The two guitarists Glenn Hughes thought were better than Ritchie Blackmore: “Incredible”
Taking over from an already established member of a band is surely never an easy undertaking, but for Glenn Hughes, he appears to have mastered the art of it throughout his career in both Deep Purple and Black Sabbath.
Not only did he manage to slip into the shoes of Roger Glover as the bassist for Deep Purple with ease after he departed from the group in 1973, but he also stepped in to replace both Ian Gillan and Geezer Butler as frontman and bassist for Black Sabbath in the mid-1980s.
While the latter wasn’t necessarily as successful for Hughes, with Sabbath having been lacking in power since the departure of previous vocalists Ozzy Osbourne and Ronnie James Dio, the fact that he was still willing to deputise goes to show just how industrious Hughes is as a musician.
Of course, outside of joining these established groups, he’s also enjoyed a fruitful career leading his own projects, such as Trapeze in the 1960s and ‘70s, and more recently fronting the supergroup Black Country Communion. This means that throughout his career, he’s had the pleasure of working alongside some incredible guitarists, with the likes of Tony Iommi and Ritchie Blackmore surely sitting towards the top of the pile.
However, when he was asked by Classic Rock during a 2025 interview who the finest guitarist he’s ever had the pleasure of sharing a stage with, his response was not to select either of these two legendary players, and while he had trouble narrowing his options down to a single player, he named two in particular that he believes eclipsed the talents of the aforementioned greats.
“Oh god, that’s really difficult,” he mused, pondering over the wealth of choices available to him. “I don’t want people to be upset with me because I don’t mention Ritchie or Tommy [Bolin] or Mel [Galley] or Pat [Travers], but I have to say it’s a tie between Gary Moore and Joe Bonamassa.”
Listing off a handful of more obscure names who he played with at various points in his career as worthy runners-up, selecting Moore, whose band he played in during the 1980s, and Bonamassa, the American guitarist who co-founded Black Country Communion with him, are both two solid picks that it’s hard to argue with.
Continuing to justify his choices, he explained by reflecting on some of the moments that stood out to him during his time collaborating with these two guitarists. “I’m talking about the fever it has given me working with them,” he added.
He continued, “Gary coming to my house at three in the morning and just blowing my mind – it’s incredible what a guitar player he was. And Joe Bonamassa is blowing my mind every night. Bonamassa is the greatest right now.”
It may feel like something of a snub to Blackmore, who he played with in Deep Purple for three years and has always been highly regarded by others, but if there was ultimately more of a connection between Hughes and these two other guitar greats, then there’s no reason not to elect them as the finest he’s ever had the pleasure of playing alongside.
