“Jon Lord Opens Up: Why Ritchie Blackmore Walked Away from Deep Purple – Fed Up with David Jameson’s Direction and Joe Lynn Turner’s Exit Being the Final Straw”
In a rare and revealing conversation, Deep Purple’s legendary keyboardist, Jon Lord, shed light on the long-debated departure of iconic guitarist Ritchie Blackmore from the band. According to Lord, Blackmore’s exit wasn’t just about musical differences—it was deeply personal and fueled by frustration.
Jon Lord explained that Ritchie had grown increasingly disillusioned with the band’s direction during the era when David Jameson held significant creative influence. “Ritchie was just fed up,” Lord admitted. “He didn’t like where things were going. He always wanted to push Deep Purple into new territory, to evolve, to experiment. But what David Jameson was doing at the time, the choices being made—it just didn’t sit well with him. Ritchie felt like we were boxing ourselves in.”
Lord revealed that Blackmore had hopes of reshaping Deep Purple’s sound, taking the band somewhere different, but those aspirations clashed with the internal dynamics and the direction favored by others. “He wanted to take risks, but he didn’t feel supported. It wasn’t just frustration—it became fatigue,” Lord reflected.
However, the breaking point, according to Lord, was the departure of vocalist Joe Lynn Turner. “Joe leaving was it for Ritchie,” Lord said. “He didn’t want to stay anymore. That was his endpoint. He saw no path forward without Joe in the band. For him, there was no longer any reason to keep going with Deep Purple as it was.”
Jon Lord’s candid comments paint a picture of a talented but increasingly isolated Blackmore, who ultimately chose to walk away rather than remain in a situation where he felt creatively stifled and unsupported.
Though Deep Purple continued to forge ahead without Blackmore, his departure marked the end of an era—one that Jon Lord now says was inevitable, given the mounting tensions and creative disagreements that had quietly been building behind the scenes.
“Ritchie had his battles, and he made his choice,” Lord concluded. “And in the end, I think it was the right one—for him.”
