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Deep Purple's Ian Gillan Makes Ritchie Blackmore Admission


. (Classic Rock) Deep Purple singer Ian Gillan has recalled how he used to go to the pub during bandmate Ritchie Blackmore's guitar solos. And the only thing that stopped him was the group's success as the 1960s and 1970s progressed, making it more difficult to pull off the sneaky feat.

Blackmore bowed out of Purple in 1993. Recent attempts by David Coverdale to reunite the MkIII lineup as a tribute to late keyboardist Jon Lord failed to work out.

Gillan tells Radio Rock: "I love extended solos. I used to like them in the old days a lot - because it used to give me time to go to the pub for a drink. I used to have to tell one of the roadies, 'When Ritchie looks like he's nearly finished, come to the pub and let me know.' Every night; I'm serious."

He describes Blackmore's solos as "his personal orgy" and adds: "In England there used to be pubs near the stage door. But when we started playing bigger places, of course, you can't leave the building." Read more here.

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Copyright Classic Rock Magazine- Excerpted here with permission.

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