid down their swords.

In the spring the trio returned to England and full staff joined the remnants of the newly collapsed CRUSADERS. Blackmore wrote the song "It's Beautiful!" for the new line-up. - it reached 14th place in the British hit parade, and Richie was talked about not only as a talented guitarist, but also noted for his composing abilities (by the way, this song is the only one in which Blackmore performs the lead vocal part). In the summer of 1966, the group went on tour to Europe, and ... this marked the end of the second stage of collaboration with The Crusaders: Richie in Once again believed Lord Satch’s promises not to make trouble or quarrel and joined his new group “Roman Empire”.

The composition of the “Roman Empire” was selected very carefully: in addition to Sutch and Blackmore, the group included equally strong musicians, such as keyboardist Matthew Fisher, who later gained fame in “Procol Harum”, bass guitarist Tony Dangerfield , who played in a dozen different bands before Empire, and after it brought together the future ELO, excellent saxophonist Joel James and veteran Savages drummer Carlo Little. The musicians of the “Roman Empire” performed in gladiator togas, and Lord Satch, despite all the promises to improve, fell into delusions of grandeur and began to call himself Caesar Satch. Blackmore got tired of all this, and he again went to Germany (after his departure, the Roman Empire ceased to exist), where he briefly joined the touring Crusaders. In addition, Blackmore played with such famous instrumentalists as Jimmy Page, Jeff Beck, Nicki Hopkins and others. “The bands changed like a kaleidoscope, but none of them matched the “It was clear to the ideal that had formed in my imagination,” Blackmore recalled, “that it was possible to continue this way indefinitely, but quantity would never turn into quality, so I decided to stop my musical career for a while.”

During the day, Richie wandered aimlessly around Hamburg, and in the evenings, locked in his hotel room, he played out endless scales, preparing for the final exam at the conservatory. By September, he could not stand it and with three friends he organized the Madrake Root quartet, which lasted only a month. It never came to concerts. In October 1967, Blackmore returned to England, received a diploma from the conservatory and again left for Germany. In Hamburg, together with his girlfriend Bethe, he settles in an apartment, where he breaks strings day and night, honing his skills. This continues until the day he receives a telegram from Curtis and his friends in London. “A professional organist and the prospect of a band with dedicated keyboards,” said Ritchie, “seemed very tempting, and I decided to urgently fly to London.” As it turned out, he flew towards " Deep Purple»…

...When Deep Purple became one of the most famous bands in the world, Blackmore acquired the title of "the dark and inscrutable king of hard rock guitar." This, presumably, came from the medieval manner of dressing: Ritchie often showed off in a 15th-century model hat, which earned the name “witch hunter,” as well as from the unkind manner of treating the writing fraternity. Blackmore deservedly received the title of “king”. He is very technical, his playing style is individual. Blackmore himself explains this as follows: he hardly listens to the playing of other guitarists, but since childhood he has loved violin and cello music. Apparently not last role His conservatory education also played a role.

Having a lot of fans and imitators, as well as a lot of money, Blackmore was still not happy with his participation in Deep Purple. “I started to get tired of my colleagues and their ideas: everything seemed to be a carbon copy... We just got lazy. For example, if we were allocated two weeks of rest during the tour to record a new album, then twelve of them we played football, one we slept, and rehearsed only in the remaining hours. We wrote most of the things right in the studio, relying on craft skills rather than inspiration or creativity,” he said and left Deep Purple on April 7, 1975.

During American tours, Deep Purple often performed in joint concerts with the local group Elf. Blackmore, having left Deep Purple, went to New York and invited the Elf musicians to organize a new group - Rainbow. Its composition, in addition to Blackmore, included: Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Mickey Lee Soule (keyboards), Greg Gruber (bass guitar), who was almost immediately replaced Jimmy Bain from the band Harolt; Gary Driscoll (drums). The same year, the band's first album, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, was released, which included compositions that represented a melodic version of the hard and heavy style. (See also the history of the Rainbow group.) In the early 80s, conflicts began to arise in the group, just as before in Deep Purple. Blackmore himself admits this quite frankly:

“When I left Deep Purple, I wanted to breathe easier, and now Rainbow is even more popular in some countries, for example, in Japan, than Deep Purple.” I did not expect or want such a reaction. And now I’m back where I ran from - in a high-tension zone.”

So what can you do, Mr. Blackmore?
“When I feel that rock and roll is already in my stomach, and this happens quite often, I come home, put on a record of Bach, medieval music, and go into it... I really love classical music. Bach is 80% of everything I listen to."
- It turns out that you don’t play the music you love? Is being in a rock band a compromise for you?

“I would like to perform classical music. But I will never be able to do it the way I want. Performances in chamber or symphony orchestras seem incredibly boring to me. If there was such an opportunity, I would travel with a traveling booth and play medieval music open air. The closest thing to this ideal is a rock band. In rock and roll there is this spirit of celebration, there is also live pleasure. But as I remember the sour and indifferent faces of the orchestra members when we recorded “Stargazer” (“Stargazer”, 1976) ... I will probably never be happy in music ... "

Yes, Richie is probably right here. After all, who else knows him as well as he does? Neither the old bands of the early 60s, such as Hamburger Faces, nor the legendary Deep Purple, nor Rainbow, nor solo albums(Richie recorded them in parallel with playing Rainbow) did not bring him complete creative satisfaction...

Soon Rainbow ceases to exist as a group. Musicians, different each time, gather at Blackmore’s call only for the duration of recording a disc, single, or for a tour. In early 1984, Ritchie Blackmore and Roger Glover returned to the re-formed Deep Purple. However, this attempt ultimately failed. Blaemor again behaved dictatorially, like a stupid, pompous child. In addition, the musician began to touch the bottle more and more often. Last years While working in DEEP PURPLE, he went to all concerts drunk (although before uncorking the next container, he made notes on the bottle so that he knew how much he could drink).

After his next departure from Deep Purple, Ritchie Blackmore, without hesitation, took little-known musicians, and with the money given to him by the company as compensation for returning to Deep Purple Gillan, recorded an amazing album with them in the spirit of “Rainbow Rising”, with very interesting vocals, thus reviving “Rainbow”, showing everyone that he does not stand still, but is ready to further search for musical paths and forms. He was assisted in this by Doogie White on vocals, John J. Reilly on drums, Greg Smith on bass, Paul Morris on keyboards, and Candice Knight. Night) is his wife.

