article styled as a music memoir or magazine piece, recounting the incident from Don Airey’s perspective:
**“That was my cue to do a ten-minute keyboard solo”: Deep Purple’s Don Airey recalls the time Ritchie Blackmore fell over onstage while soloing**
In the pantheon of hard rock’s most unpredictable characters, Ritchie Blackmore easily takes a top spot. Whether hurling guitars, dodging spotlights, or simply walking offstage mid-set, his eccentricities are as legendary as his fretwork. But as Deep Purple’s keyboard maestro Don Airey remembers, sometimes fate — or gravity — gets the final word.
The moment in question took place during a particularly fiery performance in the early 2000s. Airey doesn’t recall the exact city, but the moment itself is seared into his memory.
“We were in the middle of ‘Highway Star,’ and Ritchie was absolutely on fire that night,” Airey says, smiling at the recollection. “He was doing one of his wild solos, moving around the stage like a man possessed, the crowd eating it up.”
Then, disaster struck — or comedy, depending on how you view it.
“Suddenly, mid-run, he tripped over one of the monitor cables and just… vanished,” Airey chuckles. “One moment he was there, center stage, shredding like mad. The next, he’s on the ground, still playing, mind you, but definitely not upright.”
The band didn’t stop. In true Deep Purple fashion, the show went on. But someone had to fill the space.
I looked over, saw Ritchie on his back still trying to play — bless him — and thought, ‘Well, this is my cue,’” Airey recalls. “So I launched into this ten-minute keyboard solo. I just went for it. Synth, Hammond, classical flourishes — the whole toolbox.”
Airey, who had joined the band officially in 2002 following Jon Lord’s retirement, is no stranger to improvisation. His resume includes stints with Rainbow, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake. Still, he admits the impromptu solo was a memorable moment even by his standards.
“You never want to step on Ritchie’s toes, musically or otherwise. But when he’s lying on the floor, all bets are off,” he laughs.
Blackmore, to his credit, took it all in stride.
“After the show, he just gave me a nod and said, ‘Good solo,’” Airey says. “That’s Ritchie. A mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in a Stratocaster.”
Despite the fall, the performance went down as a fan favorite. And for Airey, it’s a reminder of the beautiful chaos that comes with playing in one of rock’s most iconic — and volatile — bands.
That’s the magic of Deep Purple,” he says. “You never really know what’s going to happen. You just hold on tight, keep your ears open, and be ready when it’s your moment — even if it comes because someone tripped over a cable.”
Let me know if you want this restructured into a first-person format, a formal article, or someth
ing more humorous or journalistic.
Leave a Reply