Ritchie as a name is a surname, and may also occur as a given name or diminutive. It may refer to:

Surname[link]

• Albert Ritchie (1876–1936), governor of Maryland 1920-35
• Alistair Ferguson Ritchie (1890-1954), Afrit, crossword compiler
• Allison Ritchie (born 1974), Australian politician
• Andrew Jackson Ritchie (1868–1948), president of Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School
• Andy Ritchie (English footballer) (born 1960), English footballer
• Andy Ritchie (Scottish footballer) (born 1956), Scottish footballer
• Brian Ritchie (born 1960), guitarist for Violent Femmes band
• Byron Ritchie (born 1977), Canadian professional ice hockey player
• Cedric Ritchie, Canadian businessman
• Charles Ritchie (diplomat) (1906–1995), Canadian diplomat
• Charles Thomson Ritchie (1838–1906), 1st Baron Ritchie of Dundee PC
• Chris Ritchie (born 1949), retired Vice Admiral of the Royal Australian Navy
• Clint Ritchie (1938–2009), American actor
• Darren Ritchie (born 1975), Scottish long jumper
• Dave Ritchie (football coach), Canadian Football League coach
• Dave Ritchie (ice hockey) (1892–?), hockey player
• David Ritchie (1812–1867), American politician
• David Edward Ritchie, American auctioneer
• David George Ritchie (1853–1903), Scottish philosopher
• Dennis Ritchie (1941–2011), American computer scientist
• Donald A. Ritchie (born 1945), Historian of the United States Senate
• Edgar Ritchie (1916–2002), Canadian diplomat
• Edward Samuel Ritchie (1814–1895), American inventor and physicist
• Elsie Ritchie, American actress
• Fiona Ritchie (born 1960), radio broadcaster
• George G. Ritchie (1923–2007), American doctor
• Gordon Ritchie (born 1918), Canadian surgeon and politician
• Grant Ritchie (actor)
• Greg Ritchie (born 1960), Australian cricketer
• Guy Ritchie (born 1968), British filmmaker
• Henry Peel Ritchie (1876–1958), British Navy officer
• Ian Ritchie (producer), composer and musician
• Ian Ritchie (architect) (born 1947), British architect
• Ian Ritchie (entrepreneur), Scottish businessman
• Jean Ritchie (born 1922), American folk singer and songwriter
• Jon Ritchie (born 1974), American football player
• John Ritchie (newspaper owner) (1778-1881), owner of The Scotsman
• John Ritchie (abolitionist) (1817–1887), American abolitionist
• John Ritchie (footballer born 1941) (1941–2007), English footballer
• John Ritchie (footballer born 1944) (born 1944), English footballer
• John Ritchie (Maryland) (1831–1887), U.S. Representative from Maryland
• John Ritchie (merchant) (died 1790), Scottish merchant, judge and politician
• John Ritchie (Scottish footballer) (born 1947), Scottish footballer
• John Simon Ritchie (1957–1979), English musician better known as Sid Vicious
• John William Ritchie (1808–1890), Canadian lawyer and politician
• John Ritchie Findlay (1824–1898), Scottish newspaper owner and philanthropist
• Sir John Ritchie Findlay, 1st Baronet (1880–1954), Scottish philanthropists
• Sir John Edmund Ritchie Findlay (2nd Baronet) (1902–1962), Scottish politician
• John Ritchie Findlay (1824–1898), Scottish newspaper owner and philanthropist
• Joseph Ritchie (c. 1788–1819), English surgeon, explorer and naturalist
• Joseph C. Ritchie, mayor of Newport News, Virginia (1976–1986)
• Josiah Ritchie (1870–1955), British tennis player
• June Ritchie (born 1938), English actress
• Kate Ritchie (born 1978), Australian actress
• Ken Ritchie (born 1946), British psephologist
• Larry Ritchie, jazz drummer (1950s–1960s)
• Leitch Ritchie (1800–1865), Scottish novelist and journalist
• Margaret Ritchie (politician) (born 1958), Northern Irish politician
• Mark Ritchie (born 1951), Minnesota Secretary of State
• Michael Ritchie (film director) (1938–2001), American film director
• Michael Ritchie (artistic director) (born 1957), artistic director of Center Theatre Group
• Neil Ritchie (1897–1983), British general
• Oscar W. Ritchie (1909–1967), African American educator and sociologist
• Paul Ritchie (footballer born 1969) (born 1969), Scottish football player playing for East Fife
• Paul Ritchie (footballer born 1975) (born 1975), Scottish football player formerly playing for Dundee United
• Phil Ritchie (born 1978), American lead singer of the band Lennex
• Ray Ritchie, Australian rugby league footballer and coach
• Richmond Ritchie (1854–1912), Indian-born British civil servant
• Robert James Ritchie (born 1971), American rapper and singer-songwriter better known as Kid Rock
• Roland Ritchie (1910–1988), Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada
• R. Stephen Ritchie (born 1942), American Air Force General
• Scott Ritchie (born 1989), Military Geographic Technician (Responsible for saving the lives of 3 Arctic polar bears.)
• Steve Ritchie (born 1950), pinball and video game designer
• Thomas Ritchie (1778-1854), American journalist
• Todd Ritchie (born 1971), former Major League Baseball pitcher (1997–2004)
• Walter Potter Ritchie (1892–1965), Scottish member of the British Army in World War I
• William Ritchie (editor) (1781-1831), editor of The Scotsman
• William Ritchie (physicist) (1790-1837), experimented and wrote on heat, electricity, and elasticity
• William Johnstone Ritchie (1813–1892), Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada

This page or section lists people with the surname Ritchie. If an internal link intending to refer to a specific person led you to this page, you may wish to change that link by adding the person's given name(s) to the link.

Given name[link]

• Ritchie Blackmore (born 1945), English guitarist, founding member of hard rock bands Deep Purple and Rainbow
• Ritchie Valens (1941–1959), American singer, songwriter and guitarist

Diminutive[link]

• Richard David Court (born 1952), English-Brazilian singer and songwriter

Companies[link]

• Grant, Ritchie and Company, a Scottish engineering company
• Ritchie Navigation, Inc., U.S. marine compass and instrument manufacturer since 1850

Fictional characters[link]

• Robert Ritchie (TV character), West Wing character

Places[link]

• Ritchie's Archipelago
• Ritchie County, West Virginia
• Fort Ritchie, Maryland
• Ritchie South Africa

See also[link]

• Richard
• Richie, alternate spelling
• Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers
• Baron Ritchie of Dundee
• The Ritchie Family
• or search for more

This disambiguation page lists articles associated with the same title. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article.

This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. You can assist by editing it. (May 2012)

Ritchie Blackmore
With Rainbow in Norway, 1977
Background information
Birth name	Richard Hugh Blackmore
Born	(1945-04-14) 14 April 1945 (age 67) Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, England
Genres	Hard rock, folk rock, heavy metal, New Age, blues rock, psychedelic rock
Occupations	Musician, songwriter
Instruments	Guitar, bass, cello, keyboards, hurdy gurdy, mandolin, mandola, drums, percussion
Years active	1963–present
Labels	Polydor, BMG, Edel, SPV, Spinefarm
Associated acts	Rainbow, Blackmore's Night, Deep Purple, The Outlaws
Website	blackmoresnight.com
Notable instruments
Ritchie Blackmore Signature Stratocaster Gibson ES-335

Richard Hugh "Ritchie" Blackmore (born 14 April 1945) is a British guitarist and songwriter, who is known as one of the first guitarists to fuse classical music elements with blues rock.^[1] He began his professional career as a studio session musician and was subsequently a member of Deep Purple, after which Blackmore established a successful career fronting his own band Rainbow, and later progressed to the traditional folk rock project Blackmore's Night with his wife.

Early life[link]

Blackmore was born at Allandale Nursing Home, Weston-super-Mare, Somerset, South West England, but moved to Heston, Middlesex (now Greater London) at the age of two. Although the surname Blackmore is thought to be of English origin, his father was of Welsh ancestry and his mother of English.^[2] He was 11 when he got his first guitar. His father bought it for him on certain conditions, including learning how to play properly, so he took classical guitar lessons for one year.^[3]

While at school he did well at sports including the javelin. Blackmore left school at age 15 and started work as an apprentice radio mechanic at nearby Heathrow Airport. He was given guitar lessons by Big Jim Sullivan.