The album turned out very smooth and strong. The title track “Wolf To The Moon” is a very powerful song, in the spirit of the greatest hits Rainbow. “Ariel, where Candice’s voice is heard for the first time, is made in the oriental style, so beloved by Blackmore. His guitar conveys all the flavor of the East, it sounds phenomenal.

But as always, Ritchie abruptly changes his plans and leaves the guys bewildered. Everything is excellent, the public and critics like the album, it is successful on all continents, we need to develop it further - this is what all the participants think Rainbow, but not Ritchie Blackmore. He, without telling them anything, begins his new project with his wife, as many believed, using the combination of surnames "Blackmore's Night". But this is how Ritchie himself talks about the appearance of such a name.

This comes from the "Red Baron" - a German pilot from the First World War, and Snoopy - a cartoon character. I wrote a song about Snoopy chasing and fighting the Red Baron. I sang this song for Christmas once and the guests really liked it. Believe it or not, I sang it 30 (!) times as an encore. And it went on all night - a song about Snoopy. And the night was called "Blackmore's night." Hence the name.

While on tour in Germany, he meets musicians who play medieval music on ancient instruments. Ritchie has long been fascinated by medieval music, and now he has a chance to perform it. He sat down in his home studio and the result was an original album. Ritchie performed the drums, guitar, banjo, and bass himself. Candace – vocals, Pat Rugan – keyboards. To record the song “Play, Minstrel, Play,” he invited Jethro Tull from the group ( Jethro Tull) - renowned flautist and frontman Ian Anderson.

Not only did Blackmore look flabby and considerably fat on the cover, but the repertoire was strikingly different from everything he had done before: the record consisted of songs stylized as ancient Scottish folk ballads or medieval madrigals. On their new record, Blackmore and his legal wife Candice Knight, paying tribute to the Renaissance, appear as musical alchemists who produced a fusion of rock and European folk music with impurities in the form of 16th-century melodies. In his inimitable manner, Blackmore masterfully imitates a wide variety of medieval music, in which Romanticism, Mysticism, Passion and Patheticism are mixed. This mixture is flavored with electric and acoustic guitars, various medieval strings, and the enchanting voice of Candice Knight and will bring real pleasure to all true fans of the European folk renaissance.

TO BE CONTINUED

RITCHIE BLACKMORE TODAY

Richard Hugh Blackmore is a brilliant British guitarist. He not only performs, but also writes songs himself. Blackmore was one of the first to introduce elements of classical music into blues-rock.

Biography of Ritchie Blackmore: childhood years

Richard Hugh Blackmore was born on April 14, 1945 in England. resort town Weston-super-Mare, located on the coast. At two years old, Richard and his parents moved to Heston (a suburb of London). His father worked at Heathrow. He worked on a team laying runways for airplanes. My mother had her own small shop.

At school, Richie studied without diligence, and achieved a lot in sports. He was most successful in swimming and shot put, but he was also able to throw the javelin. Due to his serious achievements in sports, they wanted to include Richard in the England team, but he did not qualify for age.

How Ritchie Blackmore's passion for music began

At the end of the 50s. Musical life was in full swing in London. Thanks to television, which began broadcasting the first pop shows, Ritchie Blackmore heard rock and roll for the first time. What impressed him most was the performance of guitarist Tommy Stahl. Blackmore immediately borrowed a guitar from a friend and tried to start playing. And although nothing worked out right away, he realized that this was his passion.

First steps to fame

Some time later, his father gave him a second-hand acoustic guitar, which he bought for seven pounds. First, Richie studied the classical game for a year, learning the basic rules. This was Ritchie Blackmore's first guitar. Most blues guitarists played with only three fingers. Richie learned to use all ten.

Over time, Blackmore converted his first musical instrument to an electric guitar, adding a speaker and an amplifier. With the help of his brother's friends, he met Jim Sullivan, who was considered one of the most authoritative guitarists of the 60s. Polishing his skills, Richie practiced for six hours every day. During this time, he developed his own unique style, combining rock and classics.

Blackmore's first performances and the creation of his own group

The first ensemble in which Blackmore played was organized in 1960. At this time, Ritchie worked as a radio mechanic at Heathrow Airport. After saving some money, he bought a new electric guitar for £22 and worked with a local band for a while. Then I decided to create my own team. This was Ritchie Blackmore's first band that he created.

Since school, Blackmore had been friends with Mick Underwood, who had a real crush on him and invited him to join his band as a drummer. Then he recruited the remaining participants. The group did not exist for long and soon disbanded. After this, along with Mick Ritchie joined The group Satellites.

In May 1961, Ritchie Blackmore saw an advertisement for a vacancy for a guitarist in one of the popular bands called The Savages. There he first met David Satch, with whom he subsequently often crossed paths in his work. He came to the audition with his girlfriend and father. But, despite the obvious talent and virtuoso passages, Richie was not accepted into the group due to the fact that he was only 16 years old. A year later, Blackmore was finally hired by The Savages. Despite his young age, Richie already has his own fans. The group spent several months touring in Australia and Scandinavia. Combining work with show business became increasingly difficult, and Richie quit in 1963.

Ritchie Blackmore's Rising Fame

In 1965, Richie was invited to join The Crusaders. It was led by singer Neil Christian. Before Blackmore joined, Phil McPill was the band's guitarist. But before Richie appeared, he disappeared without a trace. Blackmore did not stay with the group for long and returned to The Savages. But he didn’t stay there either due to strained relations with leader David Satch. Ritchie Blackmore left the group after three months. He was followed by bassist Avis Anderson and drummer Tornado Evans.

All three went on a temporary tour to Germany with another group. After the contract was completed, they remained in Germany and began performing at a music club in Bochum, forming their own group, which they called “The Three Musketeers”. But after a while, the administration stopped liking the noisy performances, and the contract with the musicians was terminated. In the spring all three returned to England. After his arrival, Richie wrote a song that reached 14th place on the hit parade. Richie's fame began to grow. They started talking about him not only as a virtuoso guitarist, but also as a composer.

Blackmore's Depression Period

After returning to England, Ritchie did not stay there long. He again decided to return to Germany and changed several groups there. But, disappointed, seeing that this could continue indefinitely, and there was no progress, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore decided to interrupt his musical career for an indefinite period.

During the day he walked aimlessly through the streets of Hamburg, in the evenings he played scales in his hotel room, preparing for the final exam at the conservatory, where he entered several years ago. In 1967, Ritchie returned to England, passed his exams at the conservatory, received a diploma and again went to Germany.

