David Coverdale Recalls Forming Whitesnake After Deep Purple

Some nostalgia, like celebrating an anniversary, might be fun. So, David Coverdale had his archivist go to the depths of his past memories to pull out some old news announcing the formation of Whitesnake back in 1978. The frontman shared an old piece of paper, along with an early photo of the band, with his fans on Instagram and got a bit emotional.

Well, after Deep Purple split in 1976, deciding they were better off one another, David took a hiatus for almost a year and a half before returning to the rock scene by forming Whitesnake, then known as the David Coverdale Band. So, the paper the singer shared announced that the then-new band would be rehearsing in the next few weeks, and their debut show would take place in a club about a month later.

“David Coverdale, [the] former Deep Purple singer, is preparing for his return to the rock scene with his own band,” wrote a U.K. music magazine 45 years ago. “He’s been out of action since Purple split nearly 18 months ago, but he’s now formed the David Coverdale Band compromising Micky Moody and Bernie Marsden (guitars), ex-Streetwalkers drummer David Dowell and ex-Colosseum bassist Neil Murray.”

The paper continued, “They [will] spend the first three weeks of next month rehearsing, and they [will] open their debut tour at Nottingham Sky Bird Club on February 23. Other dates are being finalized and will be announced in a week or two. Coverdale’s solo album, ‘North Wind,’ is due out on the Purple label in late February, together with a single from it titled, ‘Breakdown.’ TV and radio promotion is being set.”

Coverdale, over-enthusiastic by seeing the nostalgia, captioned the post with the following statement, “Wow! Our fantastic archivist Jörg Planer just told me Whitesnake was announced 45 years ago today in the U.K. music mags! Congrats to all the snakes! The very beginning, boys [and] girls.”

So, it’s been over four decades since David Coverdale formed Whitesnake, didn’t give in, and fell into a pit of despair, not knowing what to do after Deep Purple disbanded. The singer was determined to make a fresh start with a blank page, so he gathered all his fellow rockers and started his band. So, happy birthday, Whitesnake!

Photo Credit: Whitesnake – Instagram