Guitar legend Steve Vai is featured in the interview below, which has been posted on Deep Purple's YouTube channel. He discusses the impact of Ritchie Blackmore on rock music and provides some insight into the impact of Blackmore's playing and attitude towards music as a whole.

Vai: "The moment I heard Deep Purple and that guitar... for me, in the very beginning, before it was Deep Purple, it was Led Zeppelin because that's what I was exposed to, and then the world opened up. I remember when I went out and got Machine Head ('72) and Who Do We Think We Are ('73). What an album, oh my God! To have a record like that and to have a guitar player like Ritchie in your radar and your field, it was just the greatest...you just think, 'What would my life have been like without that?'

One of the things that a lot of guitar players go after is different sounds. You've tried different amplifiers, you plug in different effects, you put the microphone way over there, you know, you're constantly trying to create a space. He didn't do much of that. He created all of that incredible music with a Strat and a Marshall. I can't verify that, but from what I understand, in his playing, there were no excuses. It was completely honest playing and you got to be ready for it."

Wymer Publishing has announced the upcoming release of Ritchie Blackmore: A Life In Vision, a limited edition deluxe photo book, out on September 12, and only be available directly from their website. Limited to 1,000 copies worldwide, if you order now your name will be included on a dedicated fan page.

This new deluxe photo book compiled by Blackmore biographer Jerry Bloom is the perfect companion to his 2006 biography, Black Knight, as it portrays Blackmore’s career with photos and memorabilia from 1958 to the present day.

Not only does it feature a large selection of photos, many of which have never been seen before but following years of research by Bloom, it also includes the most comprehensive gig list ever published, for Blackmore’s pre-Deep Purple career between 1958-67 with over 300 gigs detailed from his days with The Outlaws - backing Gene Vincent and Jerry Lee Lewis; with Screaming Lord Sutch & The Savages; Neil Christian & The Crusaders; and even going back to his earliest bands such as The Vampires and The Kestrals.

Augmented with memorabilia from the time, the book also plots Blackmore’s career in photos, through Deep Purple, Rainbow and Blackmore’s Night along with narrative by Bloom that puts the visual elements in context.

This is a limited edition of 1,000 copies worldwide in a bespoke, custom-made presentation box with a set of prints. 128 Page A4 Full colour.

Order the book here.