Jon Lord discusses his time working with Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple.

This is a great interview with Jon Lord who discusses his period in Deep Purple Mark 2 with Ritchie Blackmore and the band. It is a witty and frank discussion that all Purple fans will love to watch.
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#RitchieBlackmore #Rainbow #BlackmoresNight

[@JK-zo4px]

Miss him so much. Not only a fantastic musician. A humble person too. ❤

[@evgeniygontcharov3426]

I miss him too 😔

[@gazzzza]

@@evgeniygontcharov3426 a lot of us world wide miss him terribly what a great , humble clever person he was rip jon ,, never forgotten

[@smileridedrum]

Totally agree with you!

[@71brett]

My dad still always talks about when he went to the Albert Hall in the 70s to watch a night of rock keyboardists and he said overall it was awful as the acoustics never lent itself to rock music, but he always goes on about how outstanding Jon was and he was the only one that truly shone that night. Jon was just so good, whether classical or hard hitting hammond stuff he really had it down.

[@kevinreily2529]

Yes. He told Richie Blackmore you’re my idol, how do you want me to sing? Richie Blackmore never had the success with other bands that he did with Deep Purple! Coverdale was horrible. I never liked any of those other vocalists.

[@163andyc]

Rest in Peace Jon Lord.

[@GregV58]

Jon, besides being such an enormously talented musician, had such a knack for storytelling with a dry witty humor that never failed to make me laugh. R.I.P., and "Carry on Jon".

[@europeanzorro4330]

He was such a gentleman! 😢

[@ofilipequintans]

His honesty when speaking of the band is quite impressive. Lord was one of those, one a kind.

[@WhiteWizzard]

You can see it still distressed him , how they almost broke to the top

[@ofilipequintans]

@@WhiteWizzard exactly.

[@raymondmitchell7582]

Gentleman Jon, such an immense talent and beautiful human being. Still sadly missed, and for me such an import part of Deep Purple and the Deep Purple sound. Miss you Jon.

[@dougmitchell2]

Yep fuckn oath mate

[@donramonramirez5141]

Somos varios quienes lo extrañamos ... 😢😎🇦🇷

[@mjp96]

Lord and Blackmore were the best combo ever.

[@threalismaradona9899]

They were deep purple any version without those two I do not consider deep purple

[@GaryClark-qy5yy]

Jon and Ritchie cannot be replaced

[@SatWiseJanx]

Might as well add Ian Paice

[@rbell3109]

He`s a nice, nice man@@SatWiseJanx

[@SatWiseJanx]

@@rbell3109 I know. I worked on Deep Purple's first website and online store from 98-02 and had the pleasure of getting to know him. He always remembered my name and took time to well, be Jon. I still shed tears over him and the memories he blessed me with.

[@smileridedrum]

@@SatWiseJanx again I add if I may: totally agree with you! Jon and Ritchie were the starters of the history, Paicy consolidated the unique Deep sound. To be truth all of them (especially mrk2 with big Ian and Roger, but not only mk2) where best in class in their instruments. Each of them could play 2 hours of a solo concert and ppl wouldn't be annoyed. Made in Japan solos will be sculptured in rock history forever!

[@JohnC-or7ln]

Yes definitely. They made their sound so unique. You have to include Ian Paice too. Incredible drummer.👍

[@vidsforsquids]

Jon Lord - the King of Heavy Rock Organ

[@theant9821]

The Lord of Rock

[@bpabustan]

Without a shadow of a doubt, the Lord of Hard Rock/Heavy Metal keyboardists!

[@mjp96]

"Nobody can compare to my Organ."

[@carlklejna5774]

No doubt!!!

[@rammstein1994able]

That's why I place DP above Led Zeppelin

[@jaapvander3787]

for me Deep Purple is one of the best bands ever.

[@mjp96]

5-piece brilliance. Saw them in 1984 Perfect Strangers tour.

[@gregdolecki8530]

Mark II lineup.

[@gitaneVYS491R]

Early 70s DP , to my ears, is unrivalled. Great band.

[@VincePalamaraJFK]

Jon Lord= fantastic musician and wonderful person.

[@stege9979]

I couldn't agree more. Truly a gentleman and a marvelous part of the Deep Purple sound.

[@seanmeehan-js5kh]

Deep Purple were all top notch musicians which is why they stand out. Having Jon Lord on Organ gave them depth in sound that others couldn't match.

[@philipcournoyer7024]

Wow saw them in 70's 3 times never screamed so loud

[@svencarlsson343]

I recently saw a video that said an important key to his sound was playing the fifth below the root... when playing only root and fifth... try it - definitely sounds more awesome and "purple"...

