‘It Could be the Last Time’

Deep Purple fans are still processing the band’s shocking reunion with founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore at Jones Beach in Long Island, New York, on August 12. And in a new interview with Guitar Player, Blackmore reveals it was an equally intense experience for himself.

“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 [them] in 40 years and we’re all getting older. I think we realized it could be the last time we see each other, maybe.”

Blackmore hadn’t played with Deep Purple since November 1993 when he left the band acrimoniously and the band shot down any chance of a reunion in subsequent years. “It would be unconscionable to think about bringing Ritchie in,” Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan told Rolling Stone in 2014. “I don’t have an issue with Ritchie, nor does anyone. I’ve been in touch with Ritchie recently and everything’s cool, so there’s no bitter, personal problem. We’re too old for that and everything’s in the past, but no. That would be out of the question.”

Gillan and the other members of Deep Purple remained steadfast in this position even when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame two years later, and Blackmore hoped to play at least one song with them at the ceremony. “We have to accept that there are personalities that don’t see eye-to-eye in our history,” drummer Ian Paice told Rolling Stone that year. “Precedence must now go to the guys that are still working the name and keeping it alive. Their choice is final.”

Blackmore wound up sitting out the entire Hall of Fame ceremony when he learned the band wouldn’t perform with him, and there wasn’t even a hint their position had changed over the past decade. That’s why it was so shocking when Blackmore announced via Instagram on August 11 that he’d be playing with Deep Purple the following evening. “It’ll be good to see the old guys again,” Blackmore said. “I think we’ll all be on crutches and wheelchairs and things, although I think the rest of them are okay.”

In the new interview with Guitar Player, Blackmore revealed how it came about. “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 said. “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 has largely played acoustic guitar in recent years on tours with his group Blackmore’s Night, and he suffered a heart attack last year that left him unable to play the instrument for several months. And even though Deep Purple played many Blackmore-era songs at Jones Beach, he only came out for “Smoke on the Water.”

“I had my misgivings at first, as I didn’t know if I would be heard or too quiet or whatever,” he said. “I could see the guitarist [Simon McBride], who is very good, had a big amplifier, and I thought I’ll just bring a 50-watt amp, but luckily it all worked…It was tricky; I didn’t play anything too technical, as I felt I should stick to the rudiments of being simple. I still lost my place at one point, but it’s not why I was there. I was there to heal any wounds — but there weren’t any wounds. Everyone was like, we were in the army, all along the Western front and we were all getting together again. Very emotional moment.”

He played a Strat that he hadn’t touched since the Eighties. “I changed the strings and practiced a little bit,” he said. “I haven’t played a Strat properly for 30 years; I’ve done the occasional solo but I usually play acoustics around the house. I use my right and for finger picking with long nails, but playing the Strat I have to play with a plectrum and have very short nails. A whole different technique.”

Deep Purple fans are surely hoping this will lead to a reunion tour, though it’s most likely a one-off event. But it did heal some old wounds. “What a pleasure it was to welcome Ritchie Blackmore on stage with us to play Smoke last night,” Gallant posted online after the show. “Thanks Ritchie, that meant a lot to many people; not least me.”