RITCHIE BLACKMORE Says His Onstage Reunion With DEEP PURPLE Went Down Like He 'Just Invented The Cure For Cancer': 'The People Went Nuts'

In the first part of an exclusive 13-part interview series with Now Spinning magazine editor-in-chief Phil Aston, Ritchie Blackmore reflected on his reunion with DEEP PURPLE for the first time in more than three decades during the band's headlining concert on August 12 at the Northwell at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York. The 81-year-old guitarist, who had last played with DEEP PURPLE in 1993, came up for a rendition of the band's classic song "Smoke On The Water", which closed DEEP PURPLE's regular set at the Wantagh show. Regarding how his reunion with PURPLE came about, Ritchie said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I sat up in bed and thought, 'What about if I got up on stage?', as they're in the area… They're playing a great place called the Jones Beach Theater. And it's outside, and the view is over the water. Magnificent place. And I've always wanted to play there. But I sat up in bed and I thought, 'I wonder if...' [So I asked my wife Candice], 'How do you feel about me just asking [DEEP PURPLE singer] Ian Gillan if it's all right to play in 'Smoke On The Water', then just disappearing?' And then she thought it was a good idea, so we sent him an e-mail via Candice. I don't deal with that nonsense. I've just learnt how to actually use the telephone, and it's still difficult for me. And so we sallied forth and infiltrated. Now Candice sent the e-mail and Ian said, 'Yes, of course. Welcome aboard. All the band is up for it. Come on stage for 'Smoke'.' I just wanted to do one song, and I thought that would be the song. It's big over here [in the U.S.] — bigger here than it was in Europe. And so we kind of advertised it in a little way. Not much, just enough. And funnily enough, the ticket sales went up, which was nice. Anyway, they thought it was a good idea."

Regarding how the actual performance went from his perspective, Ritchie said: "I came along to their show, and everybody was so helpful. It was almost like overkill. Everybody was incredibly nice. And then we got up on stage. I got up on stage and played it, 'Smoke On The Water'. I never did a soundcheck, which was a little bit off-putting, putting because I do like to do a soundcheck. But my roadie did that for me, thank goodness. And the sound was good. And I played my three or four minutes of 'Smoke On The Water', which seemed to go down like I just invented the cure for cancer. The people went nuts, and half of them were sitting in water. For some reason, the venue kind of gets covered in water at certain points 'cause it is right on the water. So they're now all sitting in the water, the front three or four rows. And I felt very good about it because it was like playing with old friends. Everybody was super nice and super efficient... Well, it'd been like 35 years since I'd actually played with the band, and nobody had changed. Everybody was great. And thank goodness it went off without a hitch, but it could have quite easily have fallen apart, and that would've been embarrassing. I felt like I was one of the soldiers that had come back from the Western Front, and everybody thought I was dead. And there I was — I was alive. So it really went down incredibly well. I almost felt like I was a celebrity for the four minutes that I was on stage, and I'm not a celebrity type of person. I just play the guitar — sometimes well, sometimes not so well. But it was well worth doing. It was a good idea that I had, and it came to me very early one morning when I was in bed. I just thought, 'Why not?' 'Cause we never know when we're going to meet again, which is like a sad note in a way."

Earlier this month, Gillan told Joann Butler In Studio With... about DEEP PURPLE's onstage reunion with Blackmore: "I think it was lovely. It was fantastic. We've been in touch, Ritchie and I, for a few years now, and a lot of water's gone under the bridge. I don't like using clichés, but that's a very apt one for this."

Ian continued: "[Ritchie] wrote me a nice letter a few days before we got to New York and said, 'Would it be all right, do you think? What do you reckon if I step up in smoke?' So I said, 'Yeah, of course.' It brought an instant smile to my face. I thought, 'Well, of course it would be wonderful. It'd be fantastic.' So, we set up. And he only lives around the corner from Jones Beach, on Long Island, so it was just great when he stepped on the stage, that magic moment. And it's been a long time. And you kind of forget everyone out there when we've mended all of those problems ourselves. But, of course, not everyone is aware of that. So it was a wonderfully warm feeling. And we had a few drinks in the dressing room backstage afterwards. And I think he went home a bit tiddly. But it was great — really a magic moment."

Gillan went on to say that there was no bad blood between Blackmore and the other members of the classic PURPLE lineup at the time of the Jones Beach show. He explained: "Life goes through so many different phases, and you can't really allow all these problems to continue to exist. They become destructive forces in their own right then. We've grown out of all that. Did you ever see 'Spinal Tap'? Well, it was like that for most of us, including THE BEATLES and everyone else. When you get four or five guys in their late teens or early 20s, form a band and go out on the road, there's a camaraderie and a unit there that almost makes them inseparable, and it gives them a great power and identity. But as things become enlarged, you get into contact with the real world and a larger world, a lot of outside play comes into force. And human chemistry is the most complex of all the sciences, so we can't cater for it. We can't see it coming because we're young, and then you've gotta cope with stuff that you never did before, and it's critical. So when things go wrong, but that doesn't mean to say they have to stay that way. So as the years go by, you put it all behind you."

