Deep Purple fans were thrilled to see Ritchie Blackmore back with his Deep Purple band mates in New York on Wednesday. This sees the first time the iconic founding guitarist has played with the band since his split from them in the early ‘90s.
While most fans had probably given up hope of seeing the band share the stage again, Blackmore was back. “It’s gonna be interesting,” Blackmore, 81, said in a podcast when announcing the show, adding, “I have not played rock music in 25 years.”
Blackmore has been estranged from Deep Purple since the ‘90s, but all was forgiven when the guitarist rejoined his band mates for a rendition of the group’s most popular song, “Smoke on the Water.”
Deep Purple reunites for ‘Smoke On The Water’
Following the band’s performance of “Smoke on the Water” on Wednesday, Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan praised his former band mate. As he left the stage, Gillan said, “A couple of days ago I got a message from a local lad, saying ‘I only live around the corner, do you mind if I come and jam with you?’ It was an absolute pleasure to have back on stage the founding member, the great legend, the immortal Ritchie Blackmore. Thanks, Ritchie. i have to say, it was a great pleasure. I’ll see you in the bar.”
Readers can watch the band perform “Smoke on the Water” here:
It wasn’t a total surprise for some fans, after the iconic guitarist opened up in a livestream with his wife, singer Candice Night, the evening before the gig. Blackmore added in the Tuesday podcast that he wanted his fans to know in advance, after they have waited for this to happen for decades. He wanted them to at least have a chance to make it to New York in time for the show.
What happened with Ritchie Blackmore and Deep Purple?
As noted by Guitar Player, Blackmore, who co-founded the band in 1968, had a fallout with his fellow band members in 1993 that saw him leave the lineup for a second and last time. The fallout was serious enough that Ritchie didn’t appear on the band’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2016. He was told that the currently touring lineup, including three original members in Gillan, bassist Roger Glover and drummer Ian Paice would not reunite with him under any circumstances, even for a one-off performance.
It was no doubt a surprise when Gillan received a message asking if Blackmore could join them on stage for one last time. It turns out other Deep Purple members were agreeable with the idea after so much water has gone under the bridge.
“it is a secret and i don’t want anybody to know, but I’m probably going to go up and do an encore with the band, Deep Purple,” Blackmore said around eight minutes into the livestream with his wife, Candice. “But you can’t tell anybody, and I know this will be kept a secret. won’t it?” the guitarist joked, while knowing the news was quickly doing the rounds of hard rock fans.
Speaking of the unexpected reunion, Blackmore said:
“I sent my AI pigeon to Ian Gillan in Portugal, where he lives at the moment, and I said, ‘How would you feel if I got up just for an encore on one of the songs. Don’t want to intrude.’ And I said, ‘No pressure, just kind of old times’ sake.’ You know, I’m 81 now. So (Gillan) seemed to like the idea, put it to the band, got a thumbs up, and it looks like we might be doing that.”
Meanwhile, the guitarist did admit he wasn’t really in practice for the performance of “Smoke on the Water.” He mentioned how his musical focus has changed since 1993 as he moved to a gentle brand of folk-rock with Blackmore’s Night, the band fronted by his wife, Candice.
The guitarist admitted he was hardly in practice for a performance with Deep Purple, given the drift in his musical focus since 1993, as he moved on to gentler brand of folk-rock with Blackmore’s Night, the band fronted by his wife.
“I changed my strings on my Strat, which i haven’t done in over 25 years,” he revealed. “It’s kind of frightening. I haven’t played rock in 25 years. I’ve been playing acoustic guitar for 25 years. And at first I was very uncomfortable playing (acoustic guitar), but i got used to it, and now I’m more used to playing the acoustic, more so than the electric.”
At the age of 81, Blackmore did admit be needed some medical guidance to help him perform the iconic hit, “Smoke on the Water.”
“I did have my injection in my lumbar area yesterday,” he said on the podcast. “it’s a special injection i have that enables me to stand in one spot, because if I’m playing a Strat, i have a hard time. I have four herniated discs, if anybody wants them. And I had my injection yesterday of a steroid which helps me get through standing on stage. But I have kind of a stool there, just in case I start toppling over or something.”
The announcement of his reunion with the band concluded with, “I hope people enjoy it. It will be good to see the old guys again.”
Meanwhile, fans were thrilled to experience the reunion of Deep Purple with Perrin Wolfson and Jimmy Kay of the Metal Voice podcast confirming the news. “History has been made,” Wolfson and Kay said as “Smoke in the Water” was played by the band, adding. “I feel like we just walked on the moon.”
