Ritchie Blackmore says his Deep Purple reunion could be the last time he and his former bandmates see each other. Speaking around his one-off return on stage, he frames the moment as focused on reconnecting with old friends rather than revisiting past conflicts.
Blackmore tells outlets that the band members have not all been together for decades and that time has changed them, emphasizing that everyone is getting older. Both sources describe his comments in the context of performing “Smoke on the Water” during a Long Island appearance, with Blackmore saying he was there to see long-time colleagues again. While one outlet highlights his view that past “bad blood” is less important than celebrating each other, the other focuses more on the personal timeline—he says he hadn’t seen the others in roughly 40 years—and the live performance detail.
