Whitesnake cancel more concerts after David Coverdale falls ill
The third member of the band to fall ill in recent weeks
Whitesnake have been forced to cancel more concerts on their Farewell Tour as band leader David Coverdale has fallen ill.
The band have been without guitarist Reb Beach for the past five shows due to an unspecified illness, and on Saturday they axed an appearance at Rock Imperium Festival in Spain at the eleventh hour when drummer Tommy Aldridge felt “under the weather.”
The band categorically denied a statement issued by a Spanish promoter that Aldridge was suffering 'severe health problems', with David Coverdale saying the wording was “tactless, insensitive” and “entirely unacceptable.”
Whitesnake have now issued a new statement from David Coverdale in which he reveals he’s suffering from an “infection of the sinus & trachea” and he’s been ordered to rest for five days.
It means their concerts at Lorenzini District in Milan tonight (28th June) and Gasometer in Vienna, Austria on Thursday (30th June) will no longer be going ahead. A decision about their concert in Zagreb, Croatia on Saturday 2nd July is yet to be made.
David Coverdale’s full statement reads:
“We have been rocking our way across the globe on the first part of our Farewell Tour giving all we’ve got to you, the fans.
“The rigors of the road are the same for all of us and we have been trying to keep everyone healthy and safe.
“Unfortunately we have been hit recently with a couple of situations that we have been dealing with, the best we can..
“First our beloved band leader Reb Beach went down temporarily and he missed a couple of shows while he mended (and is much better now, by the way).
“Then the rock of our band, the Legendary Tommy Aldridge went down and we unfortunately were not able to play the Rock Imperium Festival in Cartagena this past Saturday (very regrettable and all apologies to our Spanish fans and friends).
“Tommy was bad enough at the time to have missed the first show ever in his career – The GOOD news is that he is feeling better and is anxious to get back out there to perform for all of you.
“Unfortunately I have now been hit hard as well. I started feeling a bit under the weather two days ago, and was just diagnosed with an infection of the sinus & trachea. The doctor recommends 5 days of no singing and bed rest.
“Sadly, that means that we are not going to be able to do the upcoming shows in Milan, Vienna and a decision on Zagreb is about to be made.
“I’m very sorry to all the fans who had planned to come see our Farewell Tour in each of those cities – it’s my intention to get better as soon as possible and be able to pick up with the remaining shows of the European Farewell Tour. You are all in our hearts!!”
Everyone at Planet Rock wishes DC a speedy recovery.
Rock stars honoured with spectacular murals:
Malcolm Young
Created by anonymous Australian artist Lushsux, this sublime mural of Malcolm Young is located on AC/DC Lane in Melbourne. It was unveiled shortly after the fabled guitarist's death in November 2017.
Malcolm Young
Lushsux's second Malcolm Young mural on AC/DC Lane in Melbourne featuring angel wings and devil horns. The quote reads: "C'mon Saint Peter. How many bloody times are you gonna make me play Hell's Bells before you let me through the gates mate?"
Eddie Van Halen
Created by Los Angeles artist Robert Vargas, the gargantuan Long Live The King mural of Eddie Van Halen measures more than five metres high and 32 metres wide and is located on the outside wall of the world-famous Guitar Centre store in Hollywood, California. It was unveiled on 26th January 2021 to mark what would have been Van Halen's 66th birthday.
Bob Dylan
Created by Brazilian artist Eduardo Kobra, this astonishing Bob Dylan mural called The Times They Are A-Changin was unveiled in September 2015. Depicting three photo-realistic images of Bob Dylan from different eras, the mural features kaleidoscopic colours and patterns throughout.
Joey Ramone
Painted by artists Solus and John CRASH Matos, this Joey Ramone mural on Bleecker at the Bowery in New York City was unveiled in September 2015. Featuring Joey Ramone sporting boxing gloves, the mural was created to mark the 40th anniversary of The Ramones' first gig at legendary venue CBGB. The mural was painted over in August 2017.
