Posted on 09/17/2021 8:19:50 PM PDT by DoodleBob
Ian Gillan says that a DEEP PURPLE reunion with Ritchie Blackmore would be a "circus" and "it would be no fun at all."
Blackmore is a co-founder of DEEP PURPLE and wrote many of their most memorable riffs, including "Smoke On The Water", but he has not played with the group since his 1993 exit. Steve Morse effectively took over Blackmore's slot in 1994 and has since been in the group longer than Ritchie.
Gillan addressed his longstanding feud with Blackmore in a new interview with Vikram Chandrasekar of Tales From The Road. Asked if he is still in contact with Ritchie and whether there is any chance at all of the guitarist ever sharing the stage with DEEP PURPLE again, Ian said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "No. The answer to your question is yes, we are in touch. Tensions eased quite a lot after we got hold of our business affairs and sorted everything out. There were previous managers from the past who had not done things exactly as you would like. I didn't get paid for 10 years when I was with DEEP PURPLE — in the big years — and goodness knows what happened to all that. And there were other tensions too. And needless to say, it was all pretty nasty when we finished and Ritchie walked out. But we're too old for that now. We've both written some pleasant notes via our managers. I can't write to Ritchie or phone him because he doesn't have a telephone, he doesn't have a computer. He lives in a world of greensleeves — he lives in a medieval world, and he has messages given to him and that sort of thing. But he's sent some pleasant words to me, and I've sent some pleasant words to him. There are still issues; there are still bones of contention. I've seen a lot of rubbish being spoken — it's not worth even rising to the occasion — but I hear [former DEEP PURPLE singer] David Coverdale and others talking about what happened at the Rock And Roll Of Fame. Well, we were very kind to everybody, the current band. And we did invite Ritchie to play 'Smoke On The Water' with us at the ceremony, but he declined. So, [those] are just opportunistic remarks from the others.
"We've never had any antagonism towards Ritchie," Ian clarified. "He has his own interpretations, and the rest of us have our interpretations, so it's really not worth being fired up about it. But I think probably this late in our career, and with things moving along so pleasantly for the band, it would naturally enough — we discussed this years and years ago when it was first talked about — it would be a circus and it would be a distraction to everything we're doing, to be honest. It would be no fun at all, because we don't work that way anymore."
Blackmore previously suggested that PURPLE's manager had blocked him from joining his former bandmates onstage during the 2016 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony, and he used that as an excuse for not attending the event.
Despite Blackmore being a no-show at Rock Hall, he was given several shoutouts during the induction speeches of the DEEP PURPLE members in attendance. In addition, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich, who inducted DEEP PURPLE into the institution, praised "Ritchie f***ing Blackmore" for one of the most memorable guitar riffs of all time on "Smoke On The Water".
Late last year, Coverdale expressed his exasperation at DEEP PURPLE for how he and Glenn Hughes were treated by their former band ahead of their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction. The singer, who played with DEEP PURPLE along with Hughes from 1973 to 1976, said: "Once it had been announced that we were officially being inducted into it, the current DEEP PURPLE refused to go if Ritchie Blackmore was going to be there. And this was, like, 72 hours before, when I was ready to fly with my family. And this cost me, like, $75,000 [or] $85,000, because you have to pay for all the tables apart from the one you're on, and I had my daughter fly in from Germany, my son came out of college. It was a family affair."
He continued: "Suddenly, Glenn Hughes and I were told, 'Well, we don't want you singing with us.' Initially, I'd spoken to Ian [Gillan] about coming up and singing the backgrounds of 'Smoke On The Water', because originally they were going to close the show. So, that suddenly was pulled, the plug. They tried to stop us doing speeches, and my wife was f***ing furious, apart from the fact she spent a fortune on posh dresses. [Laughs] And I said, 'F*** it! Nobody's going to keep us off.' I got in touch with Carole, Ritchie's manager, and I said, 'Tell him to come with me. Nobody's going to f***ing touch him. Tell him to come with me,' and he didn't want to do it."
