In a new interview with Tales From The Road, Deep Purple frontman Ian Gillan was asked about his bonding with Ritchie Blackmore.
When asked about sharing the stage with Ritchie, Ian said (via Blabbermouth):
“No. The answer to your question is yes, we are in touch. Tensions eased quite a lot after we got hold of our business affairs and sorted everything out. There were previous managers from the past who had not done things exactly as you would like. I didn’t get paid for 10 years when I was with DEEP PURPLE — in the big years — and goodness knows what happened to all that. And there were other tensions too. And needless to say, it was all pretty nasty when we finished and Ritchie walked out.
He continued:
“But we’re too old for that now. We’ve both written some pleasant notes via our managers. I can’t write to Ritchie or phone him because he doesn’t have a telephone, he doesn’t have a computer. He lives in a world of Greensleeves — he lives in a medieval world, and he has messages given to him and that sort of thing. But he’s sent some pleasant words to me, and I’ve sent some pleasant words to him.
He further added:
“There are still issues; there are still bones of contention. I’ve seen a lot of rubbish being spoken — it’s not worth even rising to the occasion — but I hear David Coverdale and others talking about what happened at the Rock And Roll Of Fame. Well, we were very kind to everybody, the current band. And we did invite Ritchie to play ‘Smoke On The Water’ with us at the ceremony, but he declined. So, [those] are just opportunistic remarks from the others.