Blackmore's return to the music world

Returning to Germany, Ritchie Blackmore spent days honing his skills. This continued until he received a telegram from London inviting him to join Deep Purple and accepted the invitation. This group soon became one of the most famous, and Richie began to be called the dark and inscrutable king of hard rock guitar.

Richie's style was distinguished by its individuality. According to him, during a concert he does not listen to other guitarists, dissolving in the sounds of his own instrument. Apparently, Richie’s unusual playing style was influenced by his love for string music (specifically performed on the violin and cello). The education received at the conservatory also played a significant role. But Richie felt uncomfortable in the group, as if something was missing, and after a while the musician left it.

Hidden dreams

Ritchie Blackmore's biography is replete with many groups from which he left and returned again. One of them was Deep Purple, which he left in 1975. Blackmore went to New York and invited several musicians from the Elfa group to organize their own band. They agreed and named their team Rainbow. The same year the group released their first album. And after a while, internal conflicts began to arise in Rainbow.

In an interview, Blackmore admitted that after leaving Deep Purple, he wanted to create something new, where he could breathe easier. And as a result, I again found myself in the same tension from which I was trying to escape. And due to the growing popularity of Rainbow, it has only intensified.

Richie shared his desires with reporters. It turned out that at home he most often listens to Bach. Richie would like to play classical music, but at concerts it seems boring. It lacks a bit of joy, a sense of celebration. And in rock and roll this is present. He dreamed of creating something in between, a new direction, but so far it hasn’t worked out.

A new round of Blackmore's music

Richie left Rainbow and for some time periodically returned to the groups in which he had previously performed. Despite achievements achieved, in 1997 he decided to create a new project, Blackmore's Night, with his wife. The idea arose from the music that Richie heard while touring in Germany. A group of musicians played medieval music on ancient instruments. Ritchie Blackmore helped him find the zest that was required to create a musical masterpiece.

In his home studio, he himself recorded all the parts of keyboards, drums, etc. The result was an unusual album. An original cocktail of different music of the Middle Ages, which contains passion, romanticism, pathos and mysticism with the addition of the sounds of electric and acoustic guitars, ancient string melodies and the charming voice of Blackmore’s wife performing songs. The project still does not lose its attractiveness.

Blackmore's personal life

Ritchie Blackmore (photo can be seen in this article) married Margaret Volkmar on May 18, 1964. She was from Germany. At first they lived in Hamburg, where their son Jurgen was born. A few years later, Richie got divorced. The second time he married Barbel Hardy, also German. The wedding took place in September 1969. The marriage was short-lived and Blackmore divorced again. In 1974, he moved to Oxnard, where he met Anya Rothman, who became his third wife. The marriage lasted until 1983, then another divorce followed.

In the late 80s, Blackmore met Candice Knight, a poet and vocalist. At that time the girl was only 18 years old. They soon became engaged, but they got married only 15 years later - in October 2008. Two years later, they had a daughter, who was named Otom Esmeralda. And the second child was born on February 7, 2012.

Ritchie Blackmore, born April 14, 1945, is a famous guitarist of the twentieth century, leader and one of the founders of the legendary group Deep Purple and creator of no less famous group Rainbow.

Since 1996-97 Blackmore's life's work was the project Blackmore's Night (Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Night), which is based on the duet of Ritchie and his friend Candice Knight - a vocalist and talented poetess, who is the author of lyrics and performer of most of the songs. Blackmore's Night perform music inspired by traditions European Middle Ages and revival. Excellent arrangements, Ritchie Blackmore's virtuoso playing on acoustic and electric instruments, Candice Knight's excellent vocal abilities - all this makes the world talk about this project as an extraordinary phenomenon in modern music. Exquisite melody, the highest professionalism of all the band's musicians, subtle poetry and enchanting concert performances have become an integral attribute of the art that Richie and Candice generously give to their fans.

The debut CD album "Blackmore's Night" - "Moon Shadows" was released at the end of August 1997.

As Ritchie Blackmore himself says, he “has gone from being a member of the loudest band in the world to being a member of the quietest band in the world! It’s impossible to run around the stage, take a knee and hammer when you’re playing the lute.”

Ritchie Blackmore: “Meet me, I’ll be there soon!”

On the eve of his arrival in Moscow, one of the main guitarists of the last century talks about false nails, evil managers and the good old days

His former colleagues from Deep Purple have already mastered not only the Moscow scenes, but also the Russian outback, but Ritchie Blackmore still did not go and did not go. Last year they announced his concert, but something didn’t work out again. This time everything is serious: the entire capital is plastered with posters of the band Blackmore's Night. What kind of group this is, fans know at least: they've heard the records. We've also heard that Richie now lives in Germany, loves Bach, plays ancient music , performs in ancient castles, wears ancient clothes... Which, however, did not stop him from using e-mail to answer questions from KP.

- You are very attentive to how you present your music to listeners. Does this require a special atmosphere? Is it possible to achieve maximum effect in a modern hall or are medieval castles more suitable for this?

- Of course, medieval castles are better. And we always try to make sure that the promoters don’t give us a concert in a huge hall, where the whole atmosphere will be lost. And for us, this magical feeling of contact is much more important than playing on a big stage and earning big money.

- To play the kind of music you do now, did you have to change your guitar playing technique or improve your instruments?

- Yes, I had to reinvent the technique, now I play mainly with my fingers, and not with a pick, as before. And when I happen to break a nail, it creates great difficulties. I never thought that nails were so important. In New York, I tried to use false nails, and one of them came off in the middle of a song, and the string got stuck in my finger. I explained to the audience what was happening, but then managed to hit myself in the eye with a guitar. There was blood...

- Don't you think that technology has too much influence on modern music?

- I think modern music is too influenced by money and corporations. Radio stations tell listeners what to buy. Nobody wants to deal with music other than dance or hip-hop. That's why in the USA you mostly listen to pathetic copies of Destiny's Child, Britney Spears, Jessica Simpson, Christina Aguillera, Backstreet Boys, N Sync, etc.

- Agents, producers, managers - all this is good for the music business. But don't they destroy the music itself?

- Undoubtedly. I've dealt with so many bad managers over the years! Actually, we would have arrived in Russia much earlier if not for the strange policy of the former Deep Purple agent.

- We've heard a lot about how passionate you are about medieval music and the Middle Ages in general. But this doesn’t mean that you prefer horses to cars, and candles to electricity?

- This is not the Middle Ages, but the Renaissance, Renaissance - XVI - XVII centuries. I really prefer candles to electricity and horses to cars. I love that time - simpler and nobler, more romantic, magical and majestic than now. There probably wasn't so much stress and competition back then, and the world wasn't overpopulated.

