During an April 2025 interview with the U.K.-based TotalRock radio station, Candice Night, wife and longtime collaborator of Ritchie Blackmore, revealed that the ex-Deep Purple guitarist had suffered a heart attack in 2023. Night, who’s the lead singer of the renaissance folk-rock group Blackmore’s Night, which also features her husband, explained that because of Ritchie’s heart issues and other health problems, he currently isn’t able to travel by plane or take part in lengthy tours.
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Now, in a new interview with the Iron City Rocks podcast, Night has shared more details about Blackmore’s current health struggles, while also discussing whether the group had plans to play more shows in the future.
Night explained that Blackmore, who turned 80 in April, is dealing with “three main issues.”
“He has a heart issue,” she noted. “He had a heart attack a couple of years ago, so we stay on top of that. He’s got gout, so that’s difficult. It’s affected his feet really badly. And it’s starting in his fourth finger, so it’s hurting the mobility in that. So he just had an injection for that. And his back, of course, which has always been an issue.”
Candice added, “He hasn’t taken any back injections since he had the heart issue, so everything kind of is working together. So, it’s hard … for him.”
About Blackmore’s Issue with Traveling and Touring
In the TotalRock interview, Night revealed that Blackmore’s doctors told him that traveling by plane would put too much strain on his heart, so the band has made no plans to tour Europe. She also noted that even lengthy road trips by motor vehicles were a bit much for Ritchie at this time.
Most recently, Blackmore’s Night play a series of six concerts in April and May of ’25. All of the shows were within a few hours’ driving distance from the couple’s home on Long Island, New York.
Speaking with the Iron City Rocks podcast, Night elaborated why traveling was currently an issue for Blackamore.
“It’s not so much the travel on a plane,” she maintained. “Honestly, it’s the aggravation before you even get into the plane and after you get into the plane, and it’s all the sitting of traveling. So that’ll affect his back and all the rest of it. And the jet lag that stresses your heart.”
She continued, “Waiting on those lines when you have to get to [New York’s John F. Kennedy airport] and you have to go transatlantic, and then coming off and going back through the security lines and the customs lines and all the rest of that stuff … it really does take a toll on [even] a healthy human, so forget about someone who’s 80 years old and going through these issues.”
About Preferring to Play Local Concerts
Night also talked with the podcast about Ritchie’s current preference to play concerts not too far from home.
“[H]e would rather do places that he can drive to,” she noted. “He takes the night off the next day. Gone are the days where you do five shows in a row, including travel. That’s just way too much. For anybody, it’s difficult to do that.”
Candice continued, “And we don’t have a tour bus and we don’t have private planes. If we go someplace, I’m driving. So it’s like a mini road trip, but not really, because we have to just get to the place [and] rest that night. Hopefully it’s close enough to the venue. You get to the venue, you go back, you get a good night’s sleep that night. … [A]nd then you move on to the next place and have a day of travel.”
She added, “So it’s a very slowed-down way of doing it. But honestly, I’d much rather take something than nothing at all.”
Blackmore Expressed Interest in Touring Again Later This Year
Night also shared some positive news for fans hoping to see Blackmore performing sometime this year.
“[Ritchie] did just say to me … ‘What about doing some Blackmore’s Night dates in the fall?’” she revealed. “So, of course, I got greatly excited about that. So now I’ve got to contact the agent.”
With regard to Blackmore deciding to play more concerts again, Candice explained, “With Ritchie, if you try to pressure him to do something, he instantly says no. He’s like a teenager. … So I wait for him to come to the realization, or I drop little seeds here and there and try to wait for him to be ready to talk about it.”
About Night’s Recently Released Solo Album
Night also chatted with Iron City Rocks about her new solo album, Sea Glass, which was released in April.
Blackmore plays guitar on two songs on the record, the title track and “The Last Goodbye.”
(Photo by Frank Hoensch/Redferns)
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