Classic Rock
Ian Gillan recalls feud with Yes that made Blackmore set the stage on fire
Deep Purple is currently promoting their new album “=1” but besides talking about the new release, the band’s vocalist Ian Gillan is always asked about the past of the band and frequently about the former guitarist Ritchie Blackmore (Who left the band in 1993).
Advertisement
In an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, the musician recalled a feud between Deep Purple and Yes one night that ultimately made Ritchie Blackmore decide to set the stage on fire so that the Progressive Rock couldn’t play after them. Curiously, the two bands will tour together this year.
Ian Gillan recalls feud with Yes that made Blackmore set the stage on fire
“We were doing a festival (in) Plumpton, the first rock, jazz, and blues festival that became the Reading Festival, run by Jack Barrie at the Marquee. He’d put on some absolutely great bands.”
“Of course, we’d worked with most of them in those days. It was fantastic. They were all good in their own way – but I think Yes were a bit miffed because they wanted to close the show, and it wasn’t in their contract.”
“It was (in our contract) that Deep Purple would close the show, so they refused to leave the hotel room. Jack said, ‘Guys, would you mind going on a bit earlier? I don’t want to push you but it would help me and it would help the crowd.’ ‘Yeah sure, okay, no worries.’ Then, Ritchie decided that if we weren’t going to close, nobody was.”
Ian Gillan continued:
“He ordered some gasoline to be brought in. He threw it all over the equipment and then had the roadie light a broom, which had a petrol-soaked rag on the end of it to ignite the lot. Of course, it did ignite – because the fumes just exploded. Within a half-hour, there were blue lights flashing.”
“The police, the fire brigade and ambulances were all coming in and there was complete chaos. Everything was on the front page of the Sunday papers the next morning, and it was all quite rock ‘n’ roll,” Ian Gillan said.
Deep Purple continued after Blackmore decided to leave for good more than three decades ago. Since then they had in his place Joe Satriani (From 1993 to 1994) and Steve Morse (From 1994 to 2022). Now the band’s guitarist is Simon McBride.
