“I went there with the intention of buying a Gretsch Jet Firebird. He said, ‘Forget the Gretsch. That’s a toy compared to the 335’”: Ritchie Blackmore recalls buying his first Gibson from amp pioneer Jim Marshall's music store

Left-Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore of rock band Deep Purple, 1969; Right-English businessman, and founder of Marshall Amplification, Jim Marshall (1923 – 2012) with a selection of his amplifiers, Los Angeles, California, 2000.

Before Marshall Amplification, there was Jim Marshall, his business acumen, and his small music shop at 76 Uxbridge Road, Hanwell, just a few miles away from The Ealing Club – the birthplace of The Rolling Stones and British rhythm and blues, and a hot spot for musicians.

“Jim was a very affable kind of guy,” recalls Blackmore in an interview at his tavern in the States. “He knew nothing about amplifiers, yet it's funny to see today, every band has got a Marshall amplifier, and that was built in the beginning by someone who knew nothing about amplifiers.”