[@davidwand8046]

Exactly. Organ made that band.

[@wilsonbrownofficial2828]

@@svencarlsson343thanks for the tip. Will try this 😀

[@scottgalloway345]

Organ featured in a few bands around that time,notably Uriah Heep & Vanilla Fudge

[@Gunners_Mate_Guns]

Jon Lord, the man who made keyboards sounds badass.

[@Simpleburger1968]

I never fail to be impressed when listening to Jon being interviewed , he never disrespects or denigrates anyone , he just tells things as he sees or saw it without bitterness or anger ...he walked that "tightrope" so well .....if ever the term "Gentleman" was deserved it is he .....

[@charlietheflow]

A gentleman, we miss him

[@charlieritchie5980]

Jon never forgotten brilliant. Deep purple Rock icons all of them.

[@IceStationZebraAssociates]

I could listen to Jon telling Purple stories for hours.

[@leehambleton9919]

What a great musician Jon was in fact all the members of Purple were brilliant

[@walterevans2118]

BRILLIANT musician......LOVELY Man ...We miss Jon SO MUCH.

[@user-ft7tj9zz9x]

Not only a great talent, he went out of his way to help younger players improve in both classical and pop music.

[@TheGrouch2000]

RIP Jon. Such a big part of my youth. The Gillian era Purple were, in my opinion, up there with Sabbath & Zeppelin as the best the British had to offer rock. & therefore the best.

[@erictripton]

Thanks for posting, Ritchie. A band is a family. Things happen.

[@rangerwhite5165]

I think everyone still here, must look back at the ego clashes and wonder what it was all about. As a teenager in the 80s, the music of Rainbow, Dio, Purple, Whitesnake et al, made my life a little bit better.

[@thescarletandgrey2505]

Fantastic musician. Seems like he was a great person to get to know. Hope he’s resting in Purple Heaven now

[@henryfitch8710]

Jon Lord, what a phenomenal musician and spokesman for Deep Purple. I believe he was the leader in the early days of the late 1960s and helped bring in Ian Gillan and Roger Glover. He's sadly missed; I had a teacher in the 1970s who was a great pianist who looked exactly like him with the moustache and long hair. I saw him i.e Jon in concert in the early 1980s near London when the classic Deep Purple Mark 2 reformed. An incredible experience!

[@henrikthorsen5971]

Jon Lord being the perfect gentleman as always, I can't think of anyone more ikeable than him.

[@PageMarker1]

Leo Lyons is reachable out there these days. These Brits are so down to earth in their later years. I think Deep Purple was bigger than Led Zeppelin in '73, at least in Asia (Japan) is my impression. Blackmore was a far more polished player than Page when playing live, for me at least.

[@marcarturi2137]

I saw you guys on the Machine Head tour at Chicago Stadium. There were a few technical glitches and after one final feedback, John Lord leaned over his keyboard and with his heavy deep voice, imposingly large frame, and thick British accent said " if I hear one more feedback, HEADS WILL ROLL!" We loved it, the crowd went nuts!

[@cjMbuck]

I was at that show as well. 12th row in front of Blackmore. Johns Sebastian opened solo. He was a last minute performer. Deep Purple was LOUD. I loved Blackmores showmanship.

[@JoeR203]

Around 1985-86 I was a bellhop at The Showboat Inn in Greenwich, CT. and one of my jobs was doing the room service calls. Jon was there a few times and always ordered scrambled eggs and would always ask me "Did you bring the ketchup?" when I got to his room. One time, Ritchie was staying there and I brought breakfast to his room. He was in the shower and his tall blond girlfriend let me in with the food and signed for it. I guess it's a good thing I didn't get to speak to him because I would have asked if he ever met Eddie Van Halen. From what I've seen in KZbin videos, he didn't much care for EVH back then. He probably would have told me to "F__K OFF!" and kicked me out of the room. lol

[@mariajobson739]

Lived there for a time...know The Showboat well...Glover had a house in Greenwich for a time...

[@svencarlsson343]

Hearing Highway Star for the first time on a small radio, lying in a sleeping bag in he family sailboat was my intro to understanding the power of rock music. Later on, Speed King became the mantra that ran in my head as I hoon skated everybody off the ice back in Sweden...

[@harryh5620]

Still, my favorite rock keyboardist ever. Period.

[@paulgraham1812]

Jon lord was a very special person, my love of classical music can be directly attributed to this man. Sarabande and Pictured Within are beautiful albums

[@iansimpson5112]

Pictured Within simply straight from JL's soul imho...

