LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — A legendary guitarist had to postpone the rest of his tour after a stop in Pennsylvania left him feeling seriously sick.
Ritchie Blackmore wrapped up a concert with his band, Blackmore’s Night, in Lititz, Lancaster County, two weeks ago when he hit the road for their next show in New Jersey.
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“When we did the long drive from Pennsylvania to Newton, NJ, we were booked into a hotel that had a wedding party going all night in the corridors,” Blackmore said in a statement posted to the band’s website.
At the hotel, he said he experienced a ‘severe migraine attack” and “couldn’t stop vomiting.”
“The room wouldn’t stop spinning, and I was extremely dizzy to the point of not being able to stand,” Blackmore added. “Ambulance was called.”
FILE – In this Sept. 1, 1971, file photo, British rock band Deep Purple present their golden record they received in West Berlin for the sales of their latest album, “Deep Purple in Rock,” in West Germany. (AP Photo/Edwin Reichert, File)
Blackmore said doctors at the hospital diagnosed him with severe vertigo, which he credited to having no heat in his hotel room and wet sheets. The guitarist said he already has a long history of migraines and herniated discs, which require him to get back injections before tours.
“When one tours, you have a lot of people who have to be healthy. Unfortunately, I was the one who got hit this time,” Blackmore said.
The band’s website list all future tour dates as rescheduled. However, there are no new dates for the stops.
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Blackmore was one of the founding members of Deep Purple, where he developed the iconic riff in “Smoke on the Water.” For many people since then, the four-note melody was the first thing they learned to play on guitar.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2016, along with other members of the band.
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