Glenn Hughes, the legendary vocalist and bassist, recently reflected on his 2016 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, where he was honored alongside other former and current members of DEEP PURPLE.
During an October 3rd “in conversation” event at Sydney’s Crowbar, Hughes spoke about how he was treated by the other PURPLE musicians who were inducted that night, excluding singer David Coverdale.
Glenn said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): ”There was no, ‘How are you tonight?’ None of that. There was no family vibe, there was no hugging, there was no handshaking, there was no, ‘How’re you doing, pal?’ None of that. And it was f**king uncomfortable. Let me tell you, it was uncomfortable.
“When we were getting the awards, at the end, when we’re all standing with these incredible lifetime awards, if you’ve seen the show, and this is the thing that really, really, really, really upset me to the point of tears, I went to congratulate [DEEP PURPLE singer] Ian Gillan, and as I got close to him, he put his arm like this [out in front of him], ’cause he did not want me to get near him. So I grabbed him like this [to give him a hug] and said to him, ‘Oh s**t.’ I can’t tell you what I said, but I thought it was very f**king stupid to do it on live TV where you have to show resentment or whatever you wanna call it. I was really upset. It didn’t make me angry; it really hurt my feelings. Why did he do that? I don’t know.
“Look, I have deep respect respect for all musicians, as I do with people and you guys in the audience — deep respect,” he added. “I get very upset. And I’ve had my fair share of crappy, weird things happen. I wasn’t the nicest guy when I was drunk. But to do that to a family member whilst I was thanking and congratulating him on his award… He didn’t wanna know it, didn’t wanna f**king know. That was really rude.”
Earlier this year, Hughes was asked by Guitar Interactive Magazine if he had communicated with any of the other inducted members of DEEP PURPLE since that night, aside from singer David Coverdale, Glenn responded: “No. I will never speak to any of them again — simply because they were rude. Both Roger [Glover, PURPLE bassist] and [Ian] Gillan [PURPLE singer] were rude to David and I. Very, very hurtful. I didn’t give a f**k, actually, ’cause I knew they were rude to begin with. I was the only sober man there.”
“I don’t care about those guys,” he said. “Gillan was rude to me on stage accepting the award. I went to congratulate him. He looked at me in the eyes like I didn’t exist. The guy has a problem with me. Period. I’ll let him run with it. I feel bad for him. I’m really sorry about his wife [Bron Gillan, who passed away in November 2022, reportedly after a long illness]. I’ve tried to reach out to him. He doesn’t wanna know. I’ve tried to make some kind of friendship with him over the last 40 years. He doesn’t wanna know. David Coverdale and I don’t exist to him. I wish him only the very best, but I have no time left for that behavior.”
During a 2020 interview with Eonmusic, Coverdale discussed how he and Hughes were treated by DEEP PURPLE ahead of their Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction in 2016.
He said: “[Ritchie Blackmore and I] had been talking about it. We’d been nominated before and never got in, and I said, ‘Are you going to go?’, and he said, ‘Nah.’ I said, ‘Well, I won’t go then.’ [Laughs]”.
“But what had happened in 2016, literally, once it had been announced that we were officially being inducted into it, the current DEEP PURPLE refused to go if Ritchie Blackmore was going to be there,” he continued. “And this was, like, 72 hours before, when I was ready to fly with my family. And this cost me, like, $75,000 or $85,000, because you have to pay for all the tables apart from the one you’re on, and I had my daughter fly in from Germany, my son came out of college. It was a family affair.”
“Suddenly, Glenn Hughes and I were told, ‘Well, we don’t want you singing with us.’ Initially, I’d spoken to Ian [Gillan] about coming up and singing the backgrounds of ‘Smoke On The Water’, because originally they were going to close the show. So, that suddenly was pulled, the plug.
“They tried to stop us doing speeches, and my wife was f**king furious, apart from the fact she spent a fortune on posh dresses. [Laughs] And I said, ‘F**k it! Nobody’s going to keep us off.’ I got in touch with Carole, Ritchie‘s manager, and I said, ‘Tell him to come with me. Nobody’s going to f**king touch him. Tell him to come with me,’ and he didn’t want to do it.”
“The first thing I said when I was up there, was, ‘None of us would have been standing here without Ritchie Blackmore,’ and I made sure of that point,” Coverdale added. “Steve Morse and Don Airey [current DEEP PURPLE members] were more complimentary to Glenn and I than the other guys. We had a blast; we had a f**king great time. I’m very happy that I am who I am, and I just talked to Glenn the other day about it: ‘What the f**k was up their a—s?!’ “So we didn’t get to jam, which was fine. We were back doing press while they were performing, just having a good old time like the unrighteous brothers always do.”
He said about Ritchie Blackmore: “He doesn’t give a s**t, and he knows he was responsible for the majority of the music there, and it’s true — none of us, none of us would have been on that stage without Ritchie Blackmore. None of us.”
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