{"id":5822,"date":"2026-08-13T04:36:40","date_gmt":"2026-08-13T04:36:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=5822"},"modified":"2026-08-13T04:36:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T04:36:40","slug":"ritchie-blackmore-performs-with-deep-purple-for-first-time-since-acrimonious-split-in-early-90s-after-warning-fans-i-have-not-played-rock-music-in-25-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=5822","title":{"rendered":"Ritchie Blackmore Performs With Deep Purple for First Time Since Acrimonious Split in Early \u201990s, After Warning Fans: \u2018I Have Not Played Rock Music in 25 Years\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tMost Deep Purple fans had long since given up any hope of seeing the band ever share a stage with founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore again, due to a well-know, decades-long estrangement. But that\u2019s exactly what took place near the end of the group\u2019s show Wednesday night at Jones Beach in New York, as hatchets were buried and Blackmore rejoined his old mates for a rendition of the group\u2019s most famous song, \u201cSmoke on the Water.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Andreas Dresen, Doris D\u00f6rrie Films to World Premiere at Zurich Film Festival<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cIt\u2019s gonna be interesting,\u201d Blackmore said in a podcast appearance the night before the show, in which the 81-year-old guitar legend leaked news of his imminent appearance. \u201ci have not played rock music in 25 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tAt the conclusion of \u201cSmoke in the Water\u201d Wednesday night, singer Ian Gillan showered praise on his ex-bandmate before he left the stage. \u201cA couple of days ago I got a message from a local lad\u2026 saying \u2018I only live around the corner, do you mind if I come and jam with you?\u2019 It was an absolute pleasure to have back on stage the founding member, the great legend,\u201dthe immortal Ritchie Blackmore. Thanks, Ritchie. i have to say, it was a great pleasure. I\u2019ll see you in the bar.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tProbably few in the audience were taken by complete surprise by Blackmore\u2019s cameo, since the guitarist had spilled some of the beans in a livestream with his wife the night before the Jones Beach gig. Blackmore said on Tuesday\u2019s live podcast that he was revealing the secret in advance because he wanted fans who had waited for this moment for decades to at least have a shot at making it to New York in time for Wednesday\u2019s show.<\/p>\n

\n\tRitchmore, who co-founded Deep Purple in 1968, had a fallout with other members in 1993 that resulted in him leaving the lineup in 1993 for the second and last time. The fallout was bad enough that Ritchmore did not show up at the band\u2019s Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction in 2016, after being told that the currently touring lineup \u2014 which still includes three original or near-original members in Gillan, drummer Ian Paice and bassist Roger Glover \u2014 would not reunite with him under any circumstances, even for a short, one-off performance at the ceremony.<\/p>\n

\n\tSo hell seemed to have frozen over when Gillan recently sent a message gingerly asking if he could come up on stage for one number at a tour date\u2026 and the band proved surprisingly agreeable to that notion, after so much water under the bridge.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cit is a secret and i don\u2019t want anybody to know, but I\u2019m probably going to go up and do an encore with the band, Deep Purple,\u201d Blackmore blurted about eight minutes into the livestream with his wife, Candice Night. \u201cBut you can\u2019t tell anybody, and I know this will be kept a secret. won\u2019t it?\u201d he joked, even as the web lit up with the news quickly being spread among hard rock buffs.<\/p>\n

\n\tBlackmore explained the genesis of this unexpected reunion: \u201cI sent my AI pigeon to Ian Gillan in Portugal, where he lives at the moment, and I said, \u2018How would you feel if I got up just for an encore on one of the songs. Don\u2019t want to intrude.\u2019 And I said, \u2018No pressure, just kind of old times\u2019 sake.\u2019 You know, I\u2019m 81 now. So (Gillan) seemed to li0e the idea, put it to the band, got a thumbs up, and it looks like we might be doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more As \u2018The Comeback\u2019 and \u2018Hacks\u2019 End, Valerie Cherish and Deborah Vance Are Emmy Competitors for the First and Last Time<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tBlackmore 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. <\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI changed my strings on my Strat, which i haven\u2019t done in over 25 years,\u201d he revealed. \u201cI\u2019s kind of frightening. I haven\u2019t played rock in 25 years. I\u2019ve 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\u2019m more used to playing the acoustic, more so than the electric.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHe said he needed some medical assistance in being able to withstand \u201cSmoke on the Water.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI did have my injection in my lumbar area yesterday,\u201d he explained on the podcast, of needing a steroid shot. \u201cit\u2019s a special injection i have that enables me to stand in one spot, because if I\u2019m playing a Strat, i have a hard time\u2026 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tOf his reasons for giving fans 24 hours\u2019 notice, he said he \u201cwanted to warn the people living in Romania, so they could fly over\u2026 Not really. I just thought it might be an idea to let a few people know because I think a lot of people would like to see that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tHis announcement of sitting in with the group concluded with the thoughts: \u201cI hope people enjoy it.\u201d And: \u201cit will be good to see the old guys again.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tFans from afar turned to the web to look for footage of the show. Perrin Wolfson and Jimmy Kay of the Metal Voice podcast livestreame through the latter part of Deep Purple\u2019s set, waiting for confirmation that it had gone down, and putting up photos and video that were shared with them from inside the show. \u201cHistory has been made,\u201d Wolfson and Kay crowed as they first got word \u201cSmoke in the Water\u201d was in progress with Blackmore aboard. \u201cI feel like we just walked on the moon.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more \u2018Reacher\u2019 Season 4 Cast Guide: Who\u2019s Who in the Prime Video Action Series<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ritchie Blackmore joined Deep Purple for the first time since 1993, playing ‘Smoke on the Water,’ as fans relished a seemiing end to the estrangement.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5821,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[33],"tags":[4539,4540],"class_list":["post-5822","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-music","tag-deep-purple","tag-ritchie-blackmore"],"yoast_head":"\nRitchie Blackmore Performs With Deep Purple for First Time Since Acrimonious Split in Early \u201990s, After Warning Fans: \u2018I Have Not Played Rock Music in 25 Years\u2019 - Relocation Observer<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/relocationobserver.com\/?p=5822\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ritchie Blackmore Performs With Deep Purple for First Time Since Acrimonious Split in Early \u201990s, After Warning Fans: \u2018I Have Not Played Rock Music in 25 Years\u2019 - 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