Ritchie Blackmore recently opened up about his surprise reunion with Deep Purple at Jones Beach, addressing his past feud with frontman Ian Gillan.
The guitarist described how emotional it was to step on stage with little preparation. He noted that the moment was less about performing flawlessly and more about reconnecting with old friends after four decades apart.
“It was very moving because I went on very quickly and had to play immediately,” Blackmore said. “I couldn’t warm up, but I wasn’t there to be playing correct notes. I was there to see old friends. I hadn’t seen in 40 years and were all getting older. I think we realized it could be the last time we see each other, maybe.”
Blackmore went on to explain what led him to reach out to Gillan and how the plan for the reunion came together.
“I woke up one morning thinking, the day before their show, ‘You know it would be good for the fans if I just got up for one song, probably ‘Smoke’ and just show that were not at each other’s throats and don’t hate each other,” he continued. “Candice, my wife, got me in touch with Ian Gillan and I said, ‘What do you think about me getting up for ‘Smoke?’ His exact words were, ‘It made me smile.’ He then put it to the band and it was thumbs-up all around.”
Blackmore also looked back on the roots of their past tensions. He acknowledged the personalities that once clashed between them.
“We’re two alpha guys,” he said. “I’m used to running a band, and I think he’s used to running a band. So we clashed in the old days. But all that [has] changed.”
Blackmore and Gillan were both central figures in the band’s classic Mark II lineup. That lineup came together in 1969 when Gillan and bassist Roger Glover joined the group, replacing original members Rod Evans and Nick Simper. It became Deep Purple’s most successful and enduring lineup, producing the songs that would define the band’s legacy, including “Smoke on the Water” itself.
Their partnership was never a smooth one, however. It eventually fractured under the weight of two strong-willed personalities used to leading their own projects. The pair worked together again in 1984 when the Mark II lineup reunited for the album “Perfect Strangers.” However, the reconciliation proved short-lived. Gillan was fired from the band in 1989. Blackmore departed for good in 1993, closing the door on what had been their final stretch together in Deep Purple.
That 1993 exit made the guitarist’s return to the stage at Jones Beach all the more important. The August 12 performance marked the first time Blackmore had played with Deep Purple in 33 years. That gap spanned more than three decades of separation, competing musical projects, and, by his own admission, plenty of friction between the two men.
