Yngwie Malmsteen shared his first reaction to Ritchie Blackmore recently joining his former band Deep Purple on live stage for the first time in more than three decades, in comments shared via eonmusic.co.uk.
Blackmore was one of Malmsteen’s early influences. The guitarist was asked what he made of Blackmore’s recent return to perform with Deep Purple.
Question: “Ritchie Blackmore was one of your early influences. What did you make of him recently playing with Deep Purple again?”
“I think it was beautiful. I think it’s great,” Malmsteen said. “I’m really happy that he did it, and best to him and to the rest of the guys too.”
“I actually did a tour with Deep Purple back in 2009, and I went up and did ‘Smoke on the Water’ with them. Roger Glover and Ian Paice were there, and John Lord happened to be in town – Tokyo – that day, so yeah, it was pretty sick. I enjoyed that. They’re great. I’m glad that they’re keeping it up. It’s good.”
Malmsteen made these comments following Blackmore’s appearance with Deep Purple at the band’s headlining concert on August 12 at the Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York. The reunion marked Blackmore’s first time performing with the band on stage in more than thirty years.
Blackmore had last played with Deep Purple in November 1993 before leaving the band. The August 12, 2026 reunion marked his return after 33 years away from the group. The reunion came as a surprise after decades of conflict between Blackmore and the other members had made any reconciliation seem unlikely.
The path to the reunion was not straightforward. When Deep Purple was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, tensions remained high, and Blackmore did not perform with the band at the ceremony. However, over time the barriers began to ease. Blackmore explained that he reached out to Ian Gillan about joining for an encore, saying he did not want to intrude on the performance. The emotional weight of the reunion was significant for Blackmore, who had not seen his former bandmates in 40 years.
Malmsteen’s admiration for Blackmore has deep roots. When Malmsteen was eight years old, Blackmore was the only guitar player he knew. Malmsteen spent long hours practicing to learn the music of Deep Purple and other bands influenced by Blackmore’s playing. His 2009 tour with Deep Purple in Japan allowed Malmsteen to perform alongside the band and share the stage with keyboardist Jon Lord, cementing his connection to the musicians who inspired him as a young guitarist.