Debbie Harry and Blondie
In August 2017, the Joey Ramone mural in New York was painted over by esteemed graffiti mastermind Shepard Fairey who created this impressive Debbie Harry and Blondie mural in homage to the legendary now-closed CBGB club.
Black Sabbath
Celebrating the 50th anniversary of the heavy metal pioneers, a new Black Sabbath mural was unveiled in Digbeth, Birmingham in September 2019 as part of High Vis Street Culture Festival by artist N4T4.
Lou Reed
This astonishingly life-like mosaic mural of Lou Reed was created by late photorealist artist Chuck Close in 2017. It's located at the Second Avenue Subway in Brooklyn, New York.
Ringo Starr
Painted by Liverpool artist John Culshaw, this spectacular Ringo Starr mural adorns the facade wall of The Empress Pub in Toxteth. Unveiled in March 2022, the mural is located near to Starr's humble childhood home.
David Bowie
Painted by Australian street artist Jimmy Cochra in 2013, the David Bowie 'Aladdin Sane' mural in Brixton became a focal point for mourners upon his death in January 2016.
Joe Strummer
Once located on the corner of Blenheim Crescent and Portobello road in Notting Hill, London, this Joe Strummer mural was unveiled in 2015 but was sadly demolished three years later when the adjacent shop was refurbished.
Prince
Manchester street artist Akse P19 created this Prince mural in the Northern Quarter in 2016 just a few weeks after the music legend's death.
Leonard Cohen
On the 1st anniversary of Leonard Cohen's death in November 2017 a vast 1,000 square metres mural of the singer was unveiled in downtown Montreal. Led by local artist Gene Pendon and internationally renowned American street portrait artist El Mac, Tower of Songs took 2 muralists, 13 assistant artists, 240 cans of paint and thousands of hours of work to replicate a photograph taken by his daughter, Lorca Cohen.
Muddy Waters
Eduardo Kobra's 'Muddy Waters Tribute' mural in downtown Chicago, Illinois. Kobra also created the astonishing Bob Dylan mural called The Times They Are A-Changin.
Keith Flint
Artist Akse P19 created this mural of late Prodigy icon Keith Flint in Hackney, London ahead of World Suicide Prevention Day 2021. The artwork was made to raise awareness of mental health text support service Shout85258
Mick Ronson
Late-great David Bowie guitarist Mick Ronson was immortalised as this mural on Greenwich Avenue in his hometown of Hull in 2019. Before fame, Ronson worked as a gardener for Hull City Council.
27 Club mural
Eduardo Kobra's 27 Club mural in New York features five musicians who died aged 27 –Janis Joplin, Kurt Cobain, Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Amy Winehouse.
Jimi Hendrix
Such is his enduring legendary status, there are many Jimi Hendrix murals around the world. However, we particularly like this psychedelic one by German street artist Won ABC that was created in Leicester in May 2022 for the Bring the Paint event.
Lemmy
The Lemmy mural at his favourite drinking haunt, The Rainbow Bar & Grill in Los Angeles.
Prince
A small yet brilliant mural of Prince on Graham Road in London in April 2016.
Massive Wagons
A massive Massive Wagons 'Full Nelson' mural was unveiled in their native city of Lancaster in July 2018 to celebrate the release of their new studio album. The three-storey painting of the album cover adorned the side of The Pub in Lancaster where the band played many of their early shows. The band tweeted: 'Humbling beyond belief to have this monster mural of the Full Nelson album cover on the walls of our great city of Lancaster!'
Lemmy
A piece of graffiti in London by artist Paul Don Smith of Motörhead legend Lemmy. It appeared in 2016 a few months after Lemmy's untimely death.
The Rolling Stones
This mural of The Rolling Stones by Subset Dublin appeared above JJ Smyth's pub in Dublin's city centre, just a couple of days before the group's concert at Croke Park in May 2018.
Ian Curtis
Based on a seminal photo of Ian Curtis taken by Philippe Carly, this painting on the side of a central Manchester building was created by world-renowned street artist Akse P19 in October 2020 to mark World Mental Health Day. It was controversially painted over in August 2022 with artwork for the Manchester rapper Aitch.