Biography
One of the prime figures in the evolution of hard rock and heavy metal, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore was always the driving force behind Rainbow in two spells in the spotlight, between 1975-1984 and 1994-1997. Blackmore originally built his formidable reputation playing lead guitar with Deep Purple but left in 1974 in frustration at their musical direction, recruiting Ronnie James Dio from Elf as lead singer in the first Rainbow line-up. They rele...Read more