European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Here he goes again Whitesnake s David Coverdale comes Home Whitesnake Lead Singer David Coverdale left and guitarist Steve Vai above rocked hard at the super Rock festival in Dortmund West Germany last weekend. Playing a that Basic stuff Singer Steven Tyler top and guitarist Joe Perry above of Aero Smith. Story and photos by Anita Gosch staff writer a spotlight shines on the Stiver guitar. Steve Vai picks it up and launches into a furious Solo. He hurls it into the air catches it throws it to the ground flings himself across it Rolls around the stage floor. Vai is out of control. A Rock and roil Quot Rock in Roll a alive and Well right Here Quot shouts Bret Michaels Lead Singer of Poison before bursting into what was to become five hours of killer Rock music. The scene of the crime the super Rock 90 festival in Dortmund West Germany saturday. The victims a some 15,000 fans who had come to be assaulted by rockers Poison Aero Smith and Whitesnake. It was a Sweet death. Nothing but a Good time As Poison would have it. The Pennsylvania rockers kicked off the attack with an hour Iong string of hits. Michaels led the band through tunes from Poison s three albums including look what the cat dragged in talk dirty of me every a Rose has its Thom and the current smash