After a few key members from Deep Purple were excluded in the band’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame\u00a0induction, it appears that another contributor\u00a0will not be making attendance.<\/p>\n
Former guitarist Ritchie Blackmore revealed on his Facebook page that he will not be allowed to attend the ceremony under the authority of manager, Bruce Payne.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ritchieblackmore\/posts\/10153743892090020<\/a><\/p>\n Payne and Blackmore have had bad blood in the past. It eventually led to a lawsuit from Blackmore, accusing Payne of manipulating his share of the income from album sales. Payne and Purple responded by blurring out his face on band merchandise.<\/p>\n Vocalist Ian Gillen had challenged Blackmore by claiming he was told to have his image removed from Purple products. Blackmore, in return, fired back at his former bandmate, stating this justification didn’t support anything Blackmore said\u00a0previously. Despite these allegations, the President and CEO of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Joel Peresman specified that he had not denied Blackmore access to the induction with this following statement<\/a>:<\/p>\n “…There is no way he is banned from the ceremony. That notion we would ever do that is patently untrue. We’ve never banned any inductee. He is invited to come enjoy the evening and accept the award.”<\/p>\n Throughout this entire controversy, it’s safe to say that the Mark II lineup which\u00a0use to produce the foundation of heavy metal in the seventies had also burned a lot of bridges in their heyday. If Blackmore does decide to appear and perform with Purple, it could be the start of a healing relationship.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"