Whitesnake Return To Belfast

Classic rock legends Whitesnake come to Belfast for the third time when they play the Odyssey Arena on Thursday (May 16). However, although their incendiary live shows may continue to level venues the world over, it is doubtful that they will need the unprecedented security procedures which marked their first visit to this part of the world almost 30 years ago...

When David Coverdale and the then incarnation of the ‘Snake brought their ‘Slide It In’ tour to the Ulster Hall for two nights in February 1984, soldiers from the UDR had to be drafted in to guard the venue between the pair of dates. Why? Because the late Cozy Powell brought so many pyrotechnics to accompany his explosive drum solos that the powers-that-were were concerned about certain individuals trying to break into the ‘Grand Dame Of Bedford Street’ to nick what he hadn’t used on the first night, with the result that squaddies formed a ring of steel around the building once the smoke had settled…

But, three decades on, we live in a totally different Belfast (or so they tell us) – one in which, for start, health and safety legislation most likely would rule out the use of such OTT pyro displays in indoor venues.

Of course, the modern day incarnation of Whitesnake is also completely different: Powell was killed in a high speed car crash in April 1998, while legendary keyboard player ‘Sir’ Jon Lord (who ended his seven-year tenure with the ‘Snakes at the end of the ‘Slide It In’ European tour to join the re-united Deep Purple) lost his battle with pancreatic cancer last July. The current line-up sees Coverdale joined by guitarists Doug Aldrich and Reb Beach, drummer Tommy Aldridge (in his third stint with the band), bassist Michael Devin and Brian Reudy on keyboards.

Formed in 1977 from of the ashes of Deep Purple, Whitesnake released a string of very successful albums in the UK and Europe, but their bluesy sound failed to break the lucrative USA market: that was something which was to change a few years after that eventful Belfast debut, when – with Coverdale having battled back from a career-threatening illness, they released the much more commercial ‘1987’ album.

It was accompanied by a series of raunchy videos (featuring Coverdale’s future wife Tawny Kitaen) which garnered them heavy rotation on MTV, propelling it to No 2 in the US charts – and also gave the band their only chart-topping single, ‘Here I Go Again’ (a re-recording of a track from the earlier ‘Saints & Sinners’ album).

While the lyrics continued Coverdale’s trademark tongue-in-cheek sexual references, the slicker sound of both ‘1987’ and follow-up ‘Slip Of The Tongue’ alienated as many of the band’s older fans as it won them new ones…

Since the release of the latter album, in 1989, recorded output has been somewhat more sporadic, with just three album releases – ‘Restless Heart’ in 1997, ‘Good To Be Bad’ in 2008 and ‘Forevermore’ in 2011 – over the intervening years.

However, despite a brief hiatus in late 2009 brought on by Coverdale developing a severe vocal fold edema and a left vocal fold vascular lesion, the band’s touring schedule has picked up somewhat in recent years. Last month, a new DVD/double CD, ‘Live In Japan’ was released on Frontiers Records, and a second live package – ‘Made In Britain’ / ‘The World Record’ – will follow on July 08.

The band’s seventh live album in their 36-year career, this double package features one CD recorded on their 2011 UK tour, with the other culled from recordings of 87 performances around the world on the ‘Forevermore’ tour.

Whitesnake kick off their latest UK tour, with Journey and Thunder, at the Odyssey Arena on Thursday May 16th. Tickets, costing £44 (standing) and £49 (seated), plus booking fee, are available from the Odyssey box office and all usual Ticketmaster outlets.


By Mark Ashby