\u201cIt\u2019ll be good to see the old guys again,\u201d Blackmore told fans on Instagram about their one-off reunion plan. \u201cBut it\u2019s kind of frightening. I\u2019ve been playing acoustic guitar for 25 years\u201d<\/p>\n
Jon Lord, Glenn Hughes, Ian Paice, David Coverdale, Richie Blackmore of Deep Purple pose for a group portrait on December 9th 1973 in Copenhagen, Denmark. Jorgen Angel\/Redferns<\/p>\n
Ritchie Blackmore hasn\u2019t made a single live appearance with\u00a0Deep Purple\u00a0since his tumultuous exit from the heavy metal group back in 1993, and he bailed on their 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony when the group refused to share the stage with him that night. But in a rather stunning turn of events, Blackmore\u00a0informed fans Tuesday night via Instagram\u00a0that he plans on joining the group Wednesday evening when they perform at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI actually called up \u2013 I didn\u2019t call him up, I sent my A.I. pigeon to [Deep Purple frontman] Ian Gillan in Portugal, where he lives at the moment,\u201d Blackmore said. \u201cAnd I said, \u2018How would you feel about if I got up just for an encore? Just one of the songs. I don\u2019t want to intrude.\u2019 He seemed to love the idea, put it to the band, got a thumbs up, and it looks like we might be doing that.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope I can compete with the [current Deep Purple] guitar player [Simon McBride],\u201d Blackmore added. \u201cBecause I can see that he has very big amplifiers behind him \u2026 He\u2019s a very good guitar player \u2013 as was, and is, [former Deep Purple guitarist] Steve Morse, a great guitar player.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Blackmore is the founding guitarist of Deep Purple, and co-writer of their most enduring songs, including \u201cSmoke on the Water,\u201d \u201cHighway Star,\u201d and \u201cSpace Truckin.\u2019\u201d He left the group to form Rainbow with future Black Sabbath lead singer Ronnie James Dio in 1975, but rejoined in 1984 after Rainbow dissolved. He remained in the band until November 1993 when long-simmering tensions boiled over on a tour of Europe. During a show in NEC Arena in Birmingham the band was filming for official release, Blackmore wasn\u2019t onstage when they kicked off the night with \u201cHighway Star.\u201d He came out midway through the song, played erratically, and then threw a glass of water at a camera operator he felt got too close.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The band carried on with Blackmore for a few more days, and parted ways with him after a November 17 show in Helsinki, Finland. With little time before an upcoming tour of Japan, the band flew in Joe Satriani to temporarily take his place. For a longer term solution, they hired Steve Morse, who remained in the group until 2022.<\/p>\n
The prospect of a reunion with Blackmore was raised many times over the years, and Gillan always shot it down. \u201cIt would be unconscionable to think about bringing Ritchie in,\u201d\u00a0the singer told\u00a0Rolling Stone\u00a0in 2014.\u00a0\u201cI don\u2019t have an issue with Ritchie, nor does anyone. I\u2019ve been in touch with Ritchie recently and everything\u2019s cool, so there\u2019s no bitter, personal problem. We\u2019re too old for that and everything\u2019s in the past, but no. That would be out of the question.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the group learned they were entering the Hall of Fame in 2016,\u00a0drummer Ian Paice told\u00a0Rolling Stone\u00a0he didn\u2019t know what would happen with Blackmore. \u201cWe have to accept that there are personalities that don\u2019t see eye-to-eye in our history,\u201d he said. \u201cHow that would work, I have no idea. Whether that could be put aside, I don\u2019t know \u2026 Some of us would think about [performing with Blackmore]. Some of us probably wouldn\u2019t. It depends how it\u2019s presented and what everybody\u2019s individual feelings are. But precedence must now go to the guys that are still working the name and keeping it alive. Their choice is final.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the time came, Deep Purple manager Bruce Payne told Rock and Roll Hall of Fame President and CEO Joel Peresman that the band would not perform with Deep Purple for even a single song. \u201cWe\u2019ve had many situations like this in the past,\u201d\u00a0Peresman told\u00a0Rolling Stone,\u00a0\u201cand many times these things get worked out for one night, and then they go back to their neutral corners the next day.\u201d<\/p>\n
That didn\u2019t happen this time. And when Blackmore learned he couldn\u2019t play with the band, he opted to simply stay home that night rather than watch them perform without him. \u201cHe was discussing the possibility of attending, until we received correspondence from the President of the Rock Hall of Fame, who said that Bruce Payne, management for the current Deep Purple Touring Band, had said \u2018No\u201d\u2026\u2026\u2026.!!!!!\u2019 \u201d read a post on Blackmore\u2019s official Facebook page. \u201cTherefore Ritchie will not be attending the ceremony. He sincerely thanks all the fans that voted for him for their support.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s unclear what transpired over the past decade that softened Gillan\u2019s stance, but Blackmore did\u00a0suffer a heart attack\u00a0in 2025 that made it difficult to play music or even travel for several months. It\u2019s also unclear if the Jones Beach reunion will be anything more than a one-off. But even if it\u2019s just one last \u201cSmoke on the Water,\u201d it\u2019ll still be a milestone moment in the band\u2019s long career.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019ll be good to see the old guys again,\u201d Blackmore told fans on Instagram. \u201cI think we\u2019ll all be on crutches and wheelchairs and things, although I think the rest of them are okay. But, yes, it\u2019s kind of frightening. \u2026 I\u2019ve been playing acoustic guitar for 25 years.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n