Coverdale added: "The first thing I said when I was up there, was, 'None of us would have been standing here without Ritchie Blackmore,' and I made sure of that point. Steve Morse and Don Airey [current DEEP PURPLE keyboardist] were more complimentary to Glenn and I than the other guys. We had a blast; we had a f***ing great time. I'm very happy that I am who I am, and I just talked to Glenn the other day about it: 'What the f*** was up their a**?!'"
He was also spectacular in Jesus Christ Superstar. When I saw Deep Purple in 1984, they broken into the main song from JCS in the middle of "Strange Kind of Woman." It was perfect.
As for the Made in Japan version of "Highway Star," someone once said when Blackmore's guitar comes in for the solo at 4:12, "it sounds like razor blades." I often set land-speed records if this version is on the car stereo.
Deep Purple covered Hush in the first place. It was written by American composer and musician Joe South, for recording artist Billy Joe Royal.
Blackmore’s Night has done some interesting stuff. And Blackmore has been known to be someone difficult to work with. But Gillan isn’t very fan-accessible, himself. Notice how over the years, DP will offer pre-show gold packages to fans, but Gillan wonn’t make himself accessible to fan photo-ops like the rest of the band? It comes off as a snub, like he’s the band’s Stevie Nicks. A bit of a diva. Shame, because I’m a solid DP fan.
I hadn’t heard about the divorce settlements but that makes some sense (although not sure how all three of them get a cut...) That said, I seem to recall that Blackmore recently said he cannot play guitar like he used to. Swollen fingers or something of that sort. Makes sense, he’s 75ish years old now, he probably shouldn’t be expected to be able to just crank out the solo to “Highway Star” like he did 50 years ago (yikes, it was that long ago!)
Ozzy can’t do much of anything these days. But Rob Halford still tours with Judas Priest, though he’s 70 and can’t play forever.
Paul Rodgers has still got it.
Following their divorce, Blackmore married Bärbel, a former dancer from Germany, in September 1969 until their divorce in early 1970s.
Blackmore met Amy Rothman in 1978, and moved to Connecticut. He married Rothman in 1981, but they divorced in 1983.
So, basically, everything up to but not including Perfect Strangers was up for grabs as part of his divorce settlements, including Rainbow income. It's also possible the Rothman settlement included future DP income, in which case it's easy to see why Blackmore's Night is his primary focus (notwithstanding his health).
Certainly more than some of the “legendary” inductees most of us have never heard or heard of.
Same for Johnny Rivers.
Steve Howe looks like Skeletor or Mr. Burns, but he can still play. I saw him when Asia opened for Yes (I guess that counts as seeing him twice), and he was introduced by the late Chris Squire as "since James Brown is dead, allow me to introduce to you the current hardest working man in showbusiness..."
Then there's this guy.
When did Jimmy Page turn into an old Japanese man, LOL!
Ringo looks fantastic for 80. And this was a guy who went toe-to-toe partying with Keith Moon in the 70s.
You have to be kidding. Johnny Rivers? I had no idea he couldn’t get in. No words...
In addition to (as you note) him being in great shape for 80, he outlived (and maybe outpartied) Charlie Watts, Bonzo, and Moonie. That's quite an accomplishment.
Finally, I'll say this...when there were no monitors on the stage or any way for John, Paul and George to hear themselves over the screams, it was HIS drums that cut through all that noise so the band could keep it together.
On some level, Ringo may be the most metal drummer of all time.
If someone called me Ringo, I'd wear it as a badge of honor.
No Lord, no DP.
No way.
Bwahahaha 🤣🤣🤣 Perfect. Used to rant about how Van Halen sucked without DLR and he should be back in the band, yadayada ...
Apparently nominated many times, but no.
What kind of musical world are they going to leave for Keith Richards?
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