{"id":1154150,"date":"2026-08-17T18:34:16","date_gmt":"2026-08-17T18:34:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1154150\/"},"modified":"2026-08-17T18:34:16","modified_gmt":"2026-08-17T18:34:16","slug":"ritchie-blackmore-on-deep-purple-reunion-it-could-be-the-last-time","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/1154150\/","title":{"rendered":"Ritchie Blackmore on Deep Purple Reunion: ‘It Could Be the Last Time’"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tDeep Purple<\/a> fans are still processing the band\u2019s shocking reunion with founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore<\/a> at Jones Beach on Long Island, New York, on Aug. 12. And in a new interview with Guitar Player,<\/a> Blackmore reveals it was an equally intense experience for himself.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt was very moving because I went on very quickly and had to play immediately,\u201d Blackmore said. \u201cI couldn\u2019t warm up, but I wasn\u2019t there to be playing correct notes. I was there to see old friends. I hadn\u2019t seen [them] in 40 years, and we\u2019re all getting older. I think we realized it could be the last time we see each other, maybe.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBlackmore hadn\u2019t played with Deep Purple since November 1993 when he left the band acrimoniously<\/a> and the band shot down any chance of a reunion in subsequent years. \u201cIt would be unconscionable to think about bringing Ritchie in,\u201d Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan told Rolling Stone in 2014<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t have an issue with Ritchie, nor does anyone. I\u2019ve been in touch with Ritchie recently and everything\u2019s cool, so there\u2019s no bitter, personal problem. We\u2019re too old for that and everything\u2019s in the past, but no. That would be out of the question.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tGillan and the other members of Deep Purple remained steadfast in this position even when the band was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame two years later, and Blackmore hoped to play at least one song with them at the ceremony. \u201cWe have to accept that there are personalities that don\u2019t see eye-to-eye in our history,\u201d drummer Ian Paice told Rolling Stone that year.<\/a> \u201cPrecedence must now go to the guys that are still working the name and keeping it alive. Their choice is final.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tBlackmore wound up sitting out the entire Hall of Fame ceremony when he learned the band wouldn\u2019t perform with him, and there wasn\u2019t even a hint their position had changed over the past decade. That\u2019s why it was so shocking when Blackmore announced via Instagram<\/a> on Aug. 11 that he\u2019d be playing with Deep Purple the following evening. \u201cIt\u2019ll be good to see the old guys again,\u201d Blackmore said. \u201cI think we\u2019ll all be on crutches and wheelchairs and things, although I think the rest of them are okay.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tEditor\u2019s picks<\/p>\n

\n\tIn the new interview with Guitar Player, Blackmore revealed how it came about. \u201cI woke up one morning thinking, the day before their show, \u2018You know it would be good for the fans if I just got up for one song, probably \u2018Smoke,\u2019 and just show that we\u2019re not at each other\u2019s throats and don\u2019t hate each other,\u2019\u201d he said. \u201cCandice, my wife, got me in touch with Ian Gillan, and I said, \u2018What do you think about me getting up for \u2018Smoke?\u2019 His exact words were, \u2018It made me smile.\u2019 He then put it to the band and it was thumbs-up all around.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

\n\tBlackmore has largely played acoustic guitar in recent years on tours with his group Blackmore\u2019s Night, and he suffered a heart attack last year that left him unable to play the instrument for several months. And even though Deep Purple played many Blackmore-era songs at Jones Beach, he only came out for \u201cSmoke on the Water.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI had my misgivings at first, as I didn\u2019t know if I would be heard or too quiet or whatever,\u201d he said. \u201cI could see the guitarist [Simon McBride], who is very good, had a big amplifier, and I thought I\u2019ll just bring a 50-watt amp, but luckily it all worked \u2026 It was tricky; I didn\u2019t play anything too technical, as I felt I should stick to the rudiments of being simple. I still lost my place at one point, but it\u2019s not why I was there. I was there to heal any wounds \u2014 but there weren\u2019t any wounds. Everyone was like we were in the army, all along the Western Front and we were all getting together again. Very emotional moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\tTrending Stories<\/p>\n

\n\tHe played a Strat that he hadn\u2019t touched since the Eighties. \u201cI changed the strings and practiced a little bit,\u201d he said. \u201cI haven\u2019t played a Strat properly for 30 years; I\u2019ve done the occasional solo but I usually play acoustics around the house. I use my right hand for fingerpicking with long nails, but playing the Strat I have to play with a plectrum and have very short nails. A whole different technique.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tDeep Purple fans are surely hoping this will lead to a reunion tour, though it\u2019s most likely a one-off event. But it did heal some old wounds. \u201cWhat a pleasure it was to welcome Ritchie Blackmore on stage with us to play Smoke last night,\u201d Gallant posted online after the show. \u201cThanks Ritchie, that meant a lot to many people; not least me.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Deep Purple fans are still processing the band\u2019s shocking reunion with founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore at Jones Beach…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1154151,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3936],"tags":[7054,77,269,16,15],"class_list":["post-1154150","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-deep-purple","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117112292423399321","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154150","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1154150"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1154150\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1154151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1154150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1154150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1154150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}