An Evening With RITCHIE BLACKMORE: No Autographs On DEEP PURPLE CDs

According to a posting on The Rainbow Fanclan Legacy, the latest issue of Sweden Rock magazine contains a very funny report from the release party for BLACKMORE'S NIGHT's new album, "The Village Lanterne", at the restaurant Cartouche in Prague.

The Sweden Rock reporter was flown to Prague from Sweden only to see BLACKMORE'S NIGHT mainman Ritchie Blackmore (ex-DEEP PURPLE, RAINBOW) chatting away most of the night with a Polish TV team. Finally the reporter get access to Ritchie for a couple of minutes and the guitar player gives weird answers, praises ABBA and JETHRO TULL and says he wants to play rock again (but with BLACKMORE'S NIGHT). All of a sudden BLACKMORE'S NIGHT manager and mother to Ritchie's girlfriend and band partner Candice, Carole Stevens, shows up and is angry because an interview is going on after curfew. Ritchie throws a piece of paper at Mrs. Stevens and explains that he was the one to ask the Swedish reporter to stay. When the interview is over, the Swedish reporter, who is a big fan of Blackmore, asks for a couple of autographs and all is fine as long as Ritchie Blackmore signs publicity photos of BLACKMORE'S NIGHT. When the DEEP PURPLE box set "Listen, Learn, Read On" is taken out, Ritchie asks, "Who gets paid for this?" The manager runs away with the box and the reporter is reminded of the story about the guy who got his copy of "Machine Head" ripped to pieces by the mother-in-law. The reporter sets off after Stevens and asks if he can get his box back. Stevens refuses and throws the box into the hands of the Swedish record company representative and says, "This is why Sweden never will get an interview again!"