Телевидение увековечило сенсационный момент этого концерта. Ричи выходит "на бис", начинает играть рифф к "Smoke On The Water", но, оглянувшись по сторонам и не увидев на сцене никого из музыкантов, разводит руками и уходит прочь.
Долгое время, с легкой руки фэнзина "Darker Than Blue", существовала легенда, согласно которой причина отказа выходить играть принадлежит Гиллану. Дело в том, что английская TV-программа "Old Grey Whistle Test", выпустившая ряд материалов о Deep Purple, настойчиво продвигала версию об исключително финансовых причинах реюниона Deep Purple в 1984 году. И это даже привело к ссоре между ее представителем и Гилланом.
Узнав, что британские телевизионщики находятся в Париже и хотят записать на видео целый концерт, Иэн разрешил им снимать только заключительную часть выступления. Но, когда подошло время, группа играть не вышла, оставив всех без encores.
Благодаря Роджеру, спустя 15 лет мы узнали реальную причину инцидента, которая заключалась в следующем.
Roger Glover
(29.10.02)
"Is this really what you think happened? In fact they filmed the whole concert, not a great gig at the time because IG was suffering from a bad cold and sore throat. In his usual manner he somehow found the will, if not the voice, to get through the set until at the end, said that for once it would be he who could not do an encore as he had a temperature, fever and a headache, apologized to the band and started off to the dressing room. Since there was nothing to do we all headed to the dressing room as well only to find that RB had taken the opportunity to zip back up on stage knowing that we wouldn't be there. He hammed up the non appearance of the band after a few riffs, thereby planting the myth that he was not at fault. It was a blatant (even cunning) move to upset the apple cart yet again. It still amazes me that of all the many, many times RB refused to do an encore, he is remembered fondly as the man who did and the band didn't, because the cameras were there to record it.
Those were the days ;-( "
А теперь - версия самого Блэкмора:
Ritchie Blackmore
("The Prince Of Darkness" interview by Stig Myhre, 2003)
"Some times I don't want to play 'Smoke On The Water', but it was like 'You HAVE to play Smoke On The Water', so on some nights I said 'I don't want to play, we have given them two encores, why do we have to do 'Smoke On The Water? In Paris they were a really good audience, but Gillan had a problem with something, so they went straight to the dressing room. I went 'Lets do 'Smoke On The Water', but everybody was going 'No, were not going to do it'. I thought I'll fucking do it because I knew what the audience would think 'Ritchie is in another mood, he won't play 'Smoke On The Water' so Deep Purple won't come back on'. I went back on to say 'I'm here, they are not'. That was my point because it was very easy to blame everything on me. It was like 'If there's a problem it's Ritchie's fault'."
