The Day Ritchie Blackmore Left Deep Purple – 1975
- FaceOff - עימות חזיתי
- 10 hours ago
- 2 min read
On April 7, 1975 Ritchie Blackmore made his last show with MK III lineup.
It was early April 1975, and "Deep Purple" had just wrapped up their U.S. tour in support of "Stormbringer", an album that had pushed the band further into funk and soul influences—territory that didn’t sit well with Ritchie Blackmore. Disillusioned with the band’s musical direction and increasingly alienated from his bandmates, Blackmore made a decision that would shake the hard rock world: he was leaving "Deep Purple".
The tipping point had been brewing for months. Blackmore, the band’s founding guitarist and riff-master behind classics like “Smoke on the Water” and “Burn,” had grown frustrated with what he saw as a lack of edge in the new material. While David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes embraced a more soulful, groove-based sound, Blackmore longed for the heavier, more classical-inspired rock that had defined earlier albums like "Machine Head" and "In Rock".
The "last straw" for "The Black Man". During the recordings of the album "Stormbringer," Ritchie Blackmore asked the band members to record a cover version of the song "Black Sheep of the Family" by the band "Quatermass" from 1970, but they objected.
Blackmore decides that was too much for him and already in February 1975 he joined Ronnie James Dio, from whom he was very impressed while with his band "Elf" warmed up "Deep Purple". In secret, he recorded a solo project with Ronnie James Dio and members of "Elf" — what would soon become "Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow". That album, released later in 1975, was proof that his departure was more than just a reaction; it was a calculated move toward a new vision.
When the tour ended in Paris on April 7, 1975, Blackmore informed the band that he was done. No press conference, no public fallout—just a clear, final decision. He would play no more shows with Deep Purple. That performance at the Palais des Sports would be his last with the band for nearly a decade.
The rest of "Deep Purple" was stunned but determined to press on. Within months, guitarist Tommy Bolin was brought in to fill the void, and the "Come Taste the Band" era began. But fans and critics alike knew something fundamental had changed. The chemistry that fueled the classic Mark II and III lineups had been deeply tied to Blackmore’s unique sound and presence.
For Blackmore, leaving "Deep Purple" was both an artistic escape and a risk. But it led to a new chapter with "Rainbow"—one filled with epic, neo-classical hard rock and a legacy that would become legendary in its own right.
Luckily, Blackmore's last full show with the MKIII lineup was recorded and you can listen to it here:
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