Richard Hugh Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is an English guitarist and songwriter. He was one of the founder members of Deep Purple in 1968, playing jam-style hard-rock music which mixed guitar riffs and organ sounds. During his solo career he established the heavy metal \n', 'band Rainbow, which fused baroque music influences and elements of hard rock. Rainbow steadily moved to catchy pop-style mainstream rock. Later in life, he formed the traditional folk rock project Blackmore\'s Night, transitioning to vocalist-centred sounds. As a member of Deep Purple, Blackmore was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April 2016.\n', '

Blackmore was born at Allendale Nursing Home in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, as second son to Lewis J. Blackmore and Violet (née Short). The family moved to Heston, Middlesex, when Blackmore was two. He was 11 when he was given his first guitar by his father on certain conditions, including learning how to play properly, so he took classical guitar lessons for one year.\n', '

In an interview with Sounds magazine in 1979, Blackmore said that he started the guitar because he wanted to be like Tommy Steele, who used to just jump around and play. Blackmore loathed school and hated his teachers.\n', '

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