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In a surprising turn of events, legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore took the stage with Deep Purple on Wednesday night at Jones Beach in New York, marking their first performance together in over three decades. The reunion came after a bitter split in the early 1990s that had left many fans believing such a moment would never occur.
Blackmore, 81, had teased the appearance during a podcast conversation with his wife the previous evening, revealing he hadn’t played rock music in 25 years and had only recently changed the strings on his guitar in preparation for the show. The founding member explained that vocalist Ian Gillan had reached out to gauge his interest in joining for an encore performance, an invitation he enthusiastically accepted despite his rustiness with the genre.
The guitarist’s cameo featured a rendition of Deep Purple’s signature song “Smoke on the Water.” Following the performance, Gillan publicly praised Blackmore on stage, welcoming back “the immortal Ritchie Blackmore” and calling the experience a pleasure. Blackmore had notably skipped the band’s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2016 after learning the current lineup would not reunite with him.
Since leaving Deep Purple in 1993, Blackmore had shifted his musical direction toward folk-rock through his project Blackmore’s Night, which features his wife as vocalist. The unexpected collaboration demonstrates a significant thaw in relations between the longtime estranged bandmates.
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Originally reported by Variety →
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