Get a lawyer, immediately!
Ritchie Blackmore does a livestream on his 81st birthday.
Thanks to Candice for making this happen, to Igor’s Rock Universe for posting it, and to Uwe for bringing it to your attention.
Happy birthday, Ritchie!
![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/glover7.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/mcbride2.jpg)
Ritchie Blackmore does a livestream on his 81st birthday.
Thanks to Candice for making this happen, to Igor’s Rock Universe for posting it, and to Uwe for bringing it to your attention.
Happy birthday, Ritchie!
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Happy birthday Ritchie, good to see you ‘out and about’. Cheers.
April 15th, 2026 at 00:11A delightful and informative interview; a lot of comments for the history books. The cat, Winter, was also paying rapt attention. I’m glad Blackmore set some of the writers straight who claimed he hates Page: in fact, he gives him top marks all ’round.
April 15th, 2026 at 01:50Ritchie’s humor is still intact, if not his hearing. And his long-term memory is extraordinary. Candy’s short-term memory is extraordinary: that’s a good combo to have in the wife-hubby relationship
Glad he still speaks with Ian Gillan and David Coverdale; Ritchie once said Ian was a “fantastic” singer and made him laugh on stage – I’m glad they’ve put all the ill will behind them. To be a fly on the wall when they converse!
Eddie Van Halen and RB were rock pioneers in more ways than one, when it came to experimenting with amplifiers, the whammy more and scalloping the guitar.
One of the definitely positive aspects of aging is the growing uninhibitedness in your personal demeanor, constantly and with explorative love for results picking your nose during an interview – with your spouse doing, uhum, bugger-all to stop you! ☝️😎 Whenever I pick my nose in public I get admonished in no uncertain terms. Something to look forward to then. 🤗
There was a time when Ritchie’s judgement on Alvin Lee (not Albert Lee, he always admired his artful alternative picking) was less altersmild benevolent, I remember a 70s interview where he said “People like Alvin Lee play completely wrong – all those downstrokes and hammer-ons where they should do alternative picking.”
April 15th, 2026 at 07:14I listened to the whole interview, the part where he says he tried tapping, but he didn’t like it because he wanted to hear “the real notes”, and that he also considered it trendy and didn’t want to mix with the other guitarists who were doing it is very interesting… this explains a lot of things about his cacophonous-improvisational evolution in the 80s.
It’s good that you’re talking to BigIan & David: the hatchet gets rusty as we age and weighs too much to be held in our hands anymore.
I had read years ago that Eddie was disappointed by Ritchie’s unfriendly behavior, but maybe it was at the beginning of his career… I don’t remember well
April 15th, 2026 at 07:41It was great listening to him reminisce about other guitar players and some of the more colorful R&R characters. I learned that we have something in common, the same brand of beer; although I like mine dark and strong enough to knock your D*** in the dirt. Haven’t been able to get mine over here for some time though. https://www.taverntrove.com/imagecache/monchshof-klosterbock-dunkel-labels-kulmbacher-export-brauerei-monchshof-a-g-_40923-1.jpg_H1534.jpg
April 15th, 2026 at 08:00Did Ritchie borrow Joe’s wig 😬, Happy 81″st Ritchie!
April 15th, 2026 at 12:06He looks a bit tired..and I can understand that from my own experience..pain makes you tired.
I loved the drinking story with Rory Gallagher..Ritchie is a hard drinking man but no match for the great Rory Gallagher LOL!!
Happy birthday Ritchie, your the one and only!!!
April 15th, 2026 at 12:54Hi Ritchie, thanks for your musicality!
April 15th, 2026 at 14:21I love to listen deep purple, rainbow.
Bye from Italy!
What great interview – lots of good stories an when you think of his timeline and helluva lot of
musical history that he has experienced with some of the greats. Imagine being in the studio when Ritchie, Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page all were noodling around.
Its nice to hear that he’s in communication with the old team!
