Former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale has revealed plans to retire next year – the anniversary of his breakthrough seventh Whitesnake album.
And he’s added that he initially considered last year’s The Purple Album, a tribute to his former band, as his farewell project.
It began life as a planned reunion with fellow Deep Purple ex Ritchie Blackmore, but became a Whitesnake title after the pair failed to reach artistic agreement.
Coverdale tells Rolling Stone: “I was trying to retire.
“I reached out to Blackmore after 30 years of hostility to bury the hatchet. We started communicating into 2013, when he asked me to speak to his manager about either a Blackmore-Coverdale or some kind of Purple thing.
“But I couldn’t agree with the ideas that they had. So I thought, ‘Well, this will be my farewell album.’”
He adds: “It did so fucking well, it’s like, now I’m looking at retiring next year, on the 30th anniversary of the 1987 album.”
Coverdale was among the Deep Purple members who were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame last week – which has led to his disappointment with the label that originally released Whitesnake. Asked about an anniversary re-release he says: “I don’t know. The only people who didn’t congratulate me on this award are Universal. So fuck ‘em.”
Meanwhile, friend and former bandmate Glenn Hughes says he made a last-ditch attempt to persuade guitarist Blackmore to attend the Hall Of Fame ceremony, following his announcement that he wouldn’t be there.
Hughes tell Billboard: “I did try to coax him into it. His wife answered the phone and said, ‘He’s not coming.’ It was very normal – there wasn’t any back-and-forth. He’s not coming but he loves his fans, that’s what I was told to say.”
Separately, Blackmore has moved to clear some air between himself and former Purple singer Joe Lynn Turner, after leaving him out of his Rainbow reunion. Turner is one of several ex Purple men who weren’t included in the Hall Of Fame induction, leading to angry comments from several of the musicians caught in the crossfire.
Blackmore said via Facebook last night: “I have my reason for not attending the ceremony, although I appreciate the award.
“I do think they should’ve given an award to Joe Lynn Turner for his singing and writing on Slaves And Masters – a great record, one of my favourites.”
Blackmore returns to rock music for a brief period in June.
