Legendary Ritchie Blackmore has shared a candid — and characteristically blunt — take on fellow musicians, saying that “most guitar players aren’t nice people” during a recent fan Q&A.
The former DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW guitarist made the remark while reflecting on late guitarist Tommy Bolin, who replaced him in DEEP PURPLE more than five decades ago. Speaking during a surprise Instagram livestream hosted by his wife and musical partner Candice Night, Blackmore offered warm praise for Bolin’s personality and talent.
“Well, I knew him more as a friend. And he was such a nice guy that I couldn’t believe he was a guitar player, because most guitar players aren’t nice people,” Blackmore said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “He was so nice, and he was an Indian — I think Sioux Indian or something — and I would go around his house, and we’d often have fun just talking to each other. There was never ever any envy, no competition whatsoever.”
Blackmore also recalled a humorous anecdote about Bolin’s approach to his instrument: “I said to Tommy once, ‘When did you last change your strings?’ And he looked at me, like, ‘I should change them?’ And I said, ‘Well, yeah.’ And he said, ‘Well, probably about five years ago,’ ’cause they were so caked in dirt and grit. He was a brilliant player, a great player, but he never changed his guitar strings.”
Elsewhere in the livestream, Blackmore touched on his current relationship with members of DEEP PURPLE, confirming he still keeps in touch with some familiar names.
He said: “Yes. [DEEP PURPLE drummer] Ian Paice sends me regards now and again, and I talked to [DEEP PURPLE singer] Ian Gillan and [former DEEP PURPLE vocalist] David Coverdale. But I don’t know the new people in the band. I mean, obviously [current DEEP PURPLE keyboardist] Don Airey was in RAINBOW. Don is a brilliant keyboard player, but he has been in every band in the business.”
After a fan proposed that Ritchie might consider surgery for his foot gout to make a return to touring possible, Blackmore responded: “I don’t play with my feet. It’s not just my feet that I have a problem on tour with. I have a problem with my back, my heart, and my feet. And to go on tour at 81 is pushing it. And I don’t really wanna just sit down on stage, which I would have to do anyway. I’m kind of running out of energy a little bit. When you play rock and roll, you’ve gotta have a lot of energy, but I tend to like sleeping a lot these days.”
Health concerns have already led to canceled shows, including the final four dates of BLACKMORE’S NIGHT U.S. East Coast run last November due to medical reasons.
In a separate August 2025 interview on the Iron City Rocks podcast, Candice Night shed further light on Blackmore’s condition, revealing the guitarist is currently managing multiple issues.
“One of the things that’s so great about Ritchie is he can recognize — he’s very in tune with his own body, and he stays on top of everything,” she said. “Thank goodness. And when he doesn’t, I nag him to stay on top of it, which he hates, but at least somebody’s doing it — you know, like eating well and things like that.”
Night went on to share that Blackmore is dealing with several ongoing health concerns: “There’s the three main issues with him that are going on. He has a heart issue. He had a heart attack a couple of years ago, so we stay on top of that. He’s got gout, so that’s difficult. It’s affecting his feet really badly. And it’s starting in his forefinger, so it’s hurting the mobility in that, so he just had an injection for that. And his back, of course, which has always been an issue. He hasn’t taken any back injections since he had the heart issue. So everything kind of is working together. So, it’s hard — it is hard for him. But he’s at the point now where — he’s very smart when it comes to things like that.”
She also explained the physical toll that touring can take, especially given Blackmore’s age and condition.
“It’s not so much the travel on a plane. Honestly, it’s the aggravation before you even get into the plane and after you get into the plane and it’s all the sitting of traveling,” Candice revealed. “So that’ll affect his back and all the rest of it. And the jet lag that stresses your heart. All of these things. Waiting on those lines when you have to get to JFK and you have to go transatlantic, and then coming off and going back through the security lines and the customs lines… it really does take a toll on a human — on a healthy human, so forget about someone who’s 80 years old and going through these issues.”
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