Ritchie Blackmore Shreds “Difficult to Cure” Live in 1985
Deep Purple’s official YouTube channel has just uploaded classic footage of the group performing “Difficult to Cure,” the title track from their 1981 album. The instrumental is a rock guitar interpretation of Ludwig van Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9.
The clip shows the song performed by Deep Purple’s Mark II lineup, featuring guitarist Ritchie Blackmore, singer Ian Gillan, keyboardist Jon Lord, bassist Roger Glover and drummer Ian Paice.
The clip was recorded at the Alpine Valley Stadium in 1985 while Deep Purple were on tour in support of their 1984 album, Perfect Strangers. That album was Deep Purple’s 11th studio album, and it’s the most successful album recorded by the group.
The latest incarnation of the classic rock act released its new album, Infinite, on April 7, featuring the song “All I Got Is You.”
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Christopher Scapelliti is editor-in-chief of Guitar Player magazine, the world’s longest-running guitar magazine, founded in 1967. In his extensive career, he has authored in-depth interviews with such guitarists as Pete Townshend, Slash, Billy Corgan, Jack White, Elvis Costello and Todd Rundgren, and audio professionals including Beatles engineers Geoff Emerick and Ken Scott. He is the co-author of Guitar Aficionado: The Collections: The Most Famous, Rare, and Valuable Guitars in the World, a founding editor of Guitar Aficionado magazine, and a former editor with Guitar World, Guitar for the Practicing Musician and Maximum Guitar. Apart from guitars, he maintains a collection of more than 30 vintage analog synthesizers.