A few days after the Jones Beach concert, Blackmore told Guitar Player magazine about playing with DEEP PURPLE again: "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.

"It was tricky; I didn't play anything too technical, as I felt I should stick to the rudiments of being simple," he added. "I still lost my place at one point, but it's not why I was there. I was there to heal any wounds — but there weren't any wounds. Everyone was like we were in the army all along the Western front and we were all getting together again. Very emotional moment."

After the "Smoke On The Water" performance, Gillan told the crowd: "I've gotta say something. A couple of days ago, I got a message. A couple of days ago, I got a message from a local lad. I got a letter from this man saying, 'I only live around the corner. Do you mind if I come and jam with you?' And I tell you, it was an absolute pleasure to have back on stage the founder member, the great legend, the immortal Ritchie Blackmore."

Ian added: "Thanks, Ritchie. I have to say it was a great pleasure. I'll see you in the bar."

Blackmore later wrote on social media about the Wantagh show: "Good night had by all, I hope. I know I had a great time. Thanks a lot lads. Carry on and have a good tour."

A post on DEEP PURPLE's social media called the band's onstage reunion with Blackmore "a big moment in rock history", while Gillan wrote the following day: "What a pleasure it was to welcome Ritchie Blackmore on stage with us to play 'Smoke' last night... Thanks Ritchie, that meant a lot to many people; not least me."

Current DEEP PURPLE guitarist Simon McBride shared a photo of him with Blackmore backstage, and wrote in an accompanying message: "My absolute pleasure to share the stage with this legend, such a great guy and an inspiration to all."

Ritchie revealed his guest appearance for the Wantagh gig during an August 11 Instagram Live with his wife Candice Night. Blackmore said in part:  "I sent my A.I. pigeon to Ian Gillan in Portugal, where he lives at the moment. And I said, 'How would you feel about if I got up just for an encore? Just one of the songs. I don't want to intrude.' And I said, 'No pressure — just kind of [for] old times' sake.' I'm 81 now. So he seemed to love the idea, put it to the band, got a thumbs up."

Blackmore also addressed some of the physical issues he is currently facing, including a severe, debilitating vertigo attack he suffered in late 2025 that forced him to cancel tour dates, as well as his chronic health challenges that include severe gout, arthritis affecting his fingers and feet, and previous heart issues.

"I did have my injection in my lumbar area yesterday," Ritchie said. "It's a special injection I have that enables me to stand in one spot, because if I'm playing a Strat on stage, I have a hard time with the shoulders and the lumbar area. I've got four herniated discs, if anybody wants them. And I had my injection yesterday of a steroid which helps me get through standing up on stage. But I do have a kind of 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. And so as you get older, you collect all these things… And fusion is out of the question. That's too big a job. But the stem cell stuff looks interesting. So I'm kind of recovering from that at the moment. I'm on steroid. And it's very hard to sleep when you're on steroids, but I'm on one steroid. And thanks to the doctors at Stony Brook [University Hospital]; they were excellent. I didn't feel hardly any pain. But I think we've all got something to complain about. I just have more things to complain about than usual. And if don't complain, I'll find something to complain about."

Ritchie, Candice and their two children reside on Long Island, New York, near Port Jefferson.

Blackmore is a co-founder of DEEP PURPLE and wrote many of their most memorable riffs, including "Smoke On The Water", but he had not played with the group since his 1993 departure.

During his time away from PURPLE, Blackmore established the neo-classical band called RAINBOW, which fused baroque music influences elements with hard rock before gradually progressing to catchy pop-style hard rock.

Blackmore stepped away from his Renaissance-inspired brand of music with BLACKMORE'S NIGHT in 2016 to perform a handful of shows with a brand-new lineup of RAINBOW.

After Ritchie left DEEP PURPLE for the final time in 1993, he reformed RAINBOW for one album (1995's "Stranger In Us All") and one tour, ending things in Denmark in 1997.

Blackmore didn't join his former DEEP PURPLE bandmates at the group's 2016 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction ceremony.

Blackmore previously suggested that PURPLE's manager had blocked him from attending the Rock Hall 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 fucking Blackmore" for one of the most memorable guitar riffs of all time on "Smoke On The Water".

Back in 2014, Gillan told Rolling Stone about the prospect of a DEEP PURPLE reunion with Blackmore: "It would be unconscionable to think about bringing Ritchie in. I don't have an issue with Ritchie, nor does anyone. I've been in touch with Ritchie recently and everything's cool, so there's no bitter, personal problem. We're too old for that and everything's in the past, but no. That would be out of the question."