GLENN HUGHES On DEEP PURPLE's ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME Induction: 'It Was F***ing Uncomfortable'

During an October 3, 2024 "in conversation" event at Sydney, Australia's Crowbar, legendary vocalist/bassist Glenn Hughes once again looked back on his 2016 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, where he was honored along with other former and current members of DEEP PURPLE. Regarding how he was treated by the other PURPLE musicians who were inducted that night, apart from singer David Coverdale, Glenn said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET):  "There was no, 'How are you tonight?' None of that. There was no family vibe, there was no hugging, there was no handshaking, there was no, 'How're you doing, pal?' None of that. And it was fucking uncomfortable. Let me tell you, it was uncomfortable.

"When we were getting the awards, at the end, when we're all standing with these incredible lifetime awards, if you've seen the show, and this is the thing that really, really, really, really upset me to the point of tears, I went to congratulate [DEEP PURPLE frontman] Ian Gillan, and as I got close to him, he put his arm like this [out in front of him], 'cause he did not want me to get near him," Glenn recalled. "So I grabbed him like this [to give him a hug] and said to him, 'Oh shit.' I can't tell you what I said, but I thought it was very fucking stupid to do it on live TV where you have to show resentment or whatever you wanna call it. I was really upset. It didn't make me angry; it really hurt my feelings. Why did he do that? I don't know.

"Look, I have deep respect respect for all musicians, as I do with people and you guys in the audience — deep respect," Hughes added. "I get very upset. And I've had my fair share of crappy, weird things happen. I wasn't the nicest guy when I was drunk. But to do that to a family member whilst I was thanking and congratulating him on his award… He didn't wanna know it, didn't wanna fucking know. That was really rude."

Glenn previously discussed DEEP PURPLE's Rock Hall induction this past June in an interview with Guitar Interactive Magazine. Asked if he has since spoken to any of the other current or former members of DEEP PURPLE who were inducted that night, with the exception of Coverdale, Glenn said at the time: "No. I will never speak to any of them again — simply because they were rude. Both Roger [Glover, PURPLE bassist] and Gillan were rude to David and I. Very, very hurtful. I didn't give a fuck, actually, 'cause I knew they were rude to begin with. I was the only sober man there."

Glenn continued: "I don't care about those guys. Gillan was rude to me on stage accepting the award. I went to congratulate him. He looked at me in the eyes like I didn't exist. The guy has a problem with me. Period. I'll let him run with it. I feel bad for him. I'm really sorry about his wife [Bron Gillan, who passed away in November 2022, reportedly after a long illness]. I've tried to reach out to him. He doesn't wanna know. I've tried to make some kind of friendship with him over the last 40 years. He doesn't wanna know. David Coverdale and I don't exist to him.

"I wish him only the very best, but I have no time left for that behavior," Hughes added.

Four years ago, Glenn told Eonmusic that PURPLE's 2016 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame "was a little difficult, because of, let's call it personality problems. It was David and I holding hands, and the other guys, unfortunately. We just don't get along with the other guys at all. So, we kept ourselves to ourselves — David and Glenn, with our wives — and it was great. David and I, what a great time. And we closed the show with CHEAP TRICK and Sheryl Crow, and our friends in CHICAGO.

"You know, it's a touchy subject," he continued. "It was not an easy night for us. If you look at the body language, it's pretty obvious. But again, David and I have been thick and thin for so long; I just dearly love him. Regarding DEEP PURPLE, I have no idea what they're doing, and I don't really care."

Hughes's comments came less than two months after David expressed his exasperation at PURPLE over how he and Glenn were treated by their former band ahead of the Rock Hall induction. The singer, who played with DEEP PURPLE along with Hughes from 1973 to 1976, said: "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. They tried to stop us doing speeches, and my wife was fucking furious, apart from the fact she spent a fortune on posh dresses. [Laughs]"

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich inducted DEEP PURPLE into the Rock Hall. PURPLE had been on the ballot three times and Ulrich has been championing their inclusion for years.

