Blackmore feared he’d be “shackled” to Deep Purple for the rest of his life

Ritchie Blackmore says he was glad to be replaced in Deep Purple as he feared he’d be “shackled” to the band for the rest of his life.

The guitarist quit Deep Purple in 1993, with Joe Satriani agreeing to step in to complete the band’s live commitments. Steve Morse replaced Satriani the following year and has been with the band ever since.

And reflecting on the mid-90s, Blackmore says in a video interview: “I’m just glad they found a guitar player to carry on because I thought I was going to be shackled to this band for the rest of my life.

“It was like a ball-and-chain thing and luckily they said, ‘Well, we found someone.’ I went, ‘Thank God I can get out.’”

Blackmore also praises both Satriani and Morse’s talents but adds: “Joe Satriani is a brilliant player, but I never really hear him searching for notes. I never hear him playing maybe a wrong note.

"Jimi Hendrix used to play lots of wrong notes because he was searching all the time and when he did find that right note, that was incredible.

“But If you're always playing the correct notes, there's something wrong – you're not searching, you're not reaching for anything. But that's not to say that he isn't a brilliant player. Same thing with Steve Morse – fantastic player.”

Blackmore’s new-look Rainbow released their album Memories In Rock II last month which featured the brand new song Waiting For A Sign.

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Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.