Ritchie Blackmore on Deep Purple Reunion: “It Could Be the Last Time We See Each Other”

Ritchie Blackmore has offered insight into what spurred his recent onstage reunion with Deep Purple, the band he helped form in 1968 but hadn’t played with in 33 years. The reunion came on August 12th at the Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York, with Blackmore joining Deep Purple for a performance of the classic song “Smoke on the Water.” Get Deep Purple Tickets Here In an interview with Guitar Player, Blackmore said of the performance, “It was very moving because I went on very quickly and had to play immediately. 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 we’re all getting older. I think we realized it could be the last time we see each other, maybe.” Earlier in the interview, he said, “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.” Of the emotional moment on stage reuniting with fellow classic members Ian Gillan, Ian Paice, Roger Glover, he said, “It was tricky; I didn’t play anything too technical, a...