Biography
Richie Blackmore - English Rock Musician, one of the most respected and influential guitarists in the world. It belongs to those ingenious musicians who turn everything into gold to what they touch. At the dawn of the 70s, together with Deep Purple, he opened the Hard Rock to people, became the founder of the legendary rock group "Rainbow". And in 1997 he became one of the most popular folk-musicians as part of the Blackmore's Night team.Childhood and youth
The full name of the musician sounds like Richard Hugh Blackmorm, the nickname of Richie appeared later. A boy was born in the city of Weston-Sewing Mayor, County Somerset. When he was 2 years old, parents decided to move to Heston. Mother Violet Short held the store, and Father Lewis Jay Blackmorm worked at the airport.
Richard grew up a closed child. Once parents decided to arrange a cheerful birthday son, invited guests, but he immediately escaped from the celebrations on the attic, from where it came out only when everyone went away.
He didn't like learning at school, he did not find the language with the teachers, and not pleased with the estimates. As a child, he admired Gin Vincent, Tommy Stylum and Hankom Marvin. At 11 years old, he received his first guitar from his father, but with one condition: Richie had to learn how to play the guitar correctly, so the whole year father paid him lessons for a classic guitar game.
In addition to music, Blackmore paid time to sports. He achieved results in football, swimming, throwing a spear - more than once won the competition.
Richie failed the final exam, which gave the opportunity to go to the elder school. He threw school at the age of 15 and began working as an assistant mechanic on the airport radio. In his free time, I studied the game on the electric guitar for Jimmy Sullivan.
Music
In the 1960s, Richie Blackmore changed not one music team. But the first recognition came to it in the group "The Savages". Soon he moved to "The Outlaws". The group was distinguished by his recklessness, they behaved defiantly and more than once at the police station for hooliganism.
For a while, the team accompanied Gina Vincent, and then, then, Richie visited Germany for the first time, touring with a singer. From the moment this country has become his beloved. But the guitarist was not satisfied with the role of the accompanist, he dreamed of his own team.
In 1968, Blackmore joined the group that Chris Curtis collected. True, Curtis left the team even before the group was formed. The name "Deep Purple" came up with Richie. The team was doomed to success and became a "pioneer" of hard-rock.
At first they sang a cable to already popular compositions, but since 1970, the Group records successful albums one by one, remove the clips, which allows them to become one of the leading groups of that time. Then they produce their most famous hits - "Smoke on the Water", "Highway Star", "Child in Time".
In 1974, Richie became a participant in the scandalous situation, which occurred at the Rock Festival in California. At that time, "Deep Purple" was so popular that at any concert they were chadlinins and performed the last. And this time, their performance was scheduled for a "post-day" time. The group prepared a laser show and fireworks.
However, for some reason, the number of speakers was reduced, and the team had to go out earlier. Richie categorically refused and just closed in the dressing room. To pull him on the scene, the organizers of the festival called the police and applied strength.
It was then that frustrated blackmore smashed not only his guitar, but also the operator's chamber. As a result, the show still managed. But because of the differences, in the future orientation of the Richym Group, Blackmore left "Deep Purple" in 1975. A year later, the team collapsed.
In the same year, the musician moved to America and gathered a new team there - Rainbow. They performed music in the style of Havie Metal and Hard Rock. Richie, as the leader of the group, repeatedly changed the participants. During the existence of the team, 8 albums were recorded, and each - a new composition.
In 1984, the "classic" composition "Deep Purple" reunited again. The musicians recorded two studio albums and one concert. The group fans compared the new creativity of the group with Rainbow. In spite of everything, "Deep Purple" conducted a successful tour in supporting the album "Perfect Strangers".
But, as before, Richie and Vocalist Gillan did not find a common language, Blackmore invited the vocalist "Rainbow" to his place, but such a replacement was disapprovingly met by the rest of the participants. As a result, Richie left "Deep Purple" forever in 1993. And again recreated Rainbow.
At the end of the 80s, Richie met a vocalist, as well as with his future wife Candace Knight. In 1997, Richie, together with Candice, founded the Blackmore's Night group, radically distinguished from past blackmore projects. These were acoustic lyrical ballads, folk and classic tools were present in the compositions. The most popular students - "Wish You Were Here Here", "Under A Violet Moon", "Ghost of a Rose".
Later, parties began to appear in the repertoire of the group and for electric guitar. Sometimes at concerts, the musicians performed the songs "Deep Purple" and "Rainbow".
Personal life
Richie Blackmore has never had a lack of female attention. Therefore, it is not surprising that he was married four times. His first wife was German Margrit Wolkmar. They made a marriage in 1964, lived in Germany. Soon the pair was born firstborn - son Jürgen Blackmore. By the way, he also devoted his life to music.
In 1969, Richie and Margrit divorced, but in bachelors a man did not delay. He married the German dancer Barbel Hardy. But their marriage collapsed the next year. Thanks to these two marriage, the musician perfectly owns German.
Having moved to America, in 1978, Blackmorm met Amy Rothman. They got married in 1981, and in 1983 it was already divorced.
His fourth wife Candace Knight was the "Rainbow" fan and having met Richie Blackmore on a football match, decided to ask the musician musician. As the musician himself tells, the girl liked him immediately. In 1991, they began to live together, in 1993 they were engaged, and officially issued marriage only in 2008.
They had two children born - in 2010 Daughter Sem Esmeralda, and in 2012 - Son Rory D'Artagnan.
Richie Blackmore Now
In 2018, the musician announced the reunification of the Rainbow group. He decided to do this in order to put the final chord in a hard rock musician career.
In April 2018, the guitarist gave concerts in Russia. In Moscow and St. Petersburg, he introduced a new program - Memories in Rock 2018. In addition to popular hits "Rainbow", they performed the favorite songs of the Deep Purple group.
At the moment, Richie with his family lives 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"