Candice Night, who has been married to Ritchie Blackmore for 17 years but has been together with the legendary DEEP PURPLE and RAINBOW guitarist for 36, spoke to Dawn Osborne of TotalRock about the possibility of Ritchie returning to Europe in the not-too-distant future for live shows with their long-running project BLACKMORE’S NIGHT.
She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): ”As far as flying anywhere right now, Ritchie has actually been told by his cardiologist not to get in a plane. He had a heart attack about a year and a half ago. He’s got six stents. And I can’t believe he’s gonna be 80 on April 14th, which is crazy, but he doesn’t look it, still doesn’t act it, but eventually medical things wind up catching up with you. So we’ve gotta make sure we keep him happy and healthy. And he’s dealing with gout and some arthritic things. And, of course, his back has always been an issue for years. So it’s getting harder for him — it’s tricky — but, hey, I’ve seen people younger than him in wheelchairs on stage doing what they do.
Ritchie, Candice and their two children reside on Long Island, New York, near Port Jefferson.
Blackmore is a co-founder of DEEP PURPLE and wrote many of their most memorable riffs, including ‘Smoke On The Water’, but he has not played with the group since his 1993 departure.