Ritchie Blackmore Reunites with Deep Purple for “Smoke on the Water”

*Ritchie Blackmore of the British band Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow performs live on stage during a concert at the Velodrom on April 18, 2018 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Frank Hoensch/Redferns)*

Ritchie Blackmore reunited with his former band Deep Purple onstage at Jones Beach Theater in Wantagh, New York, for a performance of one of the group’s biggest hits.

Blackmore, who hadn’t performed with Deep Purple since 1993, joined the band toward the end of their set for “Smoke on the Water.”

Fan-shot video from the performance shows Blackmore kicking off the song with its iconic guitar riff.

Following the performance, frontman Ian Gillan told the crowd that Blackmore had contacted him a few days earlier about joining the band onstage.

“It was an absolute pleasure to have back onstage founder member, the great legend, the immortal, Ritchie Blackmore,” Gillan told the audience.

Gillan thanked Blackmore again before the guitarist left the stage as fans chanted his name.

Deep Purple later shared photos from the reunion on Instagram, describing it as “A big moment in rock history.”

Deep Purple is currently touring in support of its latest album, SPLAT!. The band’s next show is Thursday in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

Content for this summary was derived from original reporting by ABC Audio, as featured on 105.7 The Point