Guitarist Ritchie Blackmore Reunites With Deep Purple At Jones Beach After 33 Years

Ritchie Blackmore walked onstage at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York on Wednesday night, yellow Fender Stratocaster in hand, and played with Deep Purple for the first time since November 1993. He is 81 years old.

He has four herniated discs. He had a steroid injection the day before just to be able to stand long enough to do it. He did Smoke on the Water with Ian Gillan singing the whole thing with his arm around Blackmore's shoulder.

"It was an absolute pleasure to have back onstage the founder member, the great legend, the immortal, Ritchie Blackmore!" Gillan announced before the song. When it ended: "Thanks, Ritchie. I have to say, it was a great pleasure. I'll see you in the bar."

Blackmore had sent Gillan a message a few days earlier. "I only live around the corner. Do you mind if I come and jam with you?" He pitched it as one encore, just for old times' sake, no pressure. Gillan took it to the band.

Unanimous thumbs-up. Blackmore had been playing acoustic guitar exclusively for 25 years with his band Blackmore's Night. He had skipped Deep Purple's 2016 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction entirely.

He had a heart attack in 2025. None of that stopped Wednesday night.

Whether it is a one-off or something more is not clear. As rock reunions go, this one was not announced six months in advance with a stadium tour. It was a letter from a neighbor asking if he could come jam.