Former Deep Purple vocalist Joe Lynn Turner has discussed his positive feelings about Ritchie Blackmore’s brief reunion with the band.
Blackmore made a guest appearance with the current lineup in August, performing signature track Smoke on the Water – a moment current guitarist Simon McBride said he’d been proud to have a small part in.
Turner fronted Blackmore’s band Rainbow in the early ‘80s before winding up as Ian Gillan’s replacement in Purple in 1989. That ‘Mark V’ lineup only lasted two years before Gillan returned.
Turner confirmed he’d seen video of the reunion moment, telling Cassius Morris: “I really, honestly, sincerely hope that healing had happened. I honestly hope it was not a dog-and-pony show, as we say – that it wasn’t just for publicity or notoriety. I really hope that Ritchie and Ian have sort of buried the hatchet – that they’re healing, that there’s no animosity.”
He continued: “Everybody’s so much older, and time and life is short. I hope they all realize that the nonsense everybody went through back then doesn’t mean anything compared to what they did together as a unit.”
Turner said he didn’t want to critique the actual performance, saying of Blackmore: “He’s 80 years old, he’s slowing down, he’s got certain ailments and all that. That’s not the important part. I think it shows people you’ve got to let things go. You cannot carry anger and hate – it’s absolutely destructive in our lives.”
He offered a note of positivity himself: “Those guys created incredible music. They were my heroes. I sat with my guitar and learned every Blackmore lick possible. I was honored and blessed to play with them.”