- In Russia, many people hope to hear something from the Deep Purple repertoire performed by you...

- It all depends on the mood. We change the program frequently, but we ask promoters to advertise our performances as acoustic renaissance folk rock shows. And we always try to play what the public wants to hear.

- What was the most pleasant thing (if, of course, there was such a thing) during your work in Deep Purple?

- When Jon Lord and I first started the band, it was great to see how people were drawn to our music, especially in 1970 - 1974. It gave me the opportunity to do what I do now. And when a musician is able to pay his bills, that's not bad.

BY THE WAY
Who is she Candice Knight?

Modest, but very pretty (former fashion model!) Candice Knight met Ritchie Blackmore in 1989 during a friendly football match between Deep Purple and the team of the American radio station where Candice worked at that time. We dared to disturb the lady of our hearts, Ritchie Blackmore, with several quite tactful questions.

- Before this legendary football match, were you already a fan of Ritchie Blackmore? And by the way, how does he play football?

- Yes, I was his fan. True, I didn’t have Deep Purple records, but I went to their concerts and heard songs on the radio. But I had Rainbow discs. But when Richie and I met, he bought me some Deep Purple albums so that I would know better what I was talking about when I discussed his music. Thank him for this, because best songs Deep Purple are just not the ones that are played on the radio. And by the way, yes, he is a good football player. Richie plays football the same way he plays guitar: he turns it into poetry, into art.

- Whose idea was it to start working together?

- It was Richie's idea. First secretly, like during the 1993 tour with Deep Purple. Richie asked me to sing along during his solo on Difficult To Cure. They installed a microphone behind the amplifier and hid me so that the rest of the group did not know. And in Rainbow I already sang in 4 songs. Gradually we began to write together, and then the idea of ​​Blackmore's Night appeared.

- From the combination of the surnames Blackmore and Night it turned out good name groups. Perhaps it couldn’t have been any other way?

- Actually, there were different versions of the name - Violet Moon or Rain. Richie didn’t want to stick his name out, he thought it was selfish, but the Japanese record company said it was necessary - let people know that this is his new project. But we often discuss the possibility of working under a different name - who knows...

Contact with Richie and Candice became possible thanks to the efforts of the concert organizers - the JSA company. The band Blackmore's Night performs on April 14 at the Luzhniki Sports Complex.

Elena SEMENOVA

Guitarist of "difficult" behavior

The LEGENDARY leader of Deep Purple and creator of Rainbow Ritchie Blackmore is considered to be a man of “difficult behavior”: a brawler and generally an extremely gloomy person. Richie himself assures that there are still more jokers like him to be found. And then he lays out proof of this: “You say that there are fans waiting for me in Russia? A whole army? My knees are already shaking!”

Blackmore's NEW project, the group Blackmore's Night, is what was least expected from the quasi-rocker. The music reeks of knightly tournaments, and maybe even crusades, it is played in the scenery of medieval castles and Bavarian houses from the time of Emperor Maximilian I.

Noises and riffs

- At Deep Purple concerts they play mostly old hits, Smoke On The Water primarily...

“One of the reasons I left the band - and there were plenty of them - was that they were touring all over the world playing old songs. I wanted something new and fresh. I can’t travel around the world again, playing ancient hits and thinking that I’m creating “music history.”

- Really, when you composed Smoke On The Water, you didn’t understand that this is exactly what you created?

- Yes you! I just played riffs, Ian Pace played drums, it was just the two of us. Just a rhythm idea, another song, nothing special.

- When is the best time for you to compose?

- I’m a night owl: I get up late and play all night long, going to bed in the morning. This is a night type of music. I love the night because I love silence. And now it’s so hard to find! During the day people make so much unnecessary noise, I call them "noise pollution".

"They hate me"

- I can’t imagine the music of Blackmore’s Night in large stadiums.

- Well, why? We also perform in stadiums, but more often in ancient castles, chamber theaters and even churches. Can't compare cozy atmosphere small halls with large ones - cold. Now I don't know how to go back to the stadium style of play.

- Different energy?

- Absolutely. When you perform in front of 10 thousand, you are more focused on pretending, acting, theatrical effects. When 100 people are listening to you, you are more focused on the music itself, on your feelings.

- Do new musicians like working with you?

- They hate it.

- Why???

- But I don’t pay them money. I also beat him with a microphone stand, don’t feed him and lock him in the castle basement at night, ha ha ha!

- Do you have students?

- Yes, I teach the neighbor kids. We live in the forest, near the sea. In the evening they gather at our place, we light a fire and bake potatoes. Together we play music written five centuries before they were born.

- Do you know how many guitars are in your house?

- Twenty. Something like that. Mostly acoustic - there are 12 of them. And, probably, 8 electric. But I rarely play these.

- Do you realize what kind of energy your playing brings into the hall? In general, can music be considered as a tool for influencing the human mind?

- If you use a guitar and hit it on the head, it’s very possible!

Britney and the clones

- How do you like fashionable music?

- The one on the radio? This is all the manipulation of record labels, which pay huge sums of money to radio stations, especially in America. Over the past 3 years, you have heard nothing but Britney Spears. Well, maybe Christina Aguillera and Jessica Simpson. But they are essentially Britney Spears' twins. All are the same, the rhythmic pattern is the same. Nothing can make me listen to this kind of radio. I think labels are simply afraid of losses if they start promoting new talent. Or old ones.

- At the last Grammy there were only Americans. Isn't this discrimination against musicians from other countries?

- Good production question. Why is it that when I'm in Europe there are a lot of other bands playing there, but when I get to the USA I only hear American bands? Michael Oldfield has so many hits in the Old World, but in America he is not known. They don't even know ABBA! This is the grandiose egoism of the American market, 97% of which is farmed out to “our own people.” Perhaps the only English band they know is U2. And that's only because they are Irish...

Tastes could not be discussed

Music of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, the group Jethro Tull, Orthodox chants - this is the range musical preferences legendary rock guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. Ritchie Blackmore spoke about what he likes to listen to and play today in an interview with Itogi.

- What made you trade in your trusty Fender Stratocaster for an acoustic guitar?

- At some point it became difficult for me to play in the same spirit, without changing anything. But I couldn’t give up the Stratocaster completely either. To this day, fifty percent of what I perform is electric music.

- Is Candice Knight a full co-author in your joint project?

- Absolutely. Candace gave me a passion for the Middle Ages. Interest in the music of the Middle Ages influenced not only my recent compositions, but also my entire lifestyle.

