“Absolutely essential listening for any would-be rock bass player”: How Rainbow bassist Craig Gruber galloped his way through a hard-rock classic alongside Ritchie Blackmore and Ronnie James Dio

Rainbow featuring guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, singer Ronnie James Dio (1942-2010), keyboard player Mickey Lee Soule, bassist Craig Gruber and drummer Gary Driscoll, posed in Los Angeles, June 1975.

In 1974, when Ritchie Blackmore finally became disillusioned with Deep Purple's growing love of funk, he jumped ship – taking most of Purple's opening act, Elf, with him and forming Rainbow.

With his new band, Blackmore claimed: “We're going to have much more emphasis on melody. In other words, everything isn't going to be hung on a riff.”