Ritchie Blackmore: sign a contract of £100m……

Ritchie Blackmore is up there as one of the most iconic Fender Stratocaster players – and it turns out his affinity for the Strat first began way back when he purchased a particularly notable example from a fellow electric guitar hero.

As Blackmore explains in the new issue of Guitar World, he once bought an unwanted Strat from Eric Clapton – for a rather tidy price, we should add – and it just so happened to be the first Stratocaster he’d ever owned.

“I was in Deep Purple in 1969 and I was living in Acton, London,” recalls the Deep Purple icon. “We were all in the same house, the whole band, and Eric Clapton’s roadie came by the house because he knew one of my roadies, and he brought a Strat with him.

“I think it was black. So I said to him, ‘Do you want to sell that guitar? It looks interesting, and I wanted to try out a Strat.’ He said, ‘I’ll sell it to you for £60.’ I said, ‘Okay, you’re on.’ So, for £60, I bought one of Eric Clapton’s old Strats that he obviously didn’t want because he gave it to the roadie.”