RITCHIE BLACKMORE Says One-Off DEEP PURPLE Reunion Would Be 'Fun'

Mick Burgess of Metal Express Radio recently conducted an interview with Ritchie Blackmore (ex-RAINBOW, DEEP PURPLE) and Candice Night of BLACKMORE'S NIGHT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Metal Express Radio: I think when the BLACKMORE'S NIGHT project started, the general consensus was that it was a side project, something for Ritchie to get out of his system before embarking on his next hard rock record. You have obviously shown that this is not some flash in the pan and this is a band that is very close to your heart. Is Ritchie enjoying himself in a way that he had not for many years before forming BLACKMORE'S NIGHT?

Ritchie: "I have a newfound freedom in this band because we have no boundaries. We can play whatever we want to, whenever we want, whether it’s folk, rock, pop or renaissance music. It's a liberating feeling to not be stuck in a box or to have a neat little label stuck on your style of music."

Metal Express Radio: People would say it must be difficult living AND working with your other half. What do you do to get away and maintain your own space? Do you have separate interests or do you still do most things as a couple?

Candice: "We are a really good balance for each other because his strengths are my weaknesses and vice versa, so where one falls short, the other comes through. It's a yin-yang situation. We spend almost all of our time together and have the same interests, but we also know when to give each other space. He'll walk through the woods and I'll go for a movie night with the girls. But we don't take much time away from each other. We enjoy and understand each other completely."

Metal Express Radio: Do you feel that many of your old fans from previous bands have come along and supported you in BLACKMORE'S NIGHT and do you think some have come to shows purely to see Ritchie play on the basis of his history and been pleasantly surprised by the quality of the music?

Ritchie: "I think many have. Then there are those that you can never please. The same ones that when I was in RAINBOW wanted me to go back to PURPLE and when I was in PURPLE wanted me to be in RAINBOW! I don't care about them. At the end of the day, I play what pleases me — no one else."

Candice: I think a lot of Ritchie's fans have followed him since the beginning of his career. They're now older and maybe not as into the hard music anymore. But they know the Blackmore name is synonymous with skill, so whether Ritchie's playing electric, acoustic, or the Hurdy Gurdy — it's going to be great. Now they're married, so their wives like the music because it's softer and more romantic. Their kids like the music, because they're still innocent and like to dress up like Robin Hood or a princess. So we bridge generations and gender in our shows with our music."

Metal Express Radio: Jon Lord recently said that he would like to get all of the surviving past and present members of DEEP PURPLE together for a one-off show. Would you be up for that?

Ritchie: "It would be fun to get the MK 2 line-up together for a one-off, but I wouldn't be able to deal with their management."

Metal Express Radio: Do you keep in touch with any of your old band mates from RAINBOW or DEEP PURPLE?

Ritchie: "I bump into some from time to time. We may be doing something with Joe [Lynn Turner] as a guest vocalist on one of our tracks."

Read the entire interview at MetalExpressRadio.com.