Blackmore hadn't played with the band since departing under acrimonious circumstances after a show in Helsinki, Finland, in November 1993, and his relationship with frontman Ian Gillan has remained frosty.(Louder)
However, earlier this week, during an Instagram Live post, Blackmore revealed that he had reached out to Gillan to ask if he could appear at the show in Wantagh, a short drive from his home on Long Island.
"I sent my A.I. pigeon to Ian Gillan in Portugal, where he lives at the moment," said Blackmore (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). And I said, How would you feel about if I got up just for an encore? Just one of the songs. I don't want to intrude. And I said, No pressure - just kind of [for] old times' sake.' I'm 81 now. So he seemed to love the idea, put it to the band, got a thumbs up, and it looks like we might be doing that."
And now they have. Blackmore joined Deep Purple onstage at the climax of a 100-minute set to perform Smoke On The Water, a song powered by his most famous riff. After the song, Gillan told the story of Blackmore reaching out before introducing him.(Louder)
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