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Rock Icon, 80, May Return to the Stage but Only on His Terms<\/a> originally appeared on Parade<\/a>.<\/i><\/p>\n Former Deep Purple guitarist Ritchie Blackmore\u2019s<\/a><\/strong> health issues have thrown a wrench into his touring plans over the last couple years, but his wife and Blackmore\u2019s Night bandmate, Candice Night<\/a><\/strong>, revealed that he\u2019s considering putting some fall tour dates on his schedule.<\/p>\n \u201cWith Ritchie, if you try to pressure him to do something, he instantly says no. He’s like a teenager\u2026So 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,\u201d Night said during the \u201cIron City Rocks<\/a>\u201d podcast on Monday, August 4. \u201cAnd he did just say, ‘What about doing some Blackmore’s Night dates in the fall?’ So, of course, I got greatly excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n However, fans in the U.K. shouldn\u2019t get their hopes up. Due to Blackmore\u2019s physical limitations, Night said that he\u2019d rather perform at \u201cplaces that he can drive to.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe don’t have a tour bus and we don’t have private planes. If we go someplace, I’m driving,\u201d Night added. \u201cSo it’s like a mini road trip\u2026You get to the venue, you go back, you get a good night’s sleep that night. It’s a very slowed-down way of doing it. But honestly, I’d much rather take something than nothing at all.”<\/p>\n RELATED: \u2018Stranger Things 5\u2019 Teaser Uses Deep Purple’s Haunting Rock Epic to Foreshadow Final Battle<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n Blackmore suffered a heart attack in 2023 that led to six stents being placed in his heart and his doctors put the kibosh on traveling anywhere by plane due to the \u201cstress that jet lag puts on the heart.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cHe had a heart attack a couple of years ago, so we stay on top of that,\u201d Night explained. \u201cHe’s got gout, so that’s difficult. It’s affecting his feet really badly. And it’s starting in his forefinger, 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. It really does take a toll on a human \u2014 on a healthy human, so forget about someone who’s 80 years old and going through these issues.\u201d<\/p>\n While no official dates have been set, fans may still get the chance to see Blackmore take the stage, but it will definitely be on his own terms.<\/p>\n