Career[link]

1960s[link]

In about 1960 or 1961 he played with minor local bands, including one called the Jaywalkers.^[4] His playing improved and in 1963 he began to work as a session player for Joe Meek's music productions and performed in several bands. He was a member of the instrumental combo, The Outlaws, and backed Heinz (playing on his top ten hit "Just Like Eddie"), and Glenda Collins among others.

Blackmore joined the rock group Deep Purple in 1968 after receiving the invitation from organist Jon Lord. Purple's early sound leaned on psychedelia and progressive rock.^[5] From his youth his guitar play was partly inspired by violin. This "Mark One" line-up featuring singer Rod Evans lasted until mid-1969 and produced three studio albums.

1970s[link]

The second line-up's first studio album, In Rock (1970), changed the band's style, turning it in a hard rock direction. This "Mark Two" line-up featuring singer Ian Gillan lasted until mid-1973, produced four studio albums.

The third line-up's new album was entitled Burn (1974), which featured blues singer, David Coverdale. This "Mark Three" line-up lasted until mid-1975 and produced two studio albums. Blackmore publicly disliked the funky soul influences that Coverdale and bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes injected into the band.^[6] Following its conclusion, he abandoned the band to front a new group, Rainbow. During this period, Blackmore lost interest on the guitar in personal life,^[7] so he received cello lessons by Hugh McDowell (ELO).^[8]

Blackmore originally planned to make a solo album, but instead in 1975 formed his own band Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, later shortened to Rainbow. Featuring American vocalist Ronnie James Dio and his blues rock band Elf as studio session musicians, this first line-up never performed live. Rainbow's music was partly inspired by Baroque music since Blackmore started playing cello for songwriting.^[7][9] Blackmore later explained that when I’m playing different musical instrument such as cello, I find that refreshing because it’s a sense of adventure not knowing exactly what chord I’m playing or what key I’m in.^[9] The band's debut album, Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, was released in 1975. Rainbow was originally thought to be a one-off collaboration, but has endured as an ongoing band project with a series of album releases and tours. Blackmore had been impressed by Dio's relatively flexible vocalist-style. Shortly after the first album was recorded, Blackmore recruited new backing musicians to record the second album Rising (1976), and the following live album, On Stage (1977). Rising was originally billed as Blackmore's Rainbow in the US. After the next studio album's release and supporting tour, Ronnie James Dio left Rainbow due to "creative differences" with Blackmore, who disliked Dio's signature 'Dungeons & Dragons' lyric style.

Blackmore continued with Rainbow and the band released a new album entitled Down To Earth (1979), which featured R&B singer Graham Bonnet. The album marked the commercialization of the band's sound, and contained Rainbow's first chart successes, as the single "Since You Been Gone" (a cover of the Russ Ballard penned tune) became a smash hit.^[10] Bonnet left the band after this support tour.

1980s[link]

The next album, Difficult to Cure (1981), introduced American vocalist Joe Lynn Turner. The instrumental title track from this album was an arrangement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony with additional music. The album marked the further commercialization of the band's sound with Blackmore once describing at the time liking for the pop rock band, Foreigner.^[11] Hard rock-based fans thought the vocal parts ended up being a bit too melodic than Rainbow's previous releases. The music was consciously radio-targeted, in a more AOR style,^[12] resulting in some degree of alienation with many of their earlier fans.^[13] Rainbow's next studio album was Straight Between the Eyes (1982) and included the hit single "Stone Cold." It would be followed by the album Bent Out of Shape (1983), which featured the single "Street Of Dreams". In 1983 Blackmore was also nominated for a Grammy Award for his work on an instrumental ballard track, "Anybody There".^[14] Rainbow disbanded in 1984. A then-final Rainbow album, Finyl Vinyl, was patched together from live tracks and the "B" sides of various singles.

In 1984, Blackmore joined a reunion of the former Deep Purple "Mark Two" line-up and recorded new material. This reunion line-up lasted until 1989 and produced two studio albums.

1990s[link]

The next line-up recorded one album entitled Slaves & Masters (1990), which featured former Rainbow vocalist Joe Lynn Turner. The album's style differed from the traditional Purple sound. Subsequently the "Mark Two" line-up reunited for a second time in late 1992 and produced one studio album. During its follow-up promotional tour, Blackmore again quit the band in November 1993.