DEEP PURPLE's first three lineups were inducted into the Rock Hall, including guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, drummer Ian Paice, keyboardist Jon Lord, and various singers and bassists — Rod Evans, Gillan, Roger Glover, Coverdale and Hughes.

DEEP PURPLE's acceptance speeches included turns from Gillan, Glover, Paice, Coverdale and Hughes before the then-current lineup of DEEP PURPLE — Gillan, Glover, Paice, guitarist Steve Morse and keyboardist Don Airey — took the stage and played a short set consisting of "Highway Star", "Green Onions" (with an image of Lord behind them),"Hush" and "Smoke On The Water".

Known as the "voice of rock," Hughes spent key years of his career as the beloved bassist and vocalist of DEEP PURPLE, appearing on the classic albums "Burn", "Stormbringer" and "Come Taste the Band". More recently, he has been playing various hits and deep cuts from the DEEP PURPLE catalog, including "Burn", "Stormbringer", "Sail Away" and "Smoke On The Water", as part of his "Glenn Hughes Performs Classic Deep Purple Live" tour, which was launched in 2017.

A couple of weeks after PURPLE's Rock Hall induction, Hughes was asked by Metal-Rules.com about the fact that he and Coverdale didn't perform with the band at the event. He said: "There is a band out there called DEEP PURPLE featuring Ian Paice, Ian Gillan, Roger Glover which was essentially Mark II. Every artist gets to do three songs. Now let me talk to you openly as there was a 99.9 percent chance that Hughes and Coverdale would not be invited to sing. I'm not going to name names, as there is a member who didn't feel it was appropriate that we should sing. So David and I braved it together as we were arm and arm all the way through. But I knew by the end of the night it would not happen. CHEAP TRICK closed the show and they invited us to play with Sheryl Crow and Grace Potter."

Hughes denied that he bothered by the fact that he didn't end up performing with PURPLE at the event. "Am I upset about not singing with DEEP PURPLE? Not at all," he said. "Everybody knows that David and I can sing. Everybody knows that we were in the band. All that mattered to me was accepting the award on behalf of DEEP PURPLE and the fans."

Glenn also talked about the absence from the induction of Blackmore. He said: "I can say that David spoke to Ritchie in 2012 during the first nomination. David asked him, 'When we get in, are you going to attend?' He said, 'Oh no, not at all.' David is my brother and he would have no reason to fib to me, but Ritchie had no intention of attending the Hall Of Fame. It had nothing to do with him and Gillan not speaking. He just didn't want to show up. Nobody stopped him, and you can't stop an artist from getting inducted unless the chairman of the Hall Of Fame bans you. The chairman of the Hall Of Fame reached out to Ritchie with both hands and Ritchie gracefully declined. He didn't say anything bad. He just said, 'Thank you. I'm not going to attend.' People need to know it was a gracefully done. There were two guys that didn't show up: Ritchie, who declined; and Jon [Lord, former DEEP PURPLE keyboardist] who had passed."

Despite Blackmore being a no-show at the 2016 Rock Hall, he was given several shoutouts during the induction speeches of the DEEP PURPLE members in attendance. In addition, Ulrich praised "Ritchie fucking Blackmore" for one of the most memorable guitar riffs of all time on "Smoke On The Water".

"It's a big disappointment for me that [Blackmore] wasn't here tonight," said Coverdale. "I e-mailed his manager a couple of days ago and extended a personal invitation. I never really got a response. Ritchie and I reconnected in 2012 after the loss of Jon Lord just to express my condolences and we buried the hatchet... which was great."

Gillan defended the band's decision to only perform with the group's then-current lineup at the Rock Hall induction, explaining that "there [was] no slight intended nor any desire to upset anyone" with this move.

The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony seemed like a rare opportunity for DEEP PURPLE to reunite with Blackmore, who wrote many of the band's most memorable riffs, but hasn't played with the group since 1993.

In a 2019 interview with Tales From The Road, Gillan dismissed Hughes's and Coverdale's comments about the Rock Hall, saying: "I've seen a lot of rubbish being spoken — it's not worth even rising to the occasion — but I hear 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."