Whitesnake's David Coverdale Clears Up Retirement Comments

Keavin Wiggins | 04-27-2020

Whitesnake fans can relax as it appears that frontman David Coverdale was only joking around when he told an interviewer that next year when he turns 69 would be the appropriate time for him to retire from music.

Coverdale made news with the comments and was asked about them during an appearance on the Appetite For Distortion podcast. He explained that he was joking and that he hopes to keep rocking in the years to come.

He said, "I was asked a question, and I just thought it was amusing to say, 'Oh, what better age for the lead singer of Whitesnake [to retire] than 69? I can't wait to design the t-shirts.' That was just fun.

"I hope I do get out and play. There's nothing comparable to standing in front of 10, 15, 20, 30 thousand people and have them singing, a hundred thousand people we were doing in South America last year, singing along to every word that you wrote.

"Some of these people weren't even born when those songs were released. There is nothing more fulfilling than that to an artist, to have an appreciative audience make you feel so uplifted. It's breathtaking.

I certainly hope to have that experience again. And if I can't do the big stuff, then I'll do the little stuff and do 'An Evening With David Coverdale', of more acoustic-based conversations, a Q&A with me, find out 'the real story of what happened.'"

As for what inspired the joking about retiring at 69, David said, "I thought when I was writing 'Here I Go Again' as I was coming up to my 30th birthday, I thought the party was over. I was inconsolable. And 38 years later, I'm releasing albums, making new deals with record companies. It's mad, teetering on my 69th birthday.

"So, whether or not I can go in and do 'Still Of The Night' when I'm in my 70s, I'm not so sure about that. But who knows? I've been taken by surprise too many times in my life to know that this magic there that exists. Whenever you make plans, that's when God has a laughing fit. 'Oh, really? Those are your plans? Well, let me just throw this into the mix.'"