Last year, Ritchie Blackmore’s health concerns forced his tour with Blackmore’s Night to be canceled, and left many fearing the former Deep Purple guitarist would never play live again.
The 81-year-old said he couldn’t stop vomiting and that “the room wouldn't stop spinning” as he later addressed what caused the band to pull the plug on their tour.
He’s since been recovering at home – including hosting a surprise Q&A with fans via Instagram – and is coming to grips with the reality of the situation.
“I woke up one morning when we were on tour, and I had vertigo,” he tells Ultimate Classic Rock. “I've had heart problems, gout problems, and pain, but vertigo is the worst thing I've ever been involved with. You're very dizzy to the point where you have no control over any part of your body; you can't even think properly.
“It was like I was in a fishing boat at sea in the biggest gale you could imagine,” he adds. “I had to grab hold of anything I could find to stop from falling down. That scared the hell out of me.”
Two days later, Blackmore says his vertigo returned. That’s left a big question mark over his touring prospects.
“You think your whole world is ending right there,” he says. “It's a bit of a mystery. I've found that at my age it's time to pull back on touring. I do not like traveling anymore. I love playing on any stage, but sometimes the travel to get there makes me sick. I seem to have a phobia, almost about traveling too far, leaving the comfort zone of one's home.”
Recent Blackmore’s Night shows, as reported last year, have been within driving distance of the Long Island, NY, home the guitarist shares with his wife, and the band’s vocalist, Candice Night.
Playing shows “closer to home” isn’t entirely ruled out, but it’s clear that Blackmore’s health issues are imposing stricter parameters moving forward.
“It's a very strange ailment to have,” he accepts. “Consequently, I want to do our next shows. I want to be on stage. I want to play. I'm still playing all the time... but I don't want to go hundreds of miles. That seems to upset my equilibrium.
“I do like to be at home. So what I'm trying to do now is do dates that are closer to home.”
Elsewhere, Blackmore recently recalled the moment he knew he had to leave Deep Purple, and has addressed his relationship with Jimmy Page, insisting what you read about him online isn't always true.