Blackmore reformed Rainbow with new members in 1994. This Rainbow line-up, featuring Scottish singer Doogie White, lasted until 1997 and produced one album entitled Stranger in Us All in 1995. It was originally intended to be a solo album but due to the record company pressures the record was billed as Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow.^[15] Though White was not as distinctive as its previous singers, it had a sound dissimilar to any Rainbow of old.^[12] Released in the post-grunge mid-1990s, a world tour including South America followed.^[14] This is regarded as his last hard rock album. Rainbow was put on hold once again after playing its final concert in 1997.

Over the years Rainbow went through many personnel changes with no two studio albums featuring the same line-up: Blackmore was the sole constant band member.^[10]

In Chicago, 2009.

In 1997 Blackmore, with his girlfriend Candice Night as vocalist, formed the traditional folk rock duo Blackmore's Night. Around the same time as production of Rainbow's final album in 1995, they were already gearing up their debut album Shadow of the Moon (1997).^[16] Though she lacked experience as a lead singer, Blackmore noticed Night's potential and encouraged her to become his creative partner. Blackmore once described at the time their artistic characteristics as "Mike Oldfield plus Enya".^[17] Blackmore mostly utilised acoustic guitar,^[18] to back Night's delicate vocals. They recorded a mixture of original and cover materials. The band's musical style is inspired by his personal favorite Renaissance music and blends with Night's lyrics about medieval themes and fantasy. The second release, entitled Under a Violet Moon (1999) continued in the same folk-rock style, with Night's vocals remaining a prominent feature of the band's style.

2000s-current[link]

In subsequent albums, particularly Fires at Midnight (2001), there was sometimes an increased incorporation of rock guitar into the music, whilst maintaining a folk rock direction. A live album, Past Times with Good Company was released in 2002. After the next studio album's release, a official compilation album Beyond the Sunset: The Romantic Collection was released in 2004, featuring music from the four studio albums. A Christmas-themed holiday album, Winter Carols was released in 2006. Through numerous personnel changes, the backing musicians have totalled about 25 persons.^[19] Blackmore sometimes played drums in recording studio. Possibly to concentrate on album production,^[20] they chose to avoid typically rock concert tour to perform, instead limiting their appearances in small theatre or 12th century castles.^[21][22] During song composition, Blackmore directly writes her vocal melodies.^[9] Night said, "When he sings, he sings only for me, in private".^[23] As a result, his musical approach shifted to vocalist-centered sounds. Their music is generally categorised as belonging to New age music.

Equipment and musical style[link]

During the 1960s, Blackmore played a Gibson ES-335 but switched to a Fender Stratocaster in 1970. Since then, until formed Blackmore's Night in 1997, he used Stratocasters almost exclusively. The middle pickup is screwed down and not used. Blackmore has also occasionally used a Fender Telecaster Thinline during recording sessions.

From 1970 to 1997, Blackmore almost exclusively played a Fender Stratocaster. He is also one of the first rock guitarists to have used a "scalloped" fretboard where the wood is filed and carved out into a shallow "U" shape between the frets.

In his soloing, Blackmore combines blues scales and phrasing with dominant minor scales and ideas from European classical music. While playing he would often put the pick in his mouth, playing with his fingers. He occasionally uses the diatonic scale, with rapidly changing tonality.

In the 1970s, Blackmore used a number of different Stratocasters; his main guitar (until 1978) was a sunburst with a rosewood fingerboard that was scalloped.^[24] Blackmore added a strap lock to the headstock of this guitar as a conversation piece to annoy and confuse people.^[25]

His amplifers were originally 200W Marshall Major stacks which were modified by Marshall with an additional output stage (generated approximately 278W) to make them sound more like Blackmore's favourite Vox AC-30 amp, cranked to full volume. Since 1994, he has used Engl valve amps. One of the reasons he cited was that the Marshall heads did not sound as good as the Engls at low volume.

