What Happened on the Journey Home?

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

So far in Ritchie Blackmore: In His Own Words, we have heard how the idea of appearing with Deep Purple again first came to Ritchie, how he almost changed his mind, what the journey to the venue was like, and what happened backstage after the performance.

For Episode Four, I wanted to ask about something much simpler.

What happens after a moment like that?

After stepping onto a stage with Deep Purple for the first time in more than three decades, playing “Smoke on the Water”, reconnecting with old bandmates and experiencing an extraordinary reaction from the audience, what was the journey home actually like?

Was everyone talking about what had just happened?

Was Ritchie still full of adrenaline?

Did the family sit down together afterwards and replay the moment?

The reality was considerably more down-to-earth.

Phil Aston:

The question I’d love to ask is about the drive home and actually getting back home.

As a musician, when you come off stage there is normally a lot of adrenaline flowing. With something of this scale, you had no idea beforehand what it was going to be like or whether there might be any issues.

So what was the journey home like?

Were you talking more in the car on the way back? And when you did get home, did you all have a pot of tea and go to bed, or were you still bouncing off the walls?

Were you tempted to watch any of the footage afterwards?

What was it like getting home after performing with Deep Purple again after more than 30 years?

Ritchie Blackmore:

I never personally watch footage of myself.

I’m very self-conscious.

I prefer not to see myself and not to hear myself talking.

So Autumn was back to her headphones listening to Taylor Swift.

Rory was talking about his next big match and where we should take him.

Nobody was really talking about what I’d just done.

Candice, of course, being the adult and being a fan, said that it went very well.

So I believed what she said.

I had no idea.

I was just on and I was off.

It was very quick — four minutes.

Then I think we did our usual, which was having a four-way argument about who was listening to what and whether the windows should be up or down.

We were not talking about the show.

We were doing our usual, which is complaining about who is listening to what.

Back to Normal

There is something wonderfully revealing about this answer.

For the fans watching, Ritchie Blackmore stepping back onto a stage with Deep Purple was an extraordinary event.

For Ritchie’s family, the journey home very quickly returned to normal life.

Autumn was listening to Taylor Swift.

Rory was thinking about his next match.

The family were arguing about what everyone was listening to and whether the car windows should be open or closed.

And Ritchie himself had no desire to sit down and replay the performance.

That perhaps says as much about him as any technical discussion about the music could.

“I Never Personally Watch Footage of Myself”

One of the most interesting things Ritchie reveals in this episode is that he does not like watching himself back.

He describes himself as very self-conscious and says that he prefers neither to see himself nor hear himself talking.

That makes the family dynamic after the show even more significant.

Rather than analysing the performance, discussing every moment or immediately going online to see the reaction, the evening simply returned to normal.

It was over.

Four minutes on stage.

Then back into the car and back into family life.

Candice’s View Was Enough

Ritchie also says something very simple but revealing about Candice.

He had no real sense himself of how the performance had gone.

He had gone on stage, played and left.

Candice told him it had gone very well.

And Ritchie says:

“So I believed what she said.”

It is only a few words, but they say a great deal about the trust between them.

Throughout this series, Candice has appeared not simply as Ritchie’s wife and musical partner, but as somebody whose judgement he clearly values.

It was Candice who encouraged him to go through with the appearance when he began to have doubts.

And afterwards, when she told him it had gone well, that was enough.

Across the series, Ritchie talks to Phil Aston about Deep Purple, Rainbow, Blackmore’s Night, guitar playing, classical music, creativity, family and his life in music today.

Interview: Phil Aston / Now Spinning Magazine

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