Ian Gillan talks about Deep Purple’s recent reunion with Ritchie Blackmore

33 years after he left Deep Purple for good, Ritchie Blackmore finally reunited with the band at their show in Wantagh, New York last August 12. He joined them on stage to perform “Smoke on the Water” and millions of fans worldwide celebrated what probably was the final reunion of most of the Mark II line-up.

The guitarist later said that he was the one who got in touch with Gillan about playing with them and that he was there to “heal any wounds”. In a new interview with Joann Butler, Gillan talked about the show and said it was lovely and fantastic.

Ian Gillan talks about Deep Purple’s recent reunion with Ritchie 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.”

“(He) 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.”

He continued:

“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,” Ian Gillan said (Transcribed by Blabbermouth).

Blackmore’s final complete show with Deep Purple was in Helsinki, Finland back in 1993. He was briefly replaced by Joe Satriani and then by Steve Morse (from 1994 to 2022) and the current guitarist is Simon McBride.

The band is currently promoting their latest album “Splat!”, their 10th, since Ritchie left in 1993. The current line-up has Ian Gillan (Vocals), Ian Paice (Drums), Roger Glover (Bass), Don Airey (Keyboards) and Simon McBride (Guitar).