Originally posted by astorian
Yeah, the Scorpions were all balding when I saw them in 1982 with Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow.
Well, not necessarily!
Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull is one of the few aging rockers who’s always accepted his receding hairline and expanding waistband with common sense and humor. And he’s long enjoyed teasing his colleagues who can’t or won’t accept the fact that they’re balding! More than fifteen years ago, I heard him on a radio show laughing about how his old friend Ritchie Blackmore was going around wearing one of those big furry Buckingham-Palace-Guard hats, to hide his shiny head.
Was Ian fibbing, or just making a joke? Perhaps… but it’s equally possible that Blackmore’s current hair is fake.
[Ritchie Blackmore] Hair. Grip on reality. Hair. Grip on reality. Hair. Grip on reality. Oh, bugger, I need several drinks. Then I’ll ask my Tarot cards. Hmm. Has anyone noticed that the Magician from the Ryder pack looks an awful lot like me? Where’s the bloody whiskey?[/Ritchie Blackmore]
Actually, when Deep Purple got back together in '84, they were all in their forties, and Ritchie’s hairline didn’t seem to be any further back than it was in some of the pics I’ve seen from the '70’s, so maybe Ian Anderson was just kidding. Unless the Man in Black had a bald spot more toward the back of his head that crept forward, as seems to have been the case with Kevin Du Brow. A bald spot in the back is easier to hide, up to a point…