![[hand]](/hs-pics/portraits/hands/morse8.jpg)
![[face]](/hs-pics/portraits/faces/airey2.jpg)
Fact check optional
Ritchie Blackmore had his own ‘Mr.Grover, Mr.Gillian’ moment yesterday when a German newspaper decided to publish a birthday note for somebody famous. So they’ve probably consulted a celebrity gossip calendar and pulled up a stock photo of a guitar player from Deep Purple to accompany the blurb that came down the wire.
This was the result:
We at The Highway Star belatedly extend our best wishes to Ritchie on the occasion of his 75th birthday.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
Priceless
April 15th, 2020 at 15:15😅😅🤘
Happy Birthday Ritchie. You will always be the greatest guitarist ever.
April 15th, 2020 at 15:23Hahaa 🙂 I hope Mr Morso doesn’t feel offended.
April 15th, 2020 at 16:44Shame…
April 15th, 2020 at 17:18Ironic when you consider how much Ritchie loves Germany !
April 15th, 2020 at 17:48Ritchie is great artist, and so underrated, I don’t know what made Jimmy Page or Eric Clapton better than him? great guitarist and author, leader of “Deep Purple”, “Rainbow”, “Blackmore’s Night”. So long career.Well said Don Airey”Ritchie is probably the person I have met who is the most unsure of his own capacity. That is so strange.He always tried to outshine himself, changing things in the last minute. Those thoughts gnaw on you all the time. The last thing on your mind is that you are good”.
April 15th, 2020 at 18:26Happy Birthday and much more good music Ritchie
Luckily they didn’t pull a photo with Tommy Bolin 😉
April 15th, 2020 at 19:03From Italian first channel news Tg1
April 15th, 2020 at 19:36Wow! TMIB has changed his hair colour and had it straightened! Playing the wrong guitar too…. ha ha….
April 15th, 2020 at 22:06Hahahahahahaha! 😀😁😂😃😄😅😆
April 15th, 2020 at 23:43I’m RB can see the funny side of it… NOT!. 😲 😈
http://www.rai.it/dl/RaiTV/programmi/media/ContentItem-8bb3f28b-0930-4357-9ebd-67650eac49a6-tg1.html
Link for news about Ritchie Blackmore 75th birthday.
April 16th, 2020 at 05:16There is NO excuse for amateurish journalism like this!
April 16th, 2020 at 09:22Conrats Richie, Brilliant Guitar player, BUT
Like Steve Morse’s more melodic style more!
Good thing BOTH are still on the planet and I believe there is MUTUAL admiration
Let it rest there Comparisons are like ……. Chalk and Cheese!
After all these years, the new guy has finally achieved it: He became RB!
April 16th, 2020 at 10:01Wow – that picture has taken ten years off his age
April 16th, 2020 at 12:59Oh, they did this in another paper too! Never mind … reminds me of a show in Ulm in 1996 where the guy next to me shouted to his pal: “Boy, that Blackmore guy sure is good” Pal’s response:”See, what did I tell ya?! Didn’t know he dyed his hair though…”
April 16th, 2020 at 13:17Ahhh…. Happy Birthday Mr. BlackMorse…. 😉
April 16th, 2020 at 13:48Other than blatantly wrong.. I do like the pic of Steve. Really good one!
April 16th, 2020 at 16:18🤣🤣🤣
April 16th, 2020 at 17:19I missed this
April 17th, 2020 at 13:23http://www.rai.it/dl/RaiTV/programmi/media/ContentItem-8bb3f28b-0930-4357-9ebd-67650eac49a6-tg1.html
Priceless! Happy birthday Blacker!
Yes indeed, mutual respect. Ritchie gave kudos to Steve a long time ago while Jon was still in the band but with a caveat, and to paraphrase, “I don’t know how he puts up with the other four”.
My main man six stringer and humble sweet person will definitely find this hilarious.
Stay well Purple Star lads and lasses with this Chinese Corona insanity.
Peace,
April 17th, 2020 at 15:32Ted (Working from home in New Jersey. :<)
That’s perfectly reflect the stupidity of all the f….g media.
April 17th, 2020 at 16:05No idea what they doing. No idea what they talking about. Just make money , money ,money. I don’t want to be a grumpy old man but when I see the incompetence of certain person who suppose to be clever ( journalist is not someone like a factory worker) I wonder where this world is going. Sure some Factory worker are clever than some journalist. What a world.
Happy birthday Mr Ritchie. I saw u last week with Candice ( covid jam at home) and you are looking very good for 75. Must be a very good beer you are drinking. Lol. Long live DP family.
Relax, it was a mistake of the photo archive agency (everyone used that pic without thinking). The authors of the article, who very well knew the difference between RB and SM, stated in the article that Blackers had left the fold as of 1993.
Or maybe they just thought that a man in tights could impossibly be the guitarist of DP?!
April 17th, 2020 at 21:29I believe that pic is from the Purpendicular Tour. I saw them in Hanau then. They played nearly the then whole new album – the band was liberated … Ranks among my best DP gigs ever.
April 17th, 2020 at 21:33As for Steve’s well-documented love for printed tank tops, I wish he would follow his own recommendations more …
https://youtu.be/XX-A4HvoGu8
April 17th, 2020 at 21:37Ritchie is, for me and millions of fans, probably the best guitar player ever. For his music I congratulate him for his 75th birthday. As an icon and a public man who lives from selling his art, his way to deal with fans I can’t say the same. At 75 maybr he’s more gentle and less cruel.
April 17th, 2020 at 21:42Maybe Mr Ian Gillan had a hand in all this just to wind up Ritchie as usual.
April 18th, 2020 at 08:04Its all harmless fun.
Happy Birthday Mr Blackmore.
I was at an Allman Brothers show in 2006, and the guy behind me asked, “Which one is DUANE,man?” I politely informed him that Duane had died 35 years ago.
April 18th, 2020 at 14:16I love it! Steve has been with the band longer than Ritchie ever was. Yes, I know all the arguments but I will not live in the past. The past was great! But, so is the present!
April 18th, 2020 at 19:08Cheers!
Uwe @22: the article it self is from the news agency — it’s credited to dpa
April 18th, 2020 at 20:08For 1 april fools it is also too little, late
Best wishes almost 3 weeks later is lame.
Btw, what is the band going to do for the 50th Anniversary of IN ROCK?
Maybe Roger can extend the remix program for the rest of the songs.
Release the remix album in purple vinyl and I ll buy it.
Its been too long me buying CDs.So release that too.
Recently only buying biographies like Bernie Marsdens book.
April 22nd, 2020 at 23:49In Rock deserves a decent remix and remaster. Someone really has to sit down with those original master tapes, the original recording is incredibly distorted und the 90ies anniversary release made that painfully obvious.
April 24th, 2020 at 21:11@ Uwe
It was meant to be distorted, and heavy, and dramatic and exciting.
Everything Purple after Ritchie isnt.
I agree IN ROCK should have a 50th Anniversary REMIX. Glover stopped halfway last time in 1996!!!!
Well, at least an anniversary of sorts. Its ridicilous, no news at all about the 50 th anniversary options
They also skipped Jons baby last year.
So much for being touched and entwined, Gillan!!!!
May 7th, 2020 at 21:00