Croatian singer and multi-instrumentalist Dino “Jelusick” Jelusić joined Whitesnake for its final European tour. He has addressed why a planned one-off show billed as Whitesnake Experience By The Members Of Whitesnake never took place following David Coverdale’s retirement.
The show would have reunited former Whitesnake members Joel Hoekstra, Jelusić, Marco Mendoza, drummer Tommy Aldridge and keyboardist Michele Luppi. Jelusić explained that the project, dubbed “Whitesnake Experience,” was scrapped after confusion over its name led to a legal warning from Coverdale’s camp.
He began by noting how surprised he was that fans believed the project had actually gone ahead.
“Whitesnake Experience never happened… So the funny thing is, I watch some comments on Facebook, and that’s why I don’t trust comments anymore, ’cause there was a lady that said, ‘Dino, you’re my favorite singer. Your work in…’, and then she mentioned the band, ‘and especially your work in Whitesnake Experience, and those live shows were amazing.’ And I’m, like, what? What live shows? That never happened,” Jelusić said.
He then went into detail about how the idea first came together with Coverdale’s encouragement.
“I’ll tell you the story… I’m always afraid to open this topic because everybody was assuming I was gonna carry the torch in Whitesnake. And David kept saying, ‘Oh, I wanna do something with you. This is the type of song you and I should write together.’ And he would play me blues songs. ‘You should sing this. I’m gonna write this.’ Because we shared a lot of vocals in Whitesnake. We sang ‘Slide It In’. And Michele and I covered all the high parts and stuff, and ‘Crying In The Rain’ and ‘Still Of The Night’ and ‘Fool For Your Loving’ — a lot of stuff,” he said.
Jelusić continued by describing how the lineup for the planned show came together.
“So we were supposed to do one show. Coverdale was happy. Tommy said yes. So the conditions were if I say ‘yes’ and Tommy says ‘yes’, it’s on. They only needed us two. I said, ‘If Tommy’s in, I’ll do it.’ And Tommy was in. And Marco Mendoza was in and Michele Luppi was in and Joel was in. And all of a sudden, we do a press conference in Belgrade…. Oh, and my guitar player, Keller, he was supposed to do it, so him and Hoekstra together,” he said.
He explained what happened when the group gathered in Belgrade to announce the show.
“So we came to Belgrade to do the press conference. And as we do the press conference, here comes Marco Mendoza out of nowhere in Belgrade at the press conference. And I love Marco. If he’s watching this, I love Marco. But he’s very unpredictable. He’s like, ‘Yeah, man, none of this would be possible if there wasn’t for Dino, this new project. It’s gonna be called Whitesnake Experience.’ I suggested, maybe we should call this show Whitesnake Experience, this one show. ‘Yeah, this project, Whitesnake Experience.’ And I’m, like, ‘What is he talking about?’ All of a sudden, the media says, ‘New project. Whitesnake is moving on with Dino on vocals,'” Jelusić said.
That miscommunication triggered a swift legal response, Jelusić said.
“And we all get a pretty serious e-mail from David’s lawyer. And everybody backed off. And I was, like, ‘Marco, what happened?’ And Marco did some things without asking. And I called David. I said, ‘Listen. I just wanted to do these songs because I heard you were okay with this. If you don’t want me to do the show, you know I respect you.’ ‘Oh, no, brother. I know it’s not your fault, but Marco did this, Marco did that.’ So in the end, it was canceled,” he said.
Jelusić also touched on more recent talk of a possible Whitesnake reunion following a performance with Mendoza and former guitarist Doug Aldrich.
“And then I saw Marco. I played with Marco and [former Whitesnake guitarist] Doug Aldrich at NAMM [in January 2026]. We played Whitesnake. And again, it opened the box. ‘Oh my God, this is amazing. They should reform Whitesnake.’ And Marco was, like, ‘Hey, bro, I know what happened was wrong, but trust me, this is gonna happen.’ I’m, like, ‘Marco, come on, man. If David doesn’t say yes, if he doesn’t take care of this, it doesn’t make sense to do it.’ So without David’s word, without David telling me, ‘Okay, do it,’ or, ‘I want you to do it,’ I’m not gonna do it, because it’s not my band after all,” he said.
He closed by making clear the project remains firmly in the past.
“So that’s the story of Whitesnake Experience. That never happened. It never existed,” Jelusić said.
The episode fits into a broader timeline that has reshaped Whitesnake’s future. Coverdale, 74, formally announced his retirement in November 2025. His rock career spanned more than five decades, including time in Deep Purple, work with Jimmy Page, and decades leading Whitesnake. Whitesnake’s actual final show had already taken place back in June 2022. That meant the band had effectively been on hiatus for years before Coverdale made the split official.
That timeline explains why the Belgrade press conference carried such weight. The event was meant to introduce an exclusive one-off performance at a guitar festival, featuring Dino, Marco Mendoza and guitarist Ivan Keller. It was billed under the name Whitesnake Experience By The Members Of Whitesnake. Organizers had billed it as the only concert in the world to bring together former members of the legendary band. That is precisely why any suggestion of a permanent successor project touched a nerve with Coverdale’s team.
Joel Hoekstra, who was also part of the planned lineup, later weighed in publicly on the cancellation. He stressed that what had been discussed was never meant to be a band or an ongoing project, but strictly an isolated, one-time show. His comments echoed Jelusić’s account. They reinforced that the fallout stemmed from how the concert was marketed rather than any dispute over the music itself.
Jelusić’s connection to Whitesnake dates back to July 2021, when the band announced his addition as a multi-instrumentalist. The role expanded his contributions beyond vocals into keyboards. He joined a lineup that, in its most recent form, also included bassist Tanya O’Callaghan and guitarist Reb Beach alongside Hoekstra and Luppi. That roster toured together in the years leading up to Coverdale’s retirement.
Since parting ways with Whitesnake, Jelusić has kept busy with several other projects, including his own band Jelusick, work with the Trans-Siberian Orchestra, and past stints with Dirty Shirley and Animal Drive. That track record underscores why he has been careful about invoking the Whitesnake name without Coverdale’s direct blessing. That caution ultimately shaped his response to Marco Mendoza’s more recent reunion talk.
Source: Rolling Stone Brasil
