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UNBELIEVABLE: Ritchie blackmore | History Defined

"A 42-piece orchestra, mellotron, and a string thing all playing this half-Turkish scale." The story of Ritchie Blackmore's most epic Rainbow song

Inspired by a cello riff and launched by one of rock's great drum intros, Stargazer found Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio at their absolute peak

Louder

“He only ever said one thing to me about sounding like anyone he’d played with before”: Rowan Robertson on the key piece of advice he received from Ronnie James Dio on how to faithfully play Tony Iommi’s riffs

Though Robertson was only 17 at the time he was hired for Ronnie James Dio's band, the legendary frontman had the utmost confidence in him

Guitar World

“He called and said, ‘I don’t like what’s going on with Ritchie Blackmore. I’m looking for an escape’”: That time Ronnie James Dio offered to front ’70s glam-rock outfit The Sweet

Internal disagreements led Dio to very different gig as he sought an escape from Blackmore’s Rainbow, while The Sweet were grappling with their frontman's drinking problems

Guitar World

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"I don't know how many thousands of times I've sung it, but I've never once thought 'Oh no, not tonight'." How Deep Purple created an all-time hard rock classic with a song that "didn't go anywhere"

Built from a riff that came from nowhere, Smoke On The Water has been covered by everyone from ‘Weird’ Al Yankovic to Black Sabbath

Louder

"Noel Gallagher would be in the room across from me." From underground darlings to collabs with Mastodon and Gojira: Urne are the best-kept secret in British metal

After exploring the effects of dementia on 2023's A Feast On Sorrow, Urne decided to reconnect with metal's roots for their 2026 follow-up

Metal Hammer

"Can this possibly be the perfect rock album?" Deep Purple climb an early pinnacle on Machine Head

Machine Head was the album that set the template for Deep Purple’s entire future direction

Louder

“Jon offered me the gig and I turned him down. It still amazes me how close I came to not following this path”: Roger Glover’s path to bass greatness with Deep Purple

Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, Deep Purple formed the holy trinity of hard rock that would ultimately induce heavy metal

Guitar World

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“It’s a bit of a mystery. I’ve found that at my age it’s time to pull back on touring”: Ritchie Blackmore issues health update – and explains how he’ll get back to live gigs

The guitarist was forced to scrap touring plans last year, and ongoing health issues are forcing him to reconsider how and when he’ll return to the stage

Guitar World

"I learned this note-for-note because it really touched me emotionally; it was so vulnerable." The eight songs that fuelled Steve Stevens' teenage rock'n'roll dreams

Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens recalls the songs that rocked his world during his formative years

Louder

Ritchie Blackmore finally confirms that yes, Christopher Cross really did replace him at a Deep Purple show that one time

The incident took place in Texas in 1970 after Blackmore reacted badly to some flu shots

Louder

“I read the other day that I hated him. I can’t believe they said that”: Ritchie Blackmore sets the record straight about his relationship with Jimmy Page

Blackmore says he has nothing but respect for the Led Zep guitarist

Guitar World

“Absolutely essential listening for any would-be rock bass player”: How Rainbow bassist Craig Gruber galloped his way through a hard-rock classic alongside Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio

Having become disillusioned with Deep Purple’s growing love of funk, Ritchie Blackmore jumped ship in August 1975 – taking most of Purple’s opening act with him

Guitar World

“I couldn’t believe he was a guitar player”: Ritchie Blackmore says most guitarists aren’t nice people – but names one player who bucks the trend

Blackmore reserves particularly high praise for one of his Deep Purple successors

Guitar World

Before he went solo, Ronnie James Dio had already worked with two guitarists etched onto heavy metal’s Mount Rushmore. But players can also learn plenty from the oft-overlooked shredders who anchored his solo band

From a 17-year-old prodigy to a future stadium-conquering guitar superstar, Ronnie James Dio had a dream team of six-string sidekicks over the course of his solo career – and their contributions to his catalog should be essential listening for any aspiring metal guitarist

Guitar World

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Guitar World

“A band member said, ‘If we didn’t write it, there’s no point in doing it because we won’t get writing credits.’ I was really disappointed”: The moment Ritchie Blackmore knew he’d leave Deep Purple

Blackmore looks back on his Deep Purple departure

Louder

"So there I was slinging names about and accusing them of all sorts of things – dastardly deeds and vile occurrences!" Feuding and in crisis, Deep Purple combined two high-profile figures to create an anti-censorship classic

The story of a song that merged Mary Whitehouse's infamous clean-up campaign with tensions caused by Ritchie Blackmore

Louder

"We wanted a song about castles and crossbows." The magical relationship between Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio celebrated on the monumental Rainbow - The Temple Of The King 1975-76

Nine CDs of Ritchie, Ronnie and Rainbow

Metal Hammer

Star Trek actor William Shatner is releasing an all-star heavy metal album featuring Zakk Wylde, Ritchie Blackmore and more, because you try and tell him not to

Captain Kirk is set to cover Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Iron Maiden and uncork some hard-hitting originals

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MusicRadar

“It’s crazy, ambitious and so out of the box. It’s like nothing you’d ever heard before.”: Zakk Wylde picks his favourite Randy Rhoads guitar solo – and explains why Rhoads and Ozzy Osbourne were perfect for each other

Plucked from Quiet Riot, Rhoads was the transfusion of virtuosity Ozzy needed to launch his solo career. But Wylde says it goes both ways, and the Prince Of Darkness was the "perfect foil" for Rhoads' classically trained style

Metal Hammer

"I looked around and nobody was happy. And I was thinking: 'This is going to be rough'": What happened when Bruce Dickinson made the decision that changed his life

Becoming a band’s new singer is never easy. But when Bruce Dickinson saw Iron Maiden play, he knew he was the singer they needed

Guitar World

“I’d met Elvis Presley’s guitar player, who told me James Burton used banjo strings...” How Ritchie Blackmore came across an obscure string mod that introduced him to a whole new sound – and why it didn’t work for him

Burton proved it was possible to use banjo strings on guitar, but Blackmore’s early adventures with the hack got mixed results

MusicRadar

“Nobody can play better than that guy, man!”: In a new in-depth interview, guitar virtuoso Steve Morse discusses the supernatural powers of John Petrucci, Eric Johnson, Angel Vivaldi and Deep Purple legends Jon Lord and Ritchie Blackmore

His new Steve Morse Band album Triangulation is an audacious work of instrumental rock

Guitar World

“When I played the Purple songs and took it out, some of them – a certain percentage of them – just hated me”: Steve Morse on the challenges of putting his own stamp on Deep Purple’s material

Ritchie Blackmore's legacy loomed large when Morse first stepped up to fill his shoes

MusicRadar

“I was always pushing him to go back to playing the organ through an amp for some solos… y’know, the sound that he had in the Machine Head days”: Steve Morse on why he loved writing with Jon Lord and the Deep Purple track that started with a cup of tea

Steve Morse on how a noodle during one of Deep Purple's many tea breaks ended up on the album, and the mixed reception from Ritchie Blackmore fans when he'd improvise onstage

Guitar World

“I couldn't stop vomiting. The room wouldn't stop spinning”: Ritchie Blackmore issues health update after tour cancellation

The guitar legend has opened up on his recent health issues after a handful of Blackmore's Night shows were cancelled

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