Effects he used from 1970 to 1997, besides his usual tape echo, included a Hornby Skewes Treble Booster in the early days. Around late-1973, he experimented with an EMS Synthi Hi Fli guitar synthesizer. He sometimes used a wah-wah pedal and a variable control treble-booster for sustain, and Moog Taurus bass pedals were used in solo parts during concerts. He also had a modified Aiwa TP-1011 tape machine built to supply echo and delay effects; the tape deck was also used as a pre-amp.^[24] Other effects that Blackmore used were a Unicord Univibe, a Dallas Arbiter Fuzz Face and an Octave Divider.

In the mid-1980s he experimented with Roland guitar synthesizers. A Roland GR-700 was seen on stage as late as 1995-96, later replaced with the GR-50.

His strings used from 1970 to 1997 were Picato brand (.010, .011, .014, .026, .038, .048).

Blackmore has experimented with many different pickups in his Strats. In the early Rainbow era, they were still stock Fenders, later Dawk installed overwound, dipped, Fender pickups. He has also used Schecter F-500-Ts, Velvet Hammer "Red Rhodes", DiMarzio "HS-2", OBL "Black Label", Bill Lawrence L-450, XL-250 (bridge), L-250 (neck). He used Seymour Duncan Quarter Pound Flat SSL-4 for several years and since the late 80s he has used Lace Sensor (Gold) "noiseless" pickups.

Personal life[link]

On 18 May 1964, Blackmore married Margit Volkmar (b. 3 Jan 1945) from Germany.^[26] They lived in Hamburg during the late 1960s,^[27] following divorce in 1969. Their son, Jürgen (b. 1964), played guitar in touring tribute band Over the Rainbow. Blackmore married former German dancer, Bärbel, in September 1969^[28][29] until their divorce in early 1970s. As a result, he is a fluent German speaker.^[27]

For tax reasons, he moved to the U.S.A. in 1974. Initially he lived in Oxnard, California, where he lived with American opera singer Shoshana (real name Judith Feinstein) for one year,^[30] so she provided backing vocals on Rainbow's first album. Shortly after Blackmore met Amy Rothman in 1978,^[31] he moved to Connecticut, New England. He married Rothman on 16 May 1981,^[32] but with Blackmore's reluctance to have a child, they divorced in about 1983. Soon after, a relationship with Tammi Williams followed.^[33] In early 1984 Blackmore met Williams in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she was working as hotel employee. In the same year, he purchased his first car because he finally learned to drive a car at 39 years old.^[34]

Blackmore and then-fashion model Candice Night lived together from 1991. He moved on her native Long Island in 1993.^[35] After being engaged for nearly fifteen years,^[36] the couple finally married on October 2008.^[37] Their daughter, Autumn was born on May 2010.^[38][39] He is non-smoker, plays football once a week,^[20] and always watches German language television on the satellite dish when he stays at his home.^[27] Blackmore has a collection of approximately 2,000 CDs of Renaissance music.^[38]

In popular culture[link]

Blackmore was ranked number 16 on Guitar World's "100 Greatest Metal Guitarists of All Time" in 2004,^[40] and number 50 in Rolling Stone magazine's list of the "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" in 2011.^[1]

He is portrayed by Mathew Baynton in the 2009 film Telstar.

Discography[link]

References[link]

Further reading[link]

• Davies, Roy (2002). Rainbow Rising. The Story of Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow. Helter Skelter. 
• Popoff, Martin (2005). Rainbow - English Castle Magic. Metal Blade. 
• Bloom, Jerry (2006). Black Knight - The Ritchie Blackmore Story. Omnibus Press. 

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ritchie Blackmore

• The Official Ritchie Blackmore and Blackmore's Night website
• Ritchie Blackmore at Allmusic
• Ritchie Blackmore at the Internet Movie Database
• The Outlaws - Law & Order (1963)

David Beckham

Personal information
Full name	David Robert Joseph Beckham
Date of birth	(1975-05-02) 2 May 1975 (age 37)
Place of birth	Leytonstone, London, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)[1]
Playing position	Midfielder
Club information
Current club	Los Angeles Galaxy
Number	23
Youth career
	Tottenham Hotspur
	Brimsdown Rovers
1991–1993	Manchester United
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps†	(Gls)†
1993–2003	Manchester United	265	(85)
1995	→ Preston North End (loan)	5	(2)
2003–2007	Real Madrid	116	(14)
2007–	Los Angeles Galaxy	81	(13)
2009	→ Milan (loan)	18	(2)
2010	→ Milan (loan)	11	(0)
National team‡
1992–1993	England U18	3	(0)
1994–1996	England U21	9	(0)
1996–2009	England	115	(17)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 00:30, 14 April 2012. † Appearances (Goals). ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 3 November 2009

