When Ritchie Blackmore explained why he believes life isn’t fun

Legendary guitarist Ritchie Blackmore (Deep Purple/Rainbow) explained in an interview with The Guardian back in 2017 why he believes life isn’t fun. The musician is known for his your introverted personality.

When asked why more than 26 musicians were part of Rainbow, Ritchie Blackmore explained why he thinks life isn’t fun:

“I’ve been told it’s because I don’t pay anybody. I don’t see why that should make a difference. If you’re into music, you should do it for nothing. In fact, that’s the way the music business is going, isn’t it? I thought artists were expected to play for nothing. So I try not to have fun. I work very hard at not having fun.”

Why on earth would he do that?

“I don’t think the world is a fun place. I’m very content in my own mind, in a way, but fun, I’m not too sure about. I don’t quite know what fun is and I don’t know why I should walk around with a perpetual grin on my face, saying everything’s wonderful.

“I just don’t fit into the ‘fun’ area,” he continues. “A lot of musicians go: ‘Oh, that was fun.’ Well, I like to think that music is very serious, and it’s not fun. I’m not one of these guys that likes jamming with people and having fun; music is too serious, and I don’t feel like I can relate if I’m having fun. It’s hard work and it’s really gratifying to do, but fun? Fun is something where someone tells a joke and they laugh for 10 seconds. Music’s much deeper than that.”

Ritchie Blackmore

The first band that Ritchie played, while still very young, was the 2Is Coffe Bar Junior Skiffle Group, playing acoustic guitar. Blackmore was considered the 50th best guitarist of all time by the American magazine Rolling Stone.