- You include motifs from “Swan Lake” and even the song “Polyushko-Field” in your compositions. Do you like Russian music?

- My connection with your country is almost mystical: I was told that I was Russian in one of my past lives. Both Candice and I feel a certain minor-key drama that permeates all Russian culture. Personally, I have always been very interested in Russian folk music and Orthodox choral singing.

- Will you perform new compositions in Moscow?

- If I name them now, the necessary element of intrigue will probably be lost. So I'd better keep quiet. We usually play a mix of material: some old stuff, some of the latest stuff, and even stuff we're going to play in the future.

- Are you planning joint projects with other musicians? For example, with Ian Anderson (leader of the cult English band Jethro Tull) or Ronnie James Dio (famous rock vocalist, worked with Blackmore in the band Rainbow in the 70s and 80s)?

- Ronnie is an amazing singer, and there was a time when I thought about a new joint project with him. But in this moment he is leaning towards an alliance with Deep Purple. As for Ian Anderson, he and I are planning to make cover versions of his songs.

- Which other musicians do you like?

- Among rock musicians, these are Jeff Beck, Eric Johnson, Paul Rodgers. From classical ones - John Williams, Christopher Parkening, due to the fact that now I mainly listen to medieval and Renaissance music. My favorite bands: Die Geyers, Krelliss, Freiberger Speilleut and Gothart.

- Tell us about those with whom you will play in Moscow.

- Sir Robert from Normandy - bassist, guitarist and backing vocalist; Lady Vita is a vocalist, like Candice, and a composer. Mike Sorrentino and Squire Malcolm are percussionists, Carmine Ghiglio is a keyboardist, and Chris Devine is a multi-instrumentalist. He plays electric and acoustic violin, as well as mandolin, flute and keyboards.

For the past six years, Blackmore has been performing with his friend Candice Knight - from a rock 'n' roll rebel, Blackmore has turned into a sedate bard.

Alexander NEVEROV

Blackmore Evening

At the end of his career, one of the founders of Deep Purple became a minstrel. The woman is to blame, as usual.

In 1996, Ritchie Blackmore met a lovely young girl named Candice Knight and fell in love. The affair with Knight had an unexpectedly profound impact on Blackmore's life and musical style. Suddenly it turned out that the famous guitarist, hard rock legend actually loves medieval music. Blackmore himself describes the coup that took place: “It was as if she dragged me into a torture chamber and forced me to tell the whole truth about myself.” The rebel-rocker in his declining years turned to sweet harmonies, allowed the beauty to take him by the hand and lead him to the castle with lutes, stone vaults and goblets, where the carnival feast is decorously interspersed with angelic singing. Under the influence of Candice, Blackmore created a musical conglomerate of medieval and Renaissance ballads, folklore and pop melodies. The once rebellious guitarist, who once performed on a burning stage and hammered his neck at television cameras, now plays chamber music and fills the hall not with rollicking electric guitar solos, but with transparent string plucking. And the name of Blackmore's project is Knight: Blackmore's Night. Here, I must say, it turned out interesting game words: it can be translated as “Blackmore’s Knight” (in the sense of a girl), or it can be translated as “Blackmore’s evening”, sunset, twilight of the rock gods. In April, Blackmore's Night will perform a concert in Moscow.

Ten years ago it was difficult to imagine such a metamorphosis. Blackmore's name seemed to be firmly fused with a specific musical style. In many ways, he defined the sound of Deep Purple. Blackmore could well have declared: “Deep Purple is me!” Actually, this is what he did from time to time, causing serious friction in the group, which gradually destroyed the five “purples”. Then Ian Gillan was replaced by Ronnie James Dio, Deep Purple was replaced by the band Rainbow, but Blackmore's sound remained the same. And it seemed like he would always be like this.

Rock musicians with high playing technique have always gravitated towards musical academism - here we can recall not only Deep Purple and Rainbow, but also Procol Harum and ELP. Therefore, if Blackmore had created an album consisting entirely of classic hits played “electrically,” no one would have been surprised. But his radical turn towards baroque and medieval music came as a surprise. Meanwhile, in his first group with the long name Twenty Once Coffee Junior Skiffl Group, created by him during his school years, Richie played an acoustic rhythm guitar, which he bought with 22 pounds saved over several months. It was then that he purchased an expensive Gibson-335, which he replaced in 1971 with a mind-blowing Fender Stratocaster, and began to “cut” hard rock. In fact, Blackmore, in his own words, always dreamed of a classic. He would like to play medieval music in the open air with a traveling booth. So, perhaps, American Candice Knight only pushed for long-overdue changes.

Knight combines the talents of a singer, composer and arranger. She has performed backing vocals for Deep Purple and Rainbow and a number of solo recordings. In addition, Richie's current partner was the host of a show on a Long Island radio station, where they met. Candace is fit to be a rock 'n' roll maestro's daughter. She was born in 1971 - just when Richie and his comrades were bombarding American venues with their killer hits and recorded their famous album Fireball, which broke the English charts and rose to number one for the first time. In Blackmore's Night, Candace has to replace both Lord (keyboardist of Deep Purple) and Gillan (vocalist of Deep Purple). Therefore, the question of whose project this is - Candice or Richie - is an eternal one. It will be asked until as long as the family band exists.

In 1996, before starting to record the album, Richie and Candace spent several months in Germany - in a real castle with tapestries, enfilades and dungeons. In their free time from playing music and night vigils, they visited the “Renaissance fair” - a folk festival at which they perform music on harps and lutes and walk in the outfits of ancient monks and knights around tables laden with Rabelaisian food and Rhine wine, which was so loved by drunkards from " Faust". Time travel was surprisingly easy. Candace already resembles a medieval Beautiful Lady, for whose sake they perform feats. Well, Richie is quite suitable for the role of a knight, who, however, has not participated in wars for a long time. Richie's feat is a feat of transformation. For the sake of crystal music, the love of which Candice professes, he had to humble his pride. From a rock 'n' roll rebel, a subverter of the idols of sanity and boredom, he became a sedate bard playing transparent triplets, and traded his trusty Fender Stratocaster for an acoustic guitar.

The main topic The first album of Shadow Of The Moon, released in 1997, was, as one might expect, love. Here are ballads, naive folk, marches with tambourines, and the “family” interpretation of Tchaikovsky in Writing On The Wall. The album peaked at number 14 on the Billboard charts and spent 17 weeks on the German charts. In the second album, Under A Violet Moon (1999), the music is also in a medieval ballad style and played exclusively on live instruments. Among other things, Richie and Candice performed the composition Past Time With Good Company, composed once English king Henry VII. Finally, in July 2001, another release was released - Fires At Midnight with a tangible influence Japanese music and the participation of the electric guitar, which, as was previously believed, Blackmore abandoned seriously and for a long time. One can only guess what explosive mixture the minstrel and his pious girlfriend will prepare in their retort before the concert in Moscow.