David Robert Joseph Beckham, OBE^[2] (born 2 May 1975)^[3] is an English association footballer who plays for Los Angeles Galaxy. He has played for Manchester United, Preston North End, Real Madrid, Milan, and the England national team for which he holds the appearance record for an outfield player.^[4]

Beckham's career began when he signed a professional contract with Manchester United, making his first-team debut in 1992 aged 17.^[5] During his time there, United won the Premier League title six times, the FA Cup twice, and the UEFA Champions League in 1999.^[5] He left Manchester United to sign for Real Madrid in 2003, where he remained for four seasons,^[6] clinching the La Liga championship in his final season with the club.^[7] In January 2007, it was announced that Beckham would leave Real Madrid for the Major League Soccer club Los Angeles Galaxy,^[8] signing a five-year contract with them on 1 July 2007. While a Galaxy player, he spent two loan spells in Italy with Milan in 2009 and 2010. On 20 November 2011, he joined an elite group of players to have won three league titles in three different countries, when Los Angeles won their third MLS Cup.^[9]

In international football, Beckham made his England debut on 1 September 1996, at the age of 21. He was made captain from 15 November 2000^[10] until the 2006 FIFA World Cup finals,^[11] during which he played 58 times. He earned a much-publicised hundredth cap against France on 26 March 2008,^[12] and became the all-time outfield player appearance record holder on 28 March 2009 when he surpassed Bobby Moore's total of 108 caps.^[4] With 115 career appearances to date, he has stated that he does not intend to retire from international football. Having missed the 2010 World Cup through injury, Beckham has not played for England since 14 October 2009.^[13]

Beckham has twice been runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year^[5] and in 2004 was the world's highest-paid footballer when taking into account salary and advertising deals.^[14] Beckham was the first British footballer to play 100 Champions League matches.^[5] He is third in the Premier League's all time time assist provider chart, with 152 assists in 265 appearances.^[15] When joining the MLS in 2007 he was given the highest player salary in the league's history, with his playing contract with the Galaxy over the next three years being worth US$6.5m per year.^{[16][17][18][19]}

He is married to Victoria Beckham and they have four children, Brooklyn Joseph, Romeo James, Cruz David, and Harper Seven. As of 2009, the couple's joint wealth is estimated at £125 million.^[20]

Club career[link]

Childhood and early career[link]

Beckham was born at Whipps Cross University Hospital in Leytonstone, London, England.^[21] He is the son of Sandra Georgina (née West) (b. 1949), a hairdresser, and David Edward Alan "Ted" Beckham (b. Edmonton, London, July–September 1948), a kitchen fitter, who married at the London Borough of Hackney in 1969,^[22][23] He regularly played football in Ridgeway Park, Chingford, as a child, and attended Chase Lane Primary School and Chingford Foundation School.^[24] In a 2007 interview, Beckham said that, "At school whenever the teachers asked, 'What do you want to do when you're older?' I'd say, 'I want to be a footballer.' And they'd say, 'No, what do you really want to do, for a job?' But that was the only thing I ever wanted to do."^[25] Beckham's maternal grandfather was Jewish,^[26] and Beckham has referred to himself as "half Jewish"^[27] and wrote in his autobiography "I've probably had more contact with Judaism than with any other religion".^[28] In his book Both Feet on the Ground, he stated that growing up he attended church every week with his parents and his older sister, Lynne Georgina and younger sister, Joanne Louise.^[29][30]

His parents were fanatical Manchester United supporters who would frequently travel to Old Trafford from London to attend the team's home matches. David inherited his parents' love of Manchester United, and his main sporting passion was football. He attended one of Bobby Charlton's football schools in Manchester and won the chance to take part in a training session at FC Barcelona, as part of a talent competition. He played for a local youth team called the Ridgeway Rovers – coached by his father, Stuart Underwood and Steve Kirby. Beckham was a Manchester United mascot for a match against West Ham United in 1986. Young Beckham had trials with his local club Leyton Orient, Norwich City and attended Tottenham Hotspur's school of excellence. Tottenham Hotspur was the first club he played for. During a two-year period in which Beckham played for Brimsdown Rovers' youth team, he was named Under-15 Player of the Year in 1990.^[31] He also attended Bradenton Preparatory Academy, but signed schoolboy forms at Manchester United on his fourteenth birthday, and subsequently signed a Youth Training Scheme contract on 8 July 1991.

