Deep Purple fans had mostly given up any hopes of seeing the band ever share a stage with founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore again, due to a well-known estrangement. But that’s exactly what took place near the end of the group’s show Wednesday night at Jones Beach in New York, as hatchets were buried and Blackmore rejoined his old mates for a rendition of the group’s most famous song, “Smoke on the Water.”
“It’s gonna be interesting,” Blackmore said in a podcast appearance the night before the show, in which the 81-year-old guitar legend leaked news of his imminent appearance. “i have not played rock music in 25 years.”
At the conclusion of “Smoke in the Water” Wednesday night, singer Ian Gillan showered praise on his ex-bandmate before he left the stage, calling him “the immortal Ritchie Blackmore. Thanks, Ritchie. i have to say it was a great pleasure. I’ll see you in the bar.”
Probably few in the audience were taken by complete surprise by Blackmore’s cameo, since the guitarist had spilled some of the beans in a livestream with his wife the night before the Jones Beach gig. Blackmore said on Tuesday’s live podcast that he was revealing the secret in advance because he wanted fans who had waited for this moment for decades to at least have a shot at making it to New York in time for Wednesday’s show.
