Yngwie Malmsteen Opens Up on Why He Never Joined Deep Purple, Explains Why He Always Preferred Live Over Studio Albums

Swedish guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen looked back on his friendship with Deep Purple members and revealed why he never joined the legendary band.

Yngwie has always been very open about Ritchie Blackmore’s influence. After all, they have in common a fusion of classical music — mainly baroque — and rock ‘n’ roll. On top of that, we could say that their personalities are equally (in)famous. We’ll never know whether this unusual lineup could have worked out or not, but it’s fun to ponder how this Yngwie Purple would have sounded.

Speaking to Eddie Trunk recently, Malmsteen was asked about whether there were any chances of him joining Deep Purple in the past, with the guitarist replying (transcribed by Ultimate Guitar):

“Yeah, there were talks here and there. I was hanging out with Ian Gillan, years and years and years when he was actually out of the band for a minute and then back again. And Roger Glover was always a really cool guy.”

“I did have a really good picture from Japan, actually, where I’m on stage with… It’s me, Roger Glover, Ian Paice, and John Lord. Because John Lord came on stage that night, it was long after he left.”

“So, yeah, it’s always been a good vibe. And it just, I don’t know… It just didn’t happen, you know?”

Elsewhere in the conversation, Malmsteen also reflected on his fondness and, in a way, preference for live over studio albums. According to the Swedish neoclassical shredder, it always felt better to listen to these live recordings as opposed to the original releases. Reminded of Deep Purple’s legendary 1972 record “Made in Japan,” he offered:

“The funny thing is that, out of all the bands that I thought were great, it was always the live albums I like the most. Could have been UFO or Thin Lizzy or Judas Priest or whoever. Their live thing was always the one I like the best.”

“And not to mention ‘Made in Japan,’ of course. ‘Made in Europe’ is good as well.”

“So, yeah, I used to think that there was a different thing about the live album. You get the taste of what the show is like. It’s a little different sound and playing and feel and all that stuff. I always liked it.”