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

Richie was a reserved boy, but his shyness was combined with a desire to stand out. He never excelled in his studies - not because he couldn’t cope with his lessons, but simply never liked school and teachers. Of all the teachers, only the music teacher, who approached his classes very creatively, enjoyed his respect. Richie's only hobby 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 to 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 in an unconventional and interesting way. Richie was very lucky with his teacher - Jim Sullivan, perhaps the best English guitarist at that time. It was Sullivan who taught him many techniques and managed to explain to him that you shouldn’t exactly copy famous musicians: you need to have your own playing style.

Richie formed his first group 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 into them. The washboard as a rhythm instrument did not suit Richie for long: he turned his acoustic guitar into an electric one, and made a speaker and amplifier from an old radio.

Richie did not have the chance to study in high school: in 1960, he failed the transition exams and got a job at the airport, repairing aircraft receivers. He soon reassembled the group, calling it "Dominators" and inviting his comrade, 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. For Blackmore, it turned out to be very difficult 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.

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

In January 1962, the great English rock and roller Gene Vincent took him to accompany his band for a European tour. After this tour, Richie managed to play in the group Mike Dee & The Jaywalkers and in May joined 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 “rises from the grave” and other exotic and eccentric things, and in six months Richie gained a lot of stage experience, but the musical part disappointed him almost instantly.

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

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

Blackmore did not like the position of an 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 he was not hired as a solo guitarist, because in addition to a high level of playing, good vocal abilities were also required. In 1965, he began working in the Crusaders group, then returned to Lord Sutch, who still paid his musicians well, but after a couple of months he left again, taking along drummer Evans and bass guitarist Anderson. This trio went on a tour of 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 “The Three Musketeers” in a music club. In the spring they returned to England and joined the new Crusaders. Blackmore's song "It's Beautiful" took fourteenth place in the British charts - the only one where Ritchie himself sings the lead part. But in the summer of 1967, Blackmore once again made peace with Lord Sutch and began playing in his new group, 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 strangeness. 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 continue indefinitely, and Blackmore decided to interrupt his musical career for a while. He settled in Hamburg with his new girlfriend Barbel Hardy, worked part-time in recording studios, played the guitar for himself and studied for his final exam at the conservatory. He also managed to create a new group - Mandrake Root, which fell apart almost immediately. In October, Richie went to England, received a conservatory diploma and returned to Germany. His reputation as a guitarist was incredibly high: Blackmore was considered one of the ten best British guitarists, only in his life this fact for the time being did not change absolutely anything. The coming 1968 seemed gloomy and unpromising to Richie - but in early November he received an offer from London from Chris Curtis, which seemed very tempting to him.

Several songs were rehearsed at keyboardist Jon Lord's apartment; managers Tony Edwards and Jon Coleta were invited to audition, and they were delighted. The project conceived by Curtis was called “Roundabout,” but Chris himself quickly became disillusioned with it, and his project was practically implemented by Coletta and Edwards. 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 group “Deep Purple” was born here.

They recorded their first record in literally two May days 1968. The album “Shades of Deep Purple” instantly found itself in the top twenty of the charts, 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 hit parade, 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 lineup 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.

The new lineup experimented with symphonic music, but was clearly inclined towards hard rock, and in August 1970 the famous album “In Rock” was released, which stayed at the top of the British charts for more than a year. In 1971, "Fireball" appeared, reaching number one in England and reaching high in the United States. The group went on tour to America, and before that they gave a grand show at the Royal Albert Hall in London, where the parents of the musicians were present, sitting in the royal box. Fame came to Deep Purple, and Blackmore, who became the leader of the group, completely gave vent 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 was already divorced and married again - to his Hamburg girlfriend Barbel, with whom he lived until 1981.

At the end of 1971, one of the most striking 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 a scandal: by coincidence, the group "Deep Purple", which was supposed to perform last, had to replace one of the participants, and Blackmore, not wanting to give up the headlining place, set fire to end of the performance stage. The audience went into ecstasy, but had to flee from the police to a neighboring state - on a luxury plane, rented for crazy money especially for the tour.

At the height of Deep Purple's fame, Blackmore received the title of "dark king of hard rock guitar", and this title was well deserved. Having adored classical music since childhood, especially the violin and cello, Richie played not only technically perfectly, but also absolutely individually. Well, the “gloominess” came from the “medieval” style of his clothing.

However, despite the fabulous fees and successful tours, Blackmore was tired of Deep Purple - according to him, of lazy colleagues and a lack of new ideas. In April 1975, he declared that creativity had become a craft and left the group. His new group included American musicians from the group “Elf”, who played during the tour as an opening act for “Deep Purple”. The group was named "Rainbow" and quickly became famous. Its lineup 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 reached number five in Britain. At the same time, Rod Evans, the first vocalist of Deep Purple, put together 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 the live album In Concert, which included songs from 1970-72.

Rainbow's popularity had almost reached the level of Deep Purple, and Richie no longer liked 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 Ritchie tried to revive Deep Purple in 1984 as part of Blackmore - Gillan - Lord - Pace, but in the end he 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 featured, in particular, an 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, Ritchie Blackmore's life was illuminated by new love. Having by this time managed to get married and divorced for the third time, he became interested in the eighteen-year-old poet and singer Candice Knight. The twenty-six year difference didn't stop Candice from answering famous guitarist reciprocity - and this romance became happy for Richie for many years. Since 1991, she and Candace have not been separated, although they only got engaged in 2008. In May 2010, Candice gave birth to a daughter, Esmeralda, and two years later, a boy, Rory.

But the union of Richie and Candace also brought creative fruits: in 1997, the folk rock group Blackmore’s Night appeared, which is still thriving to this day. The work of this group, apparently, completely suits the “king of the guitar” - “Blackmore’s Night” perform acoustic ballads in the style of the Renaissance, using wind, classical and folk instruments, and Richie himself began to play mainly the acoustic guitar.

Ritchie Blackmore (b. 04/14/1945), who previously played with such groups as "Outlaws", "Screaming Lord Such" and "Neil Christian & The Crusaders", was invited by ex-keyboardist of the groups "Artwoods / The Flowerpot Men" Jon Lord (who, in turn, was called by Chris Curtis - the former drummer of "The Searchers") - in order to form a new group.

