Ritchie Blackmore’s Career on Hold After Heart Attack

Ritchie Blackmore’s wife Candice Night revealed that the former Deep Purple guitarist suffered a heart attack in 2023, and that his career has been on hold as a result.

Doctors have advised the 79-year-old not to fly, and he’s also suffering additional health issues, she added. She also admitted that the situation had led to the couple having arguments about the future.

“Ritchie has actually been told by his cardiologist not to get in a plane,” Night explained in a recent interview with Total Rock (video below). “He had a heart attack about a year and a half ago. He’s got six stents.”

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She continued: “I can’t believe he’s gonna be 80 on Apr. 14th – which is crazy…he doesn’t look it, still doesn’t act it. But eventually medical things wind up catching up with you.”

Night said Blackmore was also dealing with gout, arthritis and a problem with his back that had been hounding him for years. “So it’s getting harder for him — it’s tricky,” she reflected.

Candice Night Wants Ritchie Blackmore Back on Stage

“I’ve seen people younger than him in wheelchairs on stage doing what they do… [but] I think he probably doesn’t want people to see him that way.

“From a fan’s perspective, I would think people would just be happy to be under the same roof with him and listen to him play whatever he comes up with.”

She laughed: “So we kind of have this discussion, or argument – I’ll say ‘discussion’ – all the time! But he was just recently at his cardiologist and they said, ‘Let’s put traveling by plane on hold.’ … Hopefully we’ll get that all straightened out and that’ll change.”

Watch Candice Night’s Total Rock Interview