David Coverdale Says Next Whitesnake Tour Is His Farewell
David Coverdale said his next Whitesnake tour will be his last, although he isn’t planning a full retirement and has other musical projects he wants to continue.
The singer said he wanted to achieve “completion” with a final road trip, originally planned to take place last year but postponed as a result of the pandemic. Dates in Europe and the U.K. in May and June 2022 are currently listed on the band’s website.
“It’s mind-blowing to me that I’m preparing my farewell tour,” Coverdale told Appetite for Distortion in a recent interview. “And it is — make no mistake, this is the farewell tour. I'm 70. It's a very physically challenging thing for me to do at the best of times. But it's very important for me to achieve completion and to express my appreciation and gratitude to all the people … who've supported me for five decades, 50 years. It blows my mind – it really does.”
You can watch the interview below.
Coverdale added that "a lot of my peers and contemporaries are on their 20th retirement tour. I don't intend to [do] that. I must explain, though: It's me, just David Coverdale, who's retiring from touring at that level. Whitesnake will still make projects. I've been writing music all through COVID. I wrote some beautiful new ideas. I have ideas in case Jimmy [Page] wants to do anything. … But [they’re] all songs that we can utilize for a Whitesnake project. The music of Whitesnake will continue.”
He noted that, “physically and vocally,” he still has “the goods” when it comes to performing. “I was actually touring up to spring in 2020, before lockdown,” he pointed out. “I was 68 years old, and I'm still kicking ass. Of course, having an amazing band and an incredible and enthusiastic audience gives you that energizing aspect. It's just the traveling is challenging for me. But music is oxygen to me. I'm not going to go fishing or take up crochet. … I have to thank people in person around the world for helping me to be in this position. I don't wanna do it through a video [on] social media: ‘Sorry we can't get out there, but thank you for 50 years.’ That would be heartbreaking for me.”