1968 - In February, the group "Roundabout" was formed, consisting of three musicians: Chris Curtis (vocals), Dave Curtis (bass) and Bobby Woodman (drums). After a month of hard rehearsals, Blackmore and Lord, left alone, invited vocalist Rod Evans (formally a member of M15 and Maze), bassist Nick Simper (ex-Johnny Kidd & the Pirates) and drummer Ian Paice. In April, the group changed its name to "Deep Purple", recorded an album in the style of the then popular group "Vanilla Fudge" and signed a contract with the British company "EMI" and the American "Tetragrammation" (the brainchild of the famous American comedian Bill Cosby). A few months later the band made their first UK appearance at the Sunbury Festival. In September, the first single from the album, “Hush” (“Silence”), was released, immediately rising to 4th place in the American charts. The album, "Shades of Deep Purple", was among the top 25. In December, the single "Kentucky Woman" also experienced significant chart success.

1969 - At the very beginning of the year, the group released the album "The Book to Taliesyn", the hit of which was an adaptation of the famous Ike and Tina Turner song "River Deep, Mountain High". In July an album appeared with same name, "Deep Purple". Almost immediately after this, things did not go well and Rod Evans and Nick Simper left the group. They were replaced by former Episode Six members Ian Gillan (vocals) and Roger Glover (bass). The band's sound took on a new dynamic thanks to Blackmore, who was quickly becoming one of Britain's top guitarists. In September, the group released what many consider to be their most adventurous album - "Concerto For Group And Orchestra" ("Concert for a group with orchestra") performed by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Albert Hall, London.

1970 - In August, a new album, "Deep Purple In Rock", was released, which spent more than a year in the UK charts in the top four. The album became a milestone in the history of heavy metal, with Gillan's piercing vocals and Blackmore's furious playing making history. Classics such as "Black Night", "Strange Kind of Woman" and "Child In Time" were included on this album, which attracted a lot of attention in the UK.

1971 - In July, Deep Purple toured the United States with the album "The Faces". Two months later, the group recorded Fireball, an album that went straight into the top 40 in America and became a top album in the UK for the first time. The group had its own “label” - “Purple” (EMI), just at that time the Perplovites were heading to Montreux to record. On December 3, when the group was recording at the Casino concert hall (Montreaux, Switzerland), during a performance by Frank Zappa and his band, a fire broke out and that concert hall burned down. Ritchie Blackmore and the band immortalized the incident in famous song"Smoke On The Water", which was included on the next album.

1972 - Deep Purple release a new album, "Machine Head", which topped the UK charts (and reached number 7 in America) and included such hard rock classics as "Smoke on the Water", "Space Truckin" ","Lazy" and "Highway Star." Twenty-five years later, "Machine Head" remains one of the best rock albums of all time.

1973 - "Made In Japan", an album recorded live during the band's 1972 summer tour, was released in January and peaked at #6 in the United States. Another album, "Who Do You Think We Are", was released virtually simultaneously with it and entered the charts at number 15. Gillan and Glover left the group mid-year, just before "Smoke on the Water" became the number 4 top single and sold over a million copies. In September, David Coverdale (who previously sang in The Fabuloser Brothers and created Whitesnake five years later) and bassist Glenn Hughes (ex-Trapeze) established themselves in Deep Purple.

1974 - In March, the album "Burn" was released, in which the presence of Coverdale and Hughes was clearly evident. The line-up changes did not affect the success and the album peaked in the top ten. During the year, the Dipper Swimmers released another album that made it into the top twenty - “Stormbringer”. In November, an impostor appeared, posing as Ritchie Blackmore, who stole a Porsche car in Iowa and crashed it (Blackmore and the group were in San Francisco at that time). The bully was arrested and charged with deception.

1975 - In April, Ritchie Blackmore left DP to form a new group, Rainbow. It included musicians from American group"Elf" (with whom Blackmore once recorded the song "Black Sheep Of The Family" on "Purple Records" - when "Elf" performed with "DP" as a warm-up group) - Ronnie James Dio (vocals) - later Most of the songs were written by Mickey Lee Soule (keyboardist), 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 climb the charts (reaching the top thirty in America), Soul, Gruber and Driscoll disappeared from the group, and Blackmore took their place. recruited bassist Jimmy Bain (ex-Hariot), keyboardist Tony Carey (Blessings) and drummer Cozy Powell (Jeff Beck Group).

1976 - in July the group released the first album with the new line-up - "Rainbow Rising". From the beginning of August until the end of the year, the musicians toured the States, Japan, Europe and Canada.

1977 - Bassist Mark Clark ("Uriah Heep") replaced Jimmy Bain. In May, immediately after the recording of the new album began, Tony Carey and Mark Clark left. Ritchie Blackmore has refocused his efforts on recording a live album. Those who left were replaced by David Stone and Bob Daisley. The result was the live album "On Stage" (Blackmore-Dio-Cary-Bain-Powell), from which the single "Kill The King" became the first "Rainbow" to hit the charts. Later that year, the musicians began recording their third studio album at Paris Studios.

1978 - At the beginning of the year, tours began in America and Japan, lasting most of the year. "Long Live Rock" n "Roll" was ready in May and immediately entered the Top100. In November, after ten months of touring, Blackmore became disillusioned with the band's line-up, leaving Cozy Powell alone (Dio became a member of " Black Sabbath"). A month later, Richie played at a London club with former Deep Purple colleague Ian Gillan and invited keyboardist Don Elrey to join Rainbow.

1979 - Ritchie Blackmore completes the new line-up of the group - singer Graham Bonnet (formerly of The Marbles) and former dipper swimmer Roger Glover are added. Produced by Glover, "Down To Earth" was released in September and the album's first single, "Since You've Been Gone" (with lyrics by Russ Ballard (ex-Argent)) received deserved success at the very end of the year.

1980 - Blackmore and Glover's single "All Night Long" was released in March, reaching number 5 in the UK. In August the band performs at the first Monsters of Rock festival in Donnington. Powell and Bonnet immediately left for solo careers. Blackmore replaced them with vocalist Joe Lynn Turner and drummer Bob Rondinelli. Around the same time, the first vocalist of DP, Rod Evans, formed his own band and began performing under the name Deep Purple. Blackmore and Glover took action to protect the group's name and kept Evans from using it. Eventually the album "Deepest Purple / The Very Best of Deep Purple" was released. And when the year was ending, a concert disc "In Concert" appeared, including songs recorded in 1970-1972.