Manchester United[link]

Beckham was part of a group of young players at the club who guided the club to win the FA Youth Cup in May 1992, with Beckham scoring in the second leg^[32] of the final against Crystal Palace. He made his first appearance for United's first-team that year, as a substitute in a League Cup match against Brighton & Hove Albion, and signed his first professional contract shortly afterwards. United reached the final of the Youth Cup again the following year, with Beckham playing in their defeat by Leeds United, and he won another medal in 1994 when the club's reserve team won their league, although he did not play in any first team games that season.

On 7 December 1994, Beckham made his UEFA Champions League debut, scoring a goal in a 4–0 victory at home to Galatasaray in the final game of the group stage. However, this victory was of little use as they finished third out of four in their group behind FC Barcelona on goal difference.

He then went to Preston North End on loan for part of the 1994–95 season to get some first team experience. He impressed, scoring two goals in five appearances, notably scoring directly from a corner kick.^[33] Beckham returned to Manchester and finally made his Premier League debut for Manchester United on 2 April 1995, in a goal-less draw against Leeds United. He played four times for United in the league that season, as they finished second behind Blackburn Rovers and missed a third successive Premier League title by a single point. He was not in the squad for United's FA Cup final clash with Everton on 20 May, which they lost 1–0 and were left without a major trophy for the first time since 1989.

United manager Sir Alex Ferguson had a great deal of confidence in the club's young players. Beckham was part of a group of young talents Ferguson brought in to United in the 1990s (known as "Fergie's Fledglings"), which included Nicky Butt and Gary and Phil Neville. When experienced players Paul Ince, Mark Hughes, and Andrei Kanchelskis left the club after the end of the 1994–95 season, his decision to let youth team players replace them instead of buying star players from other clubs (United had been linked with moves for players including Darren Anderton, Marc Overmars, and Roberto Baggio, but no major signings were made that summer), drew a great deal of criticism. The criticism increased when United started the season with a 3–1 defeat at Aston Villa,^[34] with Beckham scoring United's only goal of the game; however, United won their next five matches and the young players performed well.

Beckham swiftly established himself as United's right-sided midfielder (rather than a right-winger in the style of his predecessor Andrei Kanchelskis) and helped them to win the Premier League title and FA Cup double that season, scoring the winner in the semi-final against Chelsea and also provided the corner that Eric Cantona scored from in the FA Cup Final. Beckham's first title medal had, for a while, looked like it would not be coming that season, as United were still 10 points adrift of leaders Newcastle United at the turn of the new year, but Beckham and his team-mates had overhauled the Tynesiders at the top of the league by mid March and they remained top until the end of the season.

Despite playing regularly (and to a consistently high standard) for Manchester United, Beckham did not break into the England squad before Euro 96.^[35]

At the beginning of the 1996–97 season David Beckham was given the number 10 shirt that had most recently been worn by Mark Hughes. On 17 August 1996 (the first day of the Premier League season), Beckham became something of a household name when he scored a spectacular goal in a match against Wimbledon. With United leading 2–0, Beckham noticed that Wimbledon's goalkeeper Neil Sullivan was standing a long way out of his goal, and hit a shot from the halfway line that floated over the goalkeeper and into the net.^[36] When Beckham scored his famous goal, he did so in shoes custom-made for Charlie Miller ("Charlie" embroidered on boots), which had been given to Beckham by mistake.^[37] In a UK poll conducted by Channel 4 in 2002, the British public voted the goal No.18 in the list of the 100 Greatest Sporting Moments.^[38] During the 1996–97 season, he became an automatic first-choice player at United helping them to retain the Premier League championship, and being voted PFA Young Player of the Year by his peers.^[39]

On 18 May 1997, Eric Cantona retired as a player and left the coveted number 7 shirt free, and with Teddy Sheringham arriving from Tottenham Hotspur as Cantona's successor, Beckham left his number 10 shirt for Sheringham and picked up the number 7 jersey. Some fans had felt the number 7 shirt should be retired after Cantona had himself retired, but the shirt number remains in use to this day (most recently by another England star Michael Owen).