[@carlsandberg1146]

John Lord always a gentleman and good ambassador for DP

[@grahammaguire404]

Jon lord from the extremely "CLASSIC" School of muscians and an incredible influence on countless of keyboard players, I'll go as far to say his gift will forever live on and be a blueprint for others to look up to and ADMIRE RIP JON LORD far to special to be forgotten.

[@Frisbieinstein]

I think Jon Lord is the man who led the trend towards classical music style in rock.

[@philliptree1742]

Could listen to Jon Lord all day 🙏🙏

[@pmcclaren1]

John & Ian Paice were the 2 who were in all 4 lineup changes; held the band together. 1 of the best bands ever--

[@jimmysaviano4950]

Machine Head is pretty close to a perfect album. So much tuneful brilliance, composition, and instrumental and vocal virtuosity. Who Do We Think We Are, not as great, but still a damn fine album. When Blackmore is “on,” in the studio, shooting for perfection, his songs, riffs, and of course guitar leads, and all the bits he throws in…amazing. And of course, Lord…the quintessential rock keyboardist. And Glover, Paice and Gillan. Lot of talent under one roof.

[@rickleblanc8900]

I love Who Do We Think We Are, fantastic album. I think it's underrated because of Machine Head and Made In Japan, two "untouchable" albums. And while we're at it, In Rock and Fireball are really awesome as well.

[@jimmysaviano4950]

@@rickleblanc8900 I don’t know why, but not much on Fireball touches me. I’ve grown to have a much greater love for MIJ over the years: when it came out, I just didn’t grasp the overall power, etc, interaction because I was so young. Here’s the way I rank them….1. Machine Head, 2 Who Do We Think We Are/Perfect Strangers/MIJ all tied. 3 Burn/ In Rock, 4 Fireball and Stormbringer

[@brianphillips9152]

They had an incredible band. I missed Deep Purple in my youth. I was born in 73. However, in my adulthood I have gone back to experience those early records. They stand up as if they were made yesterday. Leading edge musicianship and such a powerful sound.

[@carlklejna5774]

What a talent who is still so missed . Class act

[@stege9979]

Lord and Paice did go on to become classic parts of Whitesnake also though. The Purple family is so complicated that I'm amazed of how many solid masterpiece albums we got of the group. Today they're all part of the great rock and roll history. We all have our favorites. Jon Lord was ever the gentleman though, and I don't think there is a person in showbiz that doesn't miss him.

[@F1Slunk]

Love the honesty. RIP Jon

[@jamesaufdenberg4630]

Jon Lord seemed to be a really down to Earth good man. RIP! PURPLE, ZEPP, and HEEP

[@marjanvasiljevic]

Hvala Ritchie za sve ovo što si izneo u javnost! Mnogo toga nismo znali. Da te služi zdravlje i veliki pozdrav!

[@144Donn]

"Who DO We Think We Are" is one of the least mentioned Albums. It was the first I bought and to my mind, their best album!

[@lukefitton7329]

It was never one of my personal favourites but Smooth Dancer, Rat Bat Blue and Place In Line are great tunes.

[@silkyammer]

An absolute Gentleman

[@Bob-of-Zoid]

Strangely, I liked the early Deep Purple the most: Shades of Deep purple, Book of Taliesyn, Deep purple, In Rock, Because they had more of a jazzy feel. Of course Ian Gillan was a whole different animal than Rod Evans, and the harder rock was great too, but it was almost two different bands to me. John Lord was a wizard on the keys and he killed a few Hammond B3's live on stage! They whaled and grunted in agony as he shook and bounced their guts out!!

[@lukefitton7329]

Ian Gillan is my preferred vocalist but Rod Evans was awesome and the Self-Titled album in 1969 is my favourite album ever. The track ‘April’ was a perfect swan song for that lineup.

[@IansDrumsandBass]

Love listening to Jon, Roger and Paicey speak, always very honest and interesting to listen to, regarding our interest in Deep Purple. It's great to hear unbiased stories about what was going on behind the scenes, especially back in the 70s those very early days. They just went on to become, in my book, one the biggest success stories in hard rock - despite the pressure and interval conflict. I think Jon, Paicey and Roger have always spoken very openly and honestly about the band, especially about what was happening behind the scenes all those years ago. It's inevitable that there would be conflict, very few bands don't have conflict, we were and still are, just so unbelievably lucky to have grown up listening to such enormous talent, and such amazing music. I still remember back when I was about 16 or 17, (' 75/'76), listening to Machine Head for the umpteenth time, but suddenly realising what an absolute masterpiece it was. I, obviously, always knew that all their albums were great, but suddenly a penny dropped, and I was like WOW, this is REALLY good - far better than I had thought before, there was suddenly a way deeper appreciation for the work they did, as I began to listen to all their albums in a different light and a deeper appreciation.