1981 - in February, Rainbow recorded the album Difficult To Cure, the single from which "I Surrender", written by Ballard, quickly spread across the UK charts. Polydor quickly responded and re-released the group's first hit, "Kill The King," as well as their first album, "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow." In December the group recorded a collection - "The Best Of Rainbow".

1982 - April. The album "Strong Between The Eyes" appears. The first single of this work, "Stone Cold", is in the top 40, and the album is 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.

1983 - The band, now featuring Blackmore, Glover, Turner and new members keyboardist Dave Rosenthal and drummer Chuck Bergey, releases "Bent Out of Shape." The video clip for the song "Street of Dreams" is prohibited from being shown on MTV as demonstrating hypnosis. In October the band will tour the UK for the first time since 1981. A month later, the album attracted interest in the States, subsequently ranking at number 34 on the best albums list, despite MTV ignoring the single.

1984 - Ritchie Blackmore decides to put Rainbow on hold as he and Glover decide to revive Deep Purple's most successful line-up (Gillan - vocals, Lord - keys, Pace - drums). Each participant was promised $2 million, and the tour began. Before this trip, Rainbow is holding its last tour in Japan. On last show accompanied by 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.

1985 - in January, the first single from the album "Perfect Strangers" is released - "Knocking At Your Back Door", building on the success of the title track of the album - "Absolute Strangers". In July, a double collection "DP" - "Anthology" - will be released.

1986 - a double collection of remixes "Finyl Vinyl" appears, which includes previously unheard "live" recordings of "Rainbow", as well as some songs previously released only as singles. This was another step in successful career groups.

1987 - new album "Deep Purple" - "A House of Blue Light" ("House of Blue Light") was released in February and got into the top tens of America and Great Britain. The group tours throughout Europe.

1988 - "Nobody's Perfect" - a concert recorded live during the band's 1987 tour - is released in July and Deep Purple embarks on a two-month US tour.

1989 - Ian Gillan leaves the group in July due to "musical differences".

1990 - Deep Purple, now consisting of Blackmore, Glover, Lorde, Pace and early Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner, signed a contract with RCA Records. In November the album "Slaves & Masters" was released.

1991 - "DP" tours with "Slaves & Masters" in the USA, North America, Europe, England, Japan, Greece, Israel, Hungary and the Pacific coast.

1992 - At the suggestion of RCA, 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.

1993 - "Deep Purple" - now with Gillan "on the helmet" - begins touring Europe. Halfway through the tour, Blackmore makes it clear to everyone that he is still not satisfied with Gillan's work and plans to leave at the end of the tour. The band is finishing its tour in Japan with guitarist Joe Satriani. Blackmore, having returned to the States, begins to look for musicians to create the group "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow".

1994 - Blackmore tries out the next incarnation of the group. At the end of the year, the new group includes: Scottish singer Dougle White (ex-Praying Mantis), keyboardist Paul Morris (ex-Doro Pesch), bassist Greg Smith (who worked with Alice Cooper, Blue Oyster Cult, Joe Lynn Turner), drummer John O'Reilly (Richie Havens, "Blue Oyster Cult", Joe Lynn Turner) and singer Candace Knight (with her participation the single "Ariel" was recorded) - "background" vocals.

1995 - from the beginning of the year the group has been recording and in September the album "Stranger In Us All" is completed. BMG International releases the album and in the first week more than 100 thousand copies are sold in Japan. This remarkable fact was exploited by Burrn! magazine, which announced that Ritchie had won no less than seven reader poll awards, including Best Guitarist, Best Songwriter, Best Live Show, and "Song of the Year" - for the hit "Black Masquerade". Similar honors were bestowed upon Ritchie in Germany, where he was named "Best Guitarist" in a reader poll. Shortly after the release of the album "A Stranger In Each Of Us", the video clip for the song "Ariel" was often played on MTV Europe, supporting the success of the album. Towards the end of the year the group began touring Europe. Chuck Bergey, who played with Rainbow in 1983, replaced John O'Reilly, who, just after finishing recording the album, was injured while playing football.

1996 - "Rainbow" played to great success in places such as Chile, Curittiba, Argentina and Brazil. After such successful tours South America, the band performed to hundreds of thousands of people during their European tour alongside ZZ Top, Little Feat and Deep Blue Something. The largest crowd numbered 40 thousand fans. After one of the Rainbow concerts in Germany, Ritchie Blackmore received a call from Pat Boone (famous for his white shoes) and invited him to participate in his new album of rock stars - Pat Boone: Metal Thoughts. Richie, flattered, thought it was funny and played the guitar part in Boone's arrangement of "Smoke on the Water." In addition to this work, Richie recorded the song "Apache" for the Hank Marvin and the Shadows album. In October, Blackmore began recording his Renaissance album, "Shadow Of The Moon", which will no longer be part of the Rainbow project... A new group will be called "Blackmore's Night" and realizes the plans of the two main instigators of the project - Blackmore and Candice Knight. The album will include four medieval melodies, set to the poems of Candice Knight and performed in a modern manner. Ian Anderson from " Jethro Tull will contribute to one of the songs, "Play, Minstrel, Play." BMG Japan will document the songwriting process and release three videos.

1997 - Starting February 20, "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow" tours the United States with the program "Stranger In Each Of Us." The American tour coincided with the release of the debut CD "Blackmore's Night" - "Moon Shadows", the pearl of which became Candice Knight - lyricist and performer of most songs. The album was released at the end of August in Japan and in the first week more than 100 thousand copies were sold, and the album itself entered the Billboard Album Charts in 14th place. On May 31, at the Esberg rock festival in Sweden, "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow" attracted 30 thousand fans. In early June, the album "Shadow Of The Moon" was released in Europe and remained in the charts for 17 weeks.

1997 - acoustic tour "Shadow Of The Moon" in Japan and Europe.

March - Radio single "No Second Chance" is released in Brazil and remains at number 5 for three weeks on Brazilian radio.

May - The hit "Shadow Of The Moon" received the status of "Golden Track".

June - Candice Knight and Ritchie Blackmore return to the studio to record their next album, "Blackmore's Night".

September 25 - in Greece, in Athens - "Blacmore's Night" participates in the International Rock Awards Ceremony.

September-October - "Blacmore's Night" return to Europe and give concerts in churches, synagogues, castles and theaters.

November - Ritchie Blackmore and Candice Knight participate in the recording of a show for London TV.

January - return to the studio to complete work on a new project - "Under A Violet Moon" - until spring.