When Legends Reunite: The Deep Purple Comeback that Defied Expectations Ritchie Blackmore, the 81 year old founding guitarist of Deep Purple, re emerged on stage with his former bandmates at Jones Beach in New York.
This surprise appearance was a far cry from the acrimonious split between Blackmore and the rest of the band in the early 1990s.
The reunion was sparked by Ian Gillan's message to Blackmore, asking if he could join them for an encore. Blackmore agreed, despite having not played rock music in 25 years.