Wonderful – lets hope for one more tour however small
April 15th, 2026 at 15:57@7… Yes Ritchie is a bit tired with all those health problems he has. He mentioned that he sleeps most times now more then ever, and that we will most likely never see a tour from him again. My Dad is the same age and has the same problems Ritchie has so i can understand where his health is at in this point of his life.
April 15th, 2026 at 16:31Ah, he’s gotten much kinder in his assessments of fellow musical colleagues in his old age. I remember how he used to trash Fleetwood Mac in magazine interviews back in the ’70s – fast forward thirty years or so, and Blackmore’s Night is covering “Rhiannon” live! Methinks his wife may have had some influence there …
I wish folks would stop badgering him with questions like “When are you coming to play a show [insert overseas country here]?” It’s pretty obvious he’s unable to tour any great distance from here on out, though I suppose he might make the odd surprise appearance at local Long Island hangouts and such. He gave a second interview last night from his basement bar, where he showed how gout has affected one of his fingers and noted that he barely leaves the house because of the pain he’s in, and that he prefers sleeping these days.
April 15th, 2026 at 20:10I was hoping for a comment or two about the recent Rainbow box set and the Rising album in particular. Regarding the non remix etc, even the exclusion of the LA mix from that set. To have Blackmore talking for that long on this ‘video’ was special in that aspect, even with the ‘black’ cat intervening occasionally. Maybe the cat was trying to get Ritchie to wear his hat? Good to hear Ritchie’s take on a few things as usual. Thanks for posting. Cheers.
April 15th, 2026 at 21:37Which song is he talking about that he and Jeff Beck played on together AND was being produced by Jimmy Page ? Google doesnt seem to know…..
April 15th, 2026 at 22:52From alternate picking to finger picking and now to nose picking; ladies and gentlemen, the legendary Ritchie Blackmore!
Very enjoyable interview! Happy birthday to Ritchie!
Ah, and if anyone wants to listen to the Greek song he mentions :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rcOwvZ26KFQ
It’s funny that the guy who wrote it (there have also been some allegations that he stole it, but this makes it even more blackmore-ish, doesn’t it?) is also a Deep Purple fun. Here he does, for good or for bad, a cover of Highway Star :
April 16th, 2026 at 06:21https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WglsuS7PZfg
Now what’s with this Helena he lauds? If you like me were wondering …
https://youtu.be/YzhSJzwaLZ0?si=96nmJY_PE2qndRg2
We learn from this: Das Geburtstagskind is
– an avid Eurovision Song Contest watcher,
– doesn’t mind a little Beyoncé-inspired ethno dance pop as long as the chorus wouldn’t sound out of place on a Blackmore’s Night album.
April 16th, 2026 at 06:2613 if you hear the interview at least from what I got, he doesn’t confirm that it is still around. This is not official.
April 16th, 2026 at 16:45The Eurovision Song Contest singer he’s mentioning is Helena Paparizou who competed for Greece that time. But she was actually born and raised in Sweden, but of Greek descent, and she lives in Greece now as far as I know. She’s also competed in the Swedish Melodifestivalen which is where you qualify for the Eurovision. Worthless facts on a DP site, but facts nonetheless 🙂
April 16th, 2026 at 16:47#12 MacGregor:
Yes, it would be nice if Ritchie talked about the Rainbow Remixes, but if he didn’t care 25 years ago, imagine if he cares now!
April 16th, 2026 at 21:16So many recordings were wiped from the old days, especially pre 1970’s. If anyone could get in a time machine and return to those days and save everything. Well some of it could be good, a lot of it probably not so. The same with film and television recordings. Tape and film was expensive back then, not like the technology that followed, a dime a dozen etc. Re recording on pre used tape, reels and film was the norm, from what I have read and heard from artists of that era. Cheers.
April 17th, 2026 at 00:29Happy birthday to Man in Black, to me the man with the most delicious guitar sound in the world
April 17th, 2026 at 01:58