Ritchie Blackmore will take to the stage with Deep Purple for the first time since 1993, when he joins the legendary British rock institution for their encore at tonight’s show at the Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, NY.
The surprise announcement came during a livestream with his wife, Candice Night, when it was casually slipped into conversation that the 81-year-old guitarist had reached out to Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan and asked if it would be okay.
“Well, it is a secret, and I don’t want anybody to know, but I’m probably going up to do an encore with the band Deep Purple. But you can’t tell anybody. And I know that this is gonna be kept a secret,” joked Blackmore.
But why not, right? Blackmore lives in Long Island. The band were passing through. It just made sense.
“I sent my AI pigeon to Ian Gillan in Portugal, where he lives at the moment,” Blackmore explains. “And I said, ‘How would you feel about if I got up just for an encore? You know, just one of the songs. I don’t want to intrude.’ And I said, ‘No pressure, just for old time’s sake. I’m 81 now.’ And so he seemed to love the idea, put it to the band, got a thumbs up, and it looks like we might be doing that.”
Less of the might. This is happening, and it will be a historic moment for anyone who has a ticket for the show.
Mindful that guitarist Simon McBride is “a very good guitar player” and that it has also been a minute since he last played with the band, Blackmore has sent his people to the venue already to get his rig in order – even if it will “probably just be the one number” that he plays on the night.
“Yeah, I have my roadie there now, setting up my amplifier. I’ll be using a small amplifier, but it’s very loud,” said Blackmore. “That’s what I use when I record. I hope I can compete with the guitar player, because I can see that he has very big amplifiers behind him. It’ll be a 50-watt [amp]. I hope the guy out the front can turn me up.”
He is even going to the bother of changing the strings on his Fender Stratocaster.
“It’s been a while,” he said. “I changed my strings on my Strat, which I haven’t done in over 25 years. So I did that.”
It is just for one song – and we surely all know which song it will be – but Blackmore is taking every precaution. He has his tech sorting his amp out, the Strat is ready, and he has even seen the doctor to make sure he will be able to stand with his guitar.
Blackmore has four herniated disks in the lower back and has had to receive a steroid injection to get him fit for the show.
“I did have my injection in my lumber area yesterday, a special injection I have that enables me to stand in one spot,” said Blackmore. “Because if I’m playing a Strat onstage, I have a hard time with the shoulders and the lumber area. But I do have a stool there just in case I start toppling over or something. But I know that Ian Gillan has his maladies, too, with his eyesight, I think. As you get older, you collect these….”
Blackmore might have needed a steroid injection for the lower back, but he might also need someone to show him some footage from his 2019 tour with Rainbow. He insists he hasn’t played rock music in over 20 years (perhaps a little self-deprecating humour).
He even says he is not used to the electric guitar now that he only plays acoustic in the house. Don't believe a word of it.
“I have not played rock music in 25 years,” he said. “It’s going to be interesting. It depends what I’m drinking, though. So I hope people enjoy it. It will be good to see the old guys again. It’s kind of frightening.”
And by Ticketmaster’s seat map, there are still tickets available. Kansas are supporting. Deep Purple headlining. If you’re going, definitely stick around for the encore. See Deep Purple for more.
“It’s going to be the riff heard around the world,” says Night.
