The Doubts, the Family and the Journey Back to Deep Purple

An original Now Spinning Magazine interview with Ritchie Blackmore, recorded exclusively for our 13-part In His Own Words series.

In Episode One of Ritchie Blackmore: In His Own Words, Ritchie revealed how the idea of playing with Deep Purple again suddenly came to him early one morning.

It was a remarkably spontaneous beginning to an event that would become one of the most talked-about moments in recent Deep Purple history.

But deciding to do something and actually going through with it are two very different things.

In this second instalment, I wanted to know what happened next.

Having made the decision to join Deep Purple for one performance of “Smoke on the Water”, did Ritchie ever begin to wonder whether it was such a good idea after all?

The answer, it turns out, is yes.

And had it not been for Candice Night, the reunion might never have happened.

Ritchie also takes us inside the family journey to the venue — although anyone imagining a solemn, contemplative drive towards a moment of rock history may be surprised by what actually happened.

This is Ritchie Blackmore, in his own words.

“No, I Think It’s a Silly Idea. I Don’t Want to Do It”

Phil Aston:

Once you’d made the decision to rejoin Deep Purple for this one song, “Smoke on the Water”, did you have any doubts at all?

I wondered whether perhaps the next morning, having agreed to do it, you might have started questioning the idea.

And did you have the full support of your family?

Ritchie Blackmore:

Candice’s reaction was, “You’re being a complete idiot. Why would you want to do that?”

No, I’m joking!

She was up for it.

She was the one who was pushing me because the very next day after I thought about doing it, I said to Candi, “You know what? No. I think it’s a silly idea. I don’t want to do it.”

She said, “No, you should do it. Definitely.”

She pushed me into actually following through.

I was not going to play, but I knew that she would bombard me with questions if I didn’t!

So I said, “Yes, I’m going to do it.”

So I went to the theatre and did it.

And my kids — they were just waiting for me to finish so they could go for a hamburger.

That’s the way they think, you know.

Candice Night Encouraged Ritchie to Follow Through

One of the fascinating details to emerge from Ritchie’s answer is just how close the Deep Purple appearance may have come to never happening at all.

The initial idea had been Ritchie’s.

But by the following day, he had already begun reconsidering it.

It was Candice who encouraged him not to abandon the idea.

That adds another very human element to a story which, viewed from outside, inevitably looks like a major event involving one of the most important guitarists in rock history returning to a band he had not performed with for decades.

Within the Blackmore household, however, events appear to have been considerably more down-to-earth.

Ritchie was having second thoughts.

Candice was encouraging him to follow through.

And the children were apparently thinking about hamburgers.

It is precisely this contrast that has made Ritchie’s answers throughout this series so fascinating.

Behind the mythology surrounding Deep Purple, Rainbow and Ritchie Blackmore is a family simply getting ready to go to a concert together.

Which led me to my next question.

What Was the Journey to Deep Purple Like?

I had been fascinated by the idea of the family travelling together to the venue.

From the outside, you could imagine that journey being almost cinematic: Ritchie Blackmore travelling towards a stage where he was about to play with Deep Purple again after more than three decades.

Perhaps there would be nervous silence.

Perhaps everyone would be discussing what was about to happen.

Perhaps there would be music playing in the car.

The reality was rather different.

Phil Aston:

What was the journey to the venue like?

I understood that you all travelled there together in the car.

Were you listening to music? Was there general conversation going on, or was it quiet?

I also understood that you were probably a little nervous, and I wondered whether those nerves were more like apprehension than the normal nerves you might experience before going on stage at a major concert.

Ritchie Blackmore:

Yes, the journey there was quite hectic.

The two children were fighting.

Our opera singer daughter, Autumn Esmeralda — she has four octaves to her range — often wears earphones, so we can’t really communicate with her.

Rory, our athletic boy, was just watching his iPad to see who was winning the score in American football, which I’m not too keen on.

So it was a bit like The Beverly Hillbillies.

Everybody was arguing with everybody else.

And we got there and parked in such a place that, as I got out of the car, everybody in the whole stadium could see us coming towards the venue, which I thought was a little bit strange.

There was no back entrance, so we had to go through the audience.

I’m carrying a guitar and felt a little bit awkward at that point.

But it all worked out in the end.

Not Quite the Journey You Might Imagine

I love this answer because it strips away almost all of the mythology surrounding what was about to happen.

Ritchie Blackmore was travelling towards an extraordinary reunion with Deep Purple.

But inside the car?

The children were arguing.

One was wearing headphones.

Another was following American football on an iPad.

Ritchie describes the whole thing as being like The Beverly Hillbillies.

It is difficult to imagine a greater contrast between the significance fans attached to the occasion and the completely ordinary family chaos surrounding the man who was actually about to step onto the stage.

And even arriving at the venue was not quite what Ritchie expected.

There was apparently no discreet backstage arrival.

Instead, Ritchie found himself getting out of the car carrying his guitar where the audience could see him and then making his way through the crowd.

For somebody who had already reconsidered whether he wanted to do the performance at all, it must have added another surreal element to an already extraordinary day.

Yet, as Ritchie says:

“It all worked out in the end.”

And we now know just how true that was.

Ritchie Blackmore: In His Own Words

What I wanted from this series was not simply another interview about Deep Purple, Rainbow or Blackmore’s Night.

Those stories have been told many times.

I wanted to hear about the person behind them.

What was going through Ritchie’s mind?

What did his family think?

What does an event of this magnitude actually feel like when you are the person at the centre of it?

Episode Two perhaps illustrates that better than anything.

The guitarist whose return generated headlines around the world very nearly decided the following morning that the whole thing was a silly idea.

His wife convinced him otherwise.

His children were more interested in hamburgers, headphones and American football.

And Ritchie arrived carrying his guitar through the audience.

Somehow, that makes what eventually happened on stage feel even more special.

Ritchie Blackmore: In His Own Words is an exclusive 13-part Now Spinning Magazine series.

A new episode will be released regularly, with Ritchie discussing Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore’s Night, his approach to the guitar, classical music, his family and his life in music today.

Interview: Phil Aston / Now Spinning Magazine

Editor’s note: This transcript has been lightly edited for readability while preserving Ritchie Blackmore’s wording, humour and intended meaning.