WHITESNAKE leader David Coverdale has officially retired.
The 74-year-old British-born rocker, who was also the lead singer of DEEP PURPLE from 1973 to 1976, announced the end of his five-and-a-half-decade career in a video message shared earlier today via his YouTube channel.
In the clip, which can be seen below. David said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, brothers and sisters of the ‘SNAKE, a special announcement for you. After 50 years-plus of an incredible journey with you, with DEEP PURPLE, with WHITESNAKE, Jimmy Page, the last few years has been very evident to me that it’s time really for me to hang up my rock and roll platform shoes and my skintight jeans. And as you can see, we’ve taken care of the lion’s wig. But it’s time for me to call it a day.
“I love you dearly. I thank everyone who’s assisted and supported me on this incredible journey — all the musicians, the crew, the fans, the family. It’s amazing, but it really is time for me to just enjoy my retirement. And I hope you can appreciate that.
“Once again, I love you with all my heart. Fare thee well.”
In July 2024, WHITESNAKE and Bruce Dickinson bassist Tanya O’Callaghan was asked by Finland’s Chaoszine if the Coverdale-fronted outfit would ever resume its farewell tour, three years after WHITESNAKE pulled out of its previously announced North American run with the SCORPIONS due to what was described at the time as Coverdale’s “continued treatment for a persistent upper respiratory infection. She said: “We’re hoping… We’re hoping to finish the cycle at least, but I can’t really speak fully for David because he’s, as he says himself, never say never. But he’s still recovering a little bit because that was a pretty intense tour run. And between rehearsals and everything, he had gotten sick and a lot of health stuff unfolded for him. But he’s doing pretty good. He’s really excited about doing the farewell DVD and the book, and all that will be hopefully next year, which is fantastic. And, as he says, never say never. Maybe we’ll go out around that, but he wants to write and record some stuff. So WHITESNAKE is not finished… It’s not over by any means. But I don’t know what iteration it will be that is next. Maybe, hopefully, I hope we finish the tour cycle. I really, really hope we do ’cause it’s a great group of people to work with.”
In November 2021, Tanya officially joined WHITESNAKE as the replacement for longtime bassist Michael Devin whose departure was revealed a few days earlier.
In October 2023, Coverdale told SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” about WHITESNAKE’s future plans: “Well, my band and I are in touch all the time. There is still a WHITESNAKE and there are still offers coming. I can’t entertain anything until I get my physical aspect together.
“I had a fall recently, which I don’t think helped my… I’ve got two torn rotator cuffs, which would certainly compromise my performance,” he explained. “But arthritis, all this kind of stuff’s kicking in.
“My heart goes out to Steven [Tyler] after the [2023 AEROSMITH tour] cancelation. It’s so awful, getting older and having this burden of responsibility to try to be as good as you can so you don’t disappoint anybody. And I know how he feels and I sent my love to him through our friends, mutual friends.
“But I can’t commit to anything until I know how my health is,” David added. “The last thing I wanna do is go on tour and have to do what happened last year, which was come home, tail between my legs. It was heartbreaking. And being sick for a year didn’t really help matters.”
In May 2023, Coverdale told Rockonteurs about his respiratory infection: “That was really bad. When these things get on your cords, that just closes you down entirely.
“I spent a fortune keeping the guys [in my band] as safe as we could; we called it the ‘COVID bubble.’ Private jet wherever we went. And still COVID came in and took some of the crew out. It was really challenging.”
Coverdale also shot down the suggestion that the WHITESNAKE farewell tour will drag on for many years to come. “I know contemporaries of mine that have been doing a farewell tour for 20 years,” he said. “That’s not it. I’m [73]. It’s a number that I see and go, ‘Really?’ Because most of the time I certainly don’t feel like that kind of age that would be the perspective we had growing up, when 20 looked old, 25 was ancient. 30? You’re kidding. It’s just fascinating to look at.”
