Ritchie Blackmore Reunites With Deep Purple for ‘Smoke on the Water’

A moment that Deep Purple fans have waited 33 years took place near the end of the band’s set at Jones Beach, New York on Wednesday evening when frontman Ian Gillan addressed the crowd. 

“I’ve gotta say something,” he said. “A couple of days ago, I got a letter from this man saying, ‘I only live around the corner. Do you mind if I come and jam with you?’ And it was an absolute pleasure to have back onstage, the founder member, the great legend, the immortal, Ritchie Blackmore!” 

As the crowd erupted and countless cellphones rose high into the air, the band kicked into “Smoke on the Water,” marking Blackmore’s first performance with the band since November 17, 1993. And despite all the subsequent bad blood and firm proclamations that they’d never reunite (even at their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction), every member of the band beamed with joy. Gillan even sang part of the song with his arm around Blackmore’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Ritchie,” Gillan told the screaming audience when it ended. “I have to say, it was a great pleasure. I’ll see you in the bar.” 

The reunion wasn’t exactly a secret since Richie let the news slip the evening before in an Instagram post. “I actually called up – I didn’t call him up, I sent my A.I. pigeon to [Deep Purple frontman] Ian Gillan in Portugal, where he lives at the moment,” Blackmore said. “And I said, ‘How would you feel about if I got up just for an encore? Just one of the songs. I don’t want to intrude.’ He seemed to love the idea, put it to the band, got a thumbs up, and it looks like we might be doing that.”

“I hope I can compete with the [current Deep Purple] guitar player [Simon McBride],” Blackmore added. “Because I can see that he has very big amplifiers behind him … He’s a very good guitar player – as was, and is, [former Deep Purple guitarist] Steve Morse, a great guitar player.”

Still, fans weren’t 100 percent sure it would happen until shortly before showtime when Candice Night, Blackmore’s wife and bandmate in Blackmore’s Night, posted a backstage photo of Blackmore with the members of Deep Purple. “Well,” she wrote, “this warms my heart…”