Ritchie Blackmore Performs With Deep Purple for First Time Since Acrimonious Split in Early ’90s, After Warning Fans: ‘I Have Not Played Rock Music in 25 Years’

Aug 12, 2026 9:27pm PT Ritchie Blackmore Performs With Deep Purple for First Time Since Acrimonious Split in Early ’90s, After Warning Fans: ‘I Have Not Played Rock Music in 25 Years’

By Chris Willman

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Chris Willman

Senior Music Writer and Chief Music Critic

ChrisWillman

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Most Deep Purple fans had long since given up any hope of seeing the band ever share a stage with founding guitarist Ritchie Blackmore again, due to a well-know, decades-long 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.”

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