On June 28, 2022, WHITESNAKE scrapped three shows on its spring/summer European tour due to Coverdale’s infection of the sinus and trachea. Three days later, the rest of the trek was also called off. At the time, David blamed the decision on “continuing health challenges, doctor’s orders, and our concern for everyone’s health and safety.”
David was not the first member of WHITESNAKE to fall ill during the group’s spring/summer 2022 European tour. Guitarist Reb Beach missed several shows on the trek in June 2022 after being “under the weather.” On June 25, 2022, WHITESNAKE canceled its show at the Rock Imperium festival in Spain due to the fact that drummer Tommy Aldridge “went down” and “was bad enough at the time to have missed the first show ever in his career,” according to Coverdale.
In April 2023, Coverdale told “Rock Of Nations With Dave Kinchen And Shane McEachern” regarding the possibility of WHITESNAKE resuming its farewell tour in 2024: “It’s not really a professional decision. It’s literally a health decision.
“[In 2022] it took me seven months to get rid of a sinus infection that went so deep into my body… And then we discovered a secondary one, which is why I had to cancel the U.S. tour,” he explained. “So all of that appalling antibiotics I had for three months, all the damage it did to my system, was a waste of time because this other infection was canceling it out. So I had to go on to heavier medications and steroids, and at the same time ignoring a torn rotator cuff.
“When I was onstage with Steve Vai at Hellfest [in France in June 2022], which turned out to be the last WHITESNAKE show — hopefully not the last WHITESNAKE show [ever] — underneath my shirt, my shoulder was taped up like I was going into the arena to face another gladiator,” Coverdale revealed. “And you couldn’t really tell. And thank God I could still fling the mic stand around. But as soon as I got signed off back in January, the infection had gone, I realized that we had to sort out the shoulder, ’cause that had been of secondary importance — minor compared to this, ‘Am I ever gonna be able to sing again?’ That’s a big deal. It’s something you wake up and almost take for granted.
“So, I’m getting a lot of approaches [regarding Las] Vegas residencies. I’m not quite sure about that. I feel I owe Japan. I feel I owe the U.S. I feel I owe South America. ‘Cause I’ve been pretty successful for 50 years, and you can’t buy that. It’s people who’ve supported you to be in this position. It was a personal choice. I didn’t wanna do a video going, ‘Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, brothers and sisters of the ‘SNAKE, thank you for 50 years. I’m done.’ I wanted to be there.
“I wanted to retire in 2020,” David added. “I thought the appropriate age for the singer of WHITESNAKE to step down was 69. But, of course, bloody COVID came [and ruined those plans].
“We have three to five years of projects here at my studio. So I’m certainly not finished with music. But my health will dictate whether I can take on [a full tour]. ‘Cause it’s incredibly physically demanding for me. I don’t wanna do a half-assed [tour], standing-there stuff. I love telling my stories and moving and working.”
Also in April 2023, Coverdale told Ultimate Classic Rock that the illness that forced him off the road in 2022 was “the worst sinus infection I’ve ever had in my life. And as a singer, I know them like fucking relatives of mine,” Coverdale said. “This was one of the ugliest illnesses I think I’ve [ever] had. For seven months, I was taking ever-increasingly strong antibiotics and horrifying prednisone steroids.”
WHITESNAKE launched its farewell tour on May 10, 2022 at Dublin, Ireland’s 3Arena. The band’s 14-song set, which was part of a European tour with special guests EUROPE and co-headliners FOREIGNER, marked WHITESNAKE’s inaugural performance with the group’s two latest two additions, keyboardist, guitarist and backing vocalist Dino Jelusick and O’Callaghan.
Coverdale had both his knees replaced with titanium in 2017 after suffering from degenerative arthritis. He later explained that he was in so much pain with arthritis in his knees that it hampered his ability to perform live.
Prior to the pandemic, WHITESNAKE had been touring in support of its latest album, “Flesh & Blood”, which was released in May 2019 via Frontiers Music Srl.
