Glenn Hughes recently sat down with Classic Rock and talked about his Deep Purple times, his departure from Dead Daisies, and how his former bandmate almost made him join a new band. When he was asked when was the last time he saw Ritchie Blackmore, Glenn answered:
“Face to face, it would have been a long time ago. But we never had a falling out.”
Hughes also revealed Ritchie’s proposal six years ago, and how he responded to him:
“He did ask me to join Rainbow six years ago. The night before I was leaving, Carole [Stevens, Blackmore’s manager and mother-in-law] called to say they had found a singer who also played bass. I had wanted to go to New York and have lunch with Ritchie, look him in the eye and give him a hug, but I didn’t fancy playing bass behind an unknown singer… again. So I didn’t go.”
Hughes shared his thoughts regarding ‘Burn,’ which he helped the recording process almost immediately after he joined Deep Purple, and mentioned that he associates the album with ‘freshness’:
“I had joined the band from Trapeze, and then David [Coverdale] joined seven weeks later. Everything felt brand new. There was a sense of chumminess and back-slapping. Even [Ritchie] Blackmore was a part of that. It felt very cool.”
Glenn also explained the process of him leaving the supergroup Dead Daisies, and focusing on his work with Joe Bonamassa in Black Country Communion:
“After meeting David Lowy [band leader and guitarist] in the spring of 2019, I agreed to come on board. I approached things with the Dead Daisies one song a time, one album at a time, one year at a time. But then the pandemic came and I started missing my own band and my own music. I was still happy with David Lowy, who I consider a very good man, but at the tail end of last year my manager began receiving offers for these legacy shows around ‘Burn’ – really good offers – so I took them.”
Glenn Hughes joined Deep Purple in 1973 to replace Roger Glover, and ever since, he has worked with various groups and artists, from Black Sabbath to Phenomena and Gary Moore. In 2009, he formed Black Country Communion with Joe Bonamassa and joined The Dead Daisies in 2019.
Ritchie Blackmore initially wanted to pursue a solo career after he left Deep Purple. However, he formed Rainbow in 1975, with Dio as the vocalist. Although it was supposed to be a one-time-collaboration, Rainbow turned into a band that embarks tours, and gives live performances.
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