From Deep Purple to Medieval Folk

After leaving the legendary rock band Deep Purple, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore surprised the music world by trading his electric guitar for a lute. His debut folk album became a gold-certified international hit.

Ritchie Blackmore was a pioneer of hard rock, but he found his true passion in medieval and Renaissance music. He formed Blackmore's Night to explore acoustic sounds and historical themes instead of heavy riffs. The debut album spent seventeen weeks on German charts and proved that fans would eagerly follow his radical stylistic shift. It remains a fascinating case of an iconic rocker finding success in a completely different century.