Ritchie Blackmore is an undisputed guitar god, as well as a possible inspiration for some scenes in Spinal Tap. With five decades of rocking with Deep Purple, Rainbow and Blackmore’s Night, Blackmore has plenty of unforgettable moments and we rounded up 10 of his most hilarious.

Whether Blackmore is being purely ridiculous or has the world’s driest sense of humor, his interviews are the stuff YouTube wormholes are made of. Back in the Deep Purple days, Blackmore’s feud with singer Ian Gillan was very public. It got so bad that Blackmore actually divulged a plan to attack Gillan from behind with a mob of friends. “We’ll beat him up, but he won’t know it’s me,” the guitarist said, even though a camera was right in his face.

Blackmore’s upbringing was quite strange, as he a describes his mother as a “gypsy” who used to “put spells on people.” Apparently, Ritchie picked up a few tricks from old Mum. “I learned all these curses and superstitions, how to read people’s minds,” Blackmore said before adding the comedic cherry, “And my father worked at the airport.”

More philosophically, Blackmore also claims to think much more about death than life, as you’ll see in this video compilation. “I think death is very important. I think it’s going to happen to all of us,” he expressed before clarifying, “Most of us, not all. Some of us might get away with it.”

Check out these 10 Hilarious Ritchie Blackmore Moments in the Loud List above.

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