[@walterevans2118]

Jon was A PEACEMAKER

[@svencarlsson343]

Ritchie - Master of Melodic Flow - as in Pictures of Home...

[@Steven91637]

Gentleman and so humble

[@user-wn3ry5sk5i]

Older and wiser. Ooh, how young they all were and full of energy back in the day.

[@geezberry8889]

ritchie isn't a business man he's an artist.

[@Bazzeboy]

And a thief as well…

[@raymondmassie4898]

A legend if ever there was one

[@bishlap]

IMHO, Deep Purple's sound, or what made them different/instantly recognizable was Jon Lord's keyboard work.

[@IansDrumsandBass]

Yeah, that organ in Purple and Uriah Heep just MADE those groups. I do think though, that Jon deff got a heavier sound out of his Hammond in comparison to Ken Hensly, Heep were probably not looking for the same sound, but Jon did a lot of work on the organ to get it to sound like that, I once read a very interesting article about how he achieved that sound that we all loved.

[@donramonramirez5141]

​@@IansDrumsandBassEso puedes verlo en Making Machine Head ... Allí, Jon explica cuánto hizo trabajar a su técnico para lograr que el Hammond sonara más agresivo, rústico, para que no desentonara en un grupo de rock ... Jon no deseaba un sonido como el de The Doors ...

[@IansDrumsandBass]

@@donramonramirez5141 huh..?

[@donramonramirez5141]

@@IansDrumsandBass Yes, Sir ... See Making Machine Head ... in A DVD ☝️👍🇦🇷

[@IansDrumsandBass]

@@donramonramirez5141 oh ok. 👍🏻😊

[@stevenrwilson181]

A fan for years but only got a chance to see them on the Perfect Stangers tour. To this day best concer i ever saw. I named my son Ian after Ian Gillian

[@tekannon7803]

What an incredible experience it must have been for Jon Lord to have been a part of and for the band to go to superstardum when Ian left the band and one can only imagine what it was like when Ian woke up a year later and saw Deep Purple go into an orbit like no other band. He must have done what Mick Taylor surely did when he realized he had left a successful rock band in a time when one out of 50,000 bands made it to the big time!

[@KRS2000]

"With the benefit of hindsight, if I had been the manager, I could have kept that lineup going for at least another 3 or 4 years. There were solutions to any of the problems"- Jon Lord, Classic Album Reviews: Machine Head, 2002.

[@ArchieFatcackie]

Another fine gentleman of rock.

[@stansnegg5005]

Jon Lord was an outstanding keyboardist.

[@dwimmor]

Jon and Ritchie are both in my GOAT band, along with Plant, Bonham, and Entwistle.

[@ombreleather]

Misleading title. Jon spoke more about Gillan and the issues surrounding his leaving. I really wanted to hear Jon talk about his friendship with Ritchie and the early Deep Purple days. RIP Jon, you were great and probably kept the band together longer than anyone knew.

[@robertromero2928]

My Man Jon Lord, never shy to be the spokesman for Deep Purple. To bad Ian left with Glover. Lord is the greatest organist / synthesizer keyboardist ever. R.I.P. Jon Lord

[@Cl4rendon]

Jon the gentleman knew exactly what went down with Gillan & Blackers, but diplomatic as he is, refrains from going into details which i really admire him for!

[@fazole]

Childish competition.

[@michaelburke9435]

Great guy....amazing musician !

[@Cali62825]

We wouldn’t have BURN had Gillian stayed. Coverdale/Hughes were a great addition to the band.

[@NightShooter87]

Great musician and very articulate. Without Ian Gillan there is no Deep Purple, Coverdale was never in his league. I was wondering what Jon was going to say about working with Richie, I'm still wondering.

[@petercrosswind4936]

John Lord RIP 🙏🕊

[@dougmitchell2]

The best key boardist ever

[@steffanhoffmann]

Respect Ritchie 👍

[@shauncorless8965]

What a guitar player ,,😊

[@amoruzz]

Pumping a Hammond organ into a cranked Marshall stack just keep from being drowned out by Blackmore's 200 watt Marshall makes for a helluva sound. 👍

[@alffa6244]

I've read several times that Richie used modified 400w Marshalls at the time, which was unimaginable, but what can you do to be considered the loudest band in the world 😂😂

[@chrismoyse3529]

God I love Jon Lord. What a man.

[@user-xd7ze1fc8v]

The most important comment the drop off you get with change.

[@Del_Bezerra]

Three great keyboard players I admire: Rick Wright, Ray Manzarek and Jon Lord.

[@geosmith3436]

Beautiful man

[@GaryClark-qy5yy]

Sorry I left out Ian Paice also cannot be replaced, a fantastic drummer.

[@johnwattdotca]

It wasn't easy back then, trying to "rock out" onstage. I was playing lead guitar and singing, and when I got the first Deep Purple songs down for the band I was surprised how much I got off on the blend between keyboards and guitar. It really gave something to me. Back then, seeing a big Hammond organ onstage didn't seem hard rock because it's more of a church organ. Burn was good, Stormbringer, You Fool No One, and for a funky slow jam, "Sail Away". Yeah... "sail away tomorrow, sailing far away, it's time to steal or borrow, I'll be back some day".

[@OUTRONAUT]

I miss Jon. ✨

[@gregberzinski3996]

Lovely human!

[@gregdolecki8530]

One of the greatest tragedies in rock and roll. That lineup was the best.

[@Alexanderpaal67]

R.I.P 💜

[@toreckman8899]

My cousin worked with Gillan in LA. Make no mistake, while talented he was the problem. Jon charismatically handled the subject of Gillan.

[@Diagnoc]

Do you mean to say « diplomatically » handled… ?!

[@conpappas1066]

Jon Lord, an amazing musician. Great guy.,I met him once in with all that other guys. And I got the guys to sign made in Japan album. I won't sell it even for 1 millions dollars. It's priceless! There is,🎸🎸🎸👍 and were some great bands before and now. But no one like Deep Purple!

[@eddiespanner]

Jon Lord, always the diplomat, loved the guy to bits. I just wish he had the courage to bang a few heads together at the time. As for you Blackers... it's time for a blues album don't you think? Call your friends...they will come.

[@makinganoise6028]

So hard to find Keys player for a band, everybody want to be a guitar player, I'd ban the sale of guitar for a decade and I say that as a singer and guitarist. We only do a couple of DP covers, the 3 younger members of the band didn't want to do them, but now look forward to them, especially the keys player, Demons Eye, gives him opportunity to shine, not many keys player who do Jon's stuff tbf, man was a genius.

[@michaelkarlsson5966]

seems like the 80s ruined the role of the keyboard player alot. 60s and 70s keyboardists in general in rock bands had a larger more fun role to play. I feel sad for music taking that direction.

[@friotaiocht101]

Amazing keyboardist & musician what else can be said about Jon Lord just an amazing amazing talent... sadly missed that's for sure...

[@sweetitis]

I concur I was one of those fans who saw every band that came to town My fav recollection of Deep Purple is watching Lord and Blackmore start trading leads in mid song and hilariously attempting to extricate back to main theme Two wonderful entertaining talents carving out the new live rock show

[@centinela24542]

Jon was the real leader of the band, but he often allow Ritchie to say what to do. Too bad they can´t reunited with David Coverdale and did some albums with Ritchie, something beetween Rainbow and Blackmore Night would have been a great work having Blackmore, Lord, Hughes and Coverdale. Anyway, we miss you Jon!

[@zdravorazum]

Jon Lord looks like Terminator!!

[@w4mpx]

Assisti Jon Lord na Virada Cultural em São Paulo, magnífico!

[@erichartman5348]

A band is a family and families fight sometimes.

[@evilelf5967]

A big sound from a big man,they don't come around often,glad i got to witness the power of john lord playing his seminal parts to purple's amazing body of work.sadly missed.

[@BoardgameBaker]

Gentleman, master musician and all around lovely person.

[@muchopomposo.6394]

I'm pleased Gillan left, because had he not, we wouldn't have known about David Coverdale and Glen Hughes. The best era of Deep Purple, in my mind.

[@chrispalmtag3243]

Absolutely 💯👊🎯

[@bernhardnizynski4403]

What a great line up!

[@mybachhertzbaud3074]

Their talents worked together like caramel on ice cream! Sweet and smoooth! 😁🎶🎹🎶Play On

[@mr7354]

I always knew a DP song because of Jon Lord's unique style. RIP.

[@2112CO]

I saw Perfect Stranger's tour Big Mac Denver Colorado 1985 loud as hell

[@gretareinarsson7461]

Such a miss for music. RIP wonderful JL❤

[@QuarrellaDeVil]

Re: Jon's opening comment. I'm pretty certain I've seen Ritchie elaborate on this, with Ian Gillan having a George Harrison-like "I'll sing how you want me to sing" type of moment in response to Ritchie's thoughts about moving in a bluesy direction, but "Ritchie Blackmore discussing his relationship with Ian Gillan when working together in Deep Purple" might be an inkling as to what went wrong.