David Coverdale accused the current members of Deep Purple of “preventing” former guitarist Ritchie Blackmore’s attendance when the band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016.
Blackmore was not present when the group was honored, saying in a statement at the time that “he was discussing the possibility of attending, until we received correspondence from the President of the Rock Hall of Fame, who said that Bruce Payne, management for the current Deep Purple Touring Band, had said, ‘No ……… .!!!!!’ Therefore, Ritchie will not be attending the ceremony. He sincerely thanks all the fans that voted for him for their support.”
Coverdale attended the ceremony along with fellow ex-member Glenn Hughes. “It was a complete and utter honor,” Coverdale told Z93 in a recent interview. “But I was only concerned about Glenn Hughes. The rest of ‘em I haven’t got time for. They prevented Ritchie Blackmore from coming in to be honored as a Rock and Roll Hall of Famer.”
