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.