Deep Purple‘s longest-serving members have been unified in recent years on one thing: their career with Ritchie Blackmore isn’t due for a reprise.
It’s no secret that Blackmore tends to rub people the wrong way. The guitar hero’s brusque personality is part of his legacy.
So much so, that in a joint interview given beside his wife Candice Night, Blackmore once said that “smiling” is “not a normal thing” and he admitted that he deliberately gives people the impression that he’s annoyed in order to be left alone.
Bassist Roger Glover, who worked with Blackmore in both Deep Purple and Rainbow, says the guitarist’s sullen act is a known trait among those close to him. But that knowledge doesn’t make Blackmore any more pleasant to be around.
“I think he is wired that way, but then enjoys it — he enjoys putting people on edge and people not quite knowing what he’s up to,” Glover explained to Eddie Trunk. “That’s his personality, I guess. But he’s first and foremost a musician, and you’ve gotta take the music away from the man. ‘Cause the music alone is brilliant — he was an incredible player, an auteur, an instigator. He was on his road, and we were with him on that road for a while.”
Glover admits that out of all five members of Deep Purple, he got along with Blackmore the best in their heyday together. He probably has the most remaining affection for Blackmore all these years later.