Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan opened up about Ritchie Blackmore’s surprise reunion with the band. The one-off reunion took place during the band’s headlining concert on August 12 at the Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York. It marked the first time Gillan and Blackmore had shared a stage in more than three decades.
Gillan described how the reunion came together and reflected on how it felt to reconnect with his former bandmate after so many years apart.
“I think it was lovely. It was fantastic. We’ve been in touch, Ritchie and I, for a few years now, and a lot of water’s gone under the bridge. I don’t like using clichés, but that’s a very apt one for this,” Gillan said.
He then explained how Blackmore first proposed the idea and how the moment unfolded on stage.
“[Ritchie] wrote me a nice letter a few days before we got to New York and said, ‘Would it be all right, do you think? What do you reckon if I step up in smoke?’ So I said, ‘Yeah, of course.’ It brought an instant smile to my face. I thought, ‘Well, of course it would be wonderful. It’d be fantastic.’ So, we set up. And he only lives around the corner from Jones Beach, on Long Island, so it was just great when he stepped on the stage, that magic moment. And it’s been a long time.”
Gillan went on to describe the atmosphere backstage after the performance.
“And you kind of forget everyone out there when we’ve mended all of those problems ourselves. But, of course, not everyone is aware of that. So it was a wonderfully warm feeling. And we had a few drinks in the dressing room backstage afterwards. And I think he went home a bit tiddly. But it was great — really a magic moment.”
Gillan reflected more broadly on band dynamics and the passage of time. He compared the group’s history to a familiar pop-culture reference.
“Life goes through so many different phases, and you can’t really allow all these problems to continue to exist. They become destructive forces in their own right then. We’ve grown out of all that. Did you ever see ‘Spinal Tap’? Well, it was like that for most of us, including The Beatles and everyone else. When you get four or five guys in their late teens or early 20s, form a band and go out on the road, there’s a camaraderie and a unit there that almost makes them inseparable, and it gives them a great power and identity.”
He concluded by discussing the pressures that come with fame and how they can strain relationships within a band over time.
“But as things become enlarged, you get into contact with the real world and a larger world, a lot of outside play comes into force. And human chemistry is the most complex of all the sciences, so we can’t cater for it. We can’t see it coming because we’re young, and then you’ve gotta cope with stuff that you never did before, and it’s critical. So when things go wrong, but that doesn’t mean to say they have to stay that way. So as the years go by, you put it all behind you.”
Blackmore’s appearance at Jones Beach marked his first performance with Deep Purple in 33 years, dating back to his departure from the band in November 1993. His exit came amid mounting frustration over the band’s direction during the The Battle Rages On… era. Tensions built until his final official show with the group in Helsinki that same month.
Blackmore joined Gillan, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, Don Airey and Simon McBride on stage during the encore at Jones Beach for a performance of “Smoke on the Water,” the band’s signature anthem and one of rock’s most recognizable riffs. The moment drew an emotional response from fans in attendance and from those watching footage of the reunion online in the days that followed.
Blackmore himself later spoke about the significance of the night. He offered a rare glimpse into his own feelings about stepping back on stage with the band after more than three decades apart.
“I think we realized it could be the last time we see each other,” Blackmore said. His words captured the bittersweet nature of a reunion decades in the making.
The performance stands as a rare moment of reconciliation between two musicians whose split once defined one of rock’s most talked-about band breakups. It offers fans a glimpse of what once made Deep Purple’s original lineup so enduring.