United started the 1997–98 season well but erratic performances in the second half of the season saw United finish second behind Arsenal.^[40]

In the 1998–99 season, he was part of the United team that won The Treble of the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League, a unique feat in English football. There had been speculation that the criticism that he had received after being sent off in the World Cup would lead to him leaving England, but he decided to stay at Manchester United.

To ensure they would win the Premier League title, United needed to win their final league match of the season, at home to Tottenham Hotspur (with reports suggesting that the opposition would allow themselves to be easily beaten to prevent their deadly local rivals Arsenal from retaining the title), but Tottenham took an early lead in the match. Beckham scored the equaliser and United went on to win the match and the league.

Beckham played centre-midfield in United's win over Bayern Munich in the 1999 UEFA Champions League Final, since United's first string centre-midfielders Paul Scholes and Roy Keane were suspended for the match. United were losing the match 1–0 at the end of normal time, but won the trophy by scoring two goals in injury time. Both of the goals came from corners taken by Beckham. Those crucial assists, coupled with great performances over the rest of the season, led to him finishing runner up to Rivaldo for 1999's European Footballer of the Year and FIFA World Player of the Year awards.

Beckham in a match against Bristol Rovers

Despite Beckham's achievements in the 1998–99 season, he was still unpopular among some opposition fans and journalists, and he was criticised after being sent off for a deliberate foul in Manchester United's World Club Championship match against Necaxa. It was suggested in the press that his wife was a bad influence on him, and that it might be in United's interests to sell him,^[41] but his manager publicly backed him and he stayed at the club. During the 1999–2000 season, there was a talk of a transfer to Juventus in Italy, but this never happened.

By the early 2000s, the relationship between Ferguson and Beckham had begun to deteriorate, possibly as a result of Beckham's fame and commitments away from football. In 2000, Beckham was given permission to miss training to look after his son Brooklyn, who had gastroenteritis, but Ferguson was furious when Victoria Beckham was photographed at a London Fashion Week event on the same night, claiming that Beckham would have been able to train if Victoria had looked after Brooklyn that day. He responded by fining Beckham the maximum amount that was permitted (two weeks' wages – then £50,000) and dropping him for a crucial match against United's rivals Leeds United. He later criticised Beckham for this in his autobiography, claiming he had not been "fair to his teammates"^[42] Beckham had a good season for his club, though, and helped United to win the Premier League by a record margin.

"He was never a problem until he got married. He used to go into work with the academy coaches at night time, he was a fantastic young lad. Getting married into that entertainment scene was a difficult thing – from that moment, his life was never going to be the same. He is such a big celebrity, football is only a small part."' – Alex Ferguson speaking about Beckham's marriage in 2007.^[43]

Beckham helped United retain the Premier League title in 1999–2000 by an 18-point margin – after being pushed by Arsenal and Leeds United for much of the season, United won their final 11 league games of the season, with Beckham scoring five goals during this fantastic run of form. He managed six league goals that season, and scored eight goals in all competitions.

He was a key player in United's third successive league title in 2000–01 – only the fourth time that any club had achieved three league titles in a row. He scored nine goals that season, all in the Premier League.

On 10 April 2002, Beckham was injured during a Champions League match against Deportivo La Coruña, breaking the second metatarsal bone in his left foot. There was speculation in the British media that the injury might have been caused deliberately, as the player who had injured Beckham was Argentine Aldo Duscher, and England and Argentina were due to meet in that year's World Cup.^[44] The injury prevented Beckham from playing for United for the rest of the season and they missed out on the Premier League title to Arsenal (also being knocked out of the European Cup by Bayer Leverkusen on away goals in the semi-finals), but he signed a three-year contract in May, following months of negotiations with the club, mostly concerning extra payments for his image rights. The income from his new contract, and his many endorsement deals, made him the highest-paid player in the world at the time.^[45]