In the late 60s many incredible bands that would be crucial for the evolution of Hard Rock were formed. One of them was Deep Purple, group which had the legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore. He was a fundamental part of the band's sound and created some of the most memorable guitar riffs and solos of the history of music. But they were not the only British band that influenced many generations of musicians, UFO also was also an important group. But what is Ritchie Blackmore's opinion on them? Ritchie Blackmore's opinion on UFO Blackmore actually likes UFO and when VH1 listed the Greatest Artists of Hard Rock in 2000, the guitarist commented on a few bands. One of them was UFO, which was in the position number 84. About the group, Blackmore said: "UFO, that's an interesting band. They kind of represent the roots of English Blues based Rock." The interesting thing is that Deep Purple and UFO were both formed in 1968 and were really important for Rock and Roll especially during the 70s. The classic UFO line-up had Phil Mogg (Vocals), Michael Schenker (Guitar), Paul Raymond (Keyboards, guitar), Pete Way (Bass) and Andy Parker (Drums). Although the band was active for more than five decades, the only constant member was the vocalist Phil Mogg. During their career, the band released 22 studio albums, a big number compared to other famous Hard Rock groups from their era. Michael Schenker used to hire musicians who played with Ritchie Blackmore before https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWw2_wv0JZI&pp=ygUnbWljaGFlbCBzY2hlbmtlciBncm91cCAiUmVhZHkgdG8gUm9jayIJ An interesting thing about Ritchie Blackmore and the classic UFO guitarist Michael Schenker is that the German musician often invited musicians who had previously played with Blackmore to join his groups. Schenker left UFO in the late 70s, briefly played with Scorpions again and then decided to form his own band, the Michael Schenker group. Active since 1979, his band had many different line-ups and many of them had previously worked with Blackmore in Rainbow. Some of them are: The drummer Cozy Powell, who was a member of Rainbow in the 70s, worked with Michael from 1980 to 1982. The singer Graham Bonnet who had also been a member of Rainbow was Schenker's vocalist in 1982 and then from 2016 to 2020. The singer Doogie White, who was a member of Rainbow in the 90s and was Schenker's vocalist from 2013 to 2016 and from 2018 to 2020. The singer Ronnie Romero who was Rainbow's vocalist when Blackmore activated the band again during the last decade, was Schenker's vocalist from 2020 to 2023. Michael Schenker was also hired with two ex-Rainbow members as session musicians. They were: The drummer Bobby Rondinelli (In 2022) The keyboardist Don Airey (In 1980, 2007, 2008 and 2011) What Michael Schenker said about working with ex-Blackmore bandmates In an interview with Chaoszine in 2022, Michael Schenker joked that he and Ritchie were probably living in a parallel universe. Because they worked with the same people a lot of times. "I always say that Ritchie Blackmore and I are living in a parallel universe. [laughter] We’re kind of doing the same things. He left the Purple; I left UFO. Then Rainbow got the replacement, and UFO got the replacement. Both of them got their replacement from the same management. And then I was doing acoustic guitar, and then Ritchie started doing acoustic guitar. And then I had Cozy come to me and join MSG." He continued: "Everybody who left, or most people leaving Rainbow, would come to MSG. It was kind of very strange. Then even the Purple asked me to join them. It was just kind of very powerful, very, very closely connected. But yet, we don’t really know much about each other. But we have very similar things happen to us in life. (...) That’s one other thing! (We both have great taste when it comes to musicians)," Michael Schenker said. As the German guitarist recalled, he was asked to replace Blackmore in Deep Purple in the 90s. It was when the British player left the band for good. According to the German guitarist they first invited him before talking with Joe Satriani, who ultimately accepted the offer. Schenker said he felt tempted to accept the offer, just like he felt when Ozzy invited him. However, at the time he reunited with UFO and he felt there was more potential in being with them again. The first Deep Purple song Schenker ever heard in his life was "Child in Time" and a few years later he had the chance to see the band live. He said the band was remarkable and all the members were incredible musicians. https://youtu.be/-AzvEt82QYs?si=cGTu9NPttQibLk0u&t=1710
