Dear Ritchie Blackmore, put down the lute!

We, the undersigned, believe in the power of rock and roll - an unstoppable, ineffable force that binds the world together in harmony, transcending race, religion, sexuality, gender, and all other barriers. Unfortunately, one man who felt differently to this was Ritchie Blackmore. In 1997, he put down his electric guitar, and went full-on renaissance. Since then, Deep Purple have soldiered on with Steve Morse, but wor boy Ritchie is sticking firmly to his guns, and while I can understand wanting to rock the Casbah with Candice Night instead of the boat, it's still a crying shame. Please, Ritchie, for us - put down the f**king lute.