page_title: David Coverdale
section_title: International success of Whitesnake (1983–1991)
hierarchical_section_title: David Coverdale / Breakthrough / International success of Whitesnake (1983–1991)
caption_attribution_description: David Coverdale backstage at the Donnington Festival in 1990)
context_page_description: David Coverdale is an English rock singer best known for his work with Whitesnake, a hard rock band he founded in 1978. Before Whitesnake, Coverdale was the lead singer of Deep Purple from 1973 to 1976, after which he established his solo career. A collaboration with Jimmy Page resulted in a 1993 album that was certified Platinum. In 2016, Coverdale was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Deep Purple, giving one of the band's induction speeches. Coverdale is known in particular for his powerful blues-tinged voice.
context_section_description: Whitesnake gained significant popularity in the UK, Europe, and Asia, but North American success remained elusive. In 1984, the album Slide It In dented the US charts (reaching #40), but not enough to be considered a hit. In time for the US release of Slide It In, Coverdale made a calculated attempt at updating Whitesnake's sound and look by recruiting guitarist John Sykes from the remnants of Thin Lizzy. Sykes brought a more contemporary, aggressive guitar sound with him and had stage manners to match. The last remaining Deep Purple connections were severed when Jon Lord left after recording Slide It In to re-form Deep Purple. (Ian Paice had left Whitesnake in 1982.)
  In 1985 Sykes and Coverdale started working on new songs for the next album, but Coverdale soon contracted a serious sinus infection that made recording close to impossible for much of 1986 and which had doctors thinking he might never sing again. Coverdale eventually recovered, and recordings were continued. But before their upcoming album was fully recorded and released, Coverdale had dismissed Sykes from the band. The split with Sykes was, reportedly, not amicable.
  In many period interviews, Coverdale stated that the next album was a make-or-break album for Whitesnake, and if not successful he would disband Whitesnake altogether. During 1987 and 1988, North America was finally won over, with the multi-platinum self-titled Whitesnake album, co-written for the most part with now-departed Sykes, but including guitar virtuoso Adrian Vandenberg, as a session musician.
  The 1987 album has sold 8 times platinum since its release, propelled by hit singles such as "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love", and finally made Whitesnake a bona fide concert headliner in North America. Through the late 80s and early 90s, caught in the "hair-band" era, Coverdale kept Whitesnake going with great success despite changing line-ups.
  In 1989 Coverdale recruited Vandenberg to record a new album, Slip of the Tongue. Vandenberg co-wrote the entire album with Coverdale, but a wrist injury sidelined him from contributing the solo guitar work. Steve Vai was recruited, re-recording most of Vandenberg's existing parts and finishing the album. Upon release, it was a great commercial success in Europe and the US.
  The album peaked at number 10 in the US, and has achieved platinum status. Critical response was mixed, with Allmusic critics Steve Erlwine and Greg Prato noting that despite high sales, Slip of the Tongue "was a considerable disappointment after the across-the-board success of Whitesnake". The following tour, for which Vandenberg returned to play along with Vai, cemented Whitesnake's reputation as a giant in the world of hard rock. The tour continued until the end of 1990.
  At that point Coverdale had grown uncomfortable with the entity he felt Whitesnake had become and admitted that he got "caught up in it". In one interview, Coverdale stated:
  It got louder and louder, and so did I, to the point now where I have to get dressed up like a "girly man" and tease one's questionable bangs or hair and it's all becoming a bit... boring.
  In 1990 Coverdale sang and co-wrote (with Hans Zimmer and Billy Idol) the song "The Last Note of Freedom" for the Tony Scott film Days of Thunder.
  On 26 September 1990, after the last show on the Slip of the Tongue tour in Tokyo, Coverdale disbanded Whitesnake indefinitely. Tired of the business in general, the rigors of touring and troubled by his separation and later divorce from Tawny Kitaen, Coverdale wanted to find other values in life and took "private time to reflect" and re-assess his career direction.
caption: Coverdale at the Monsters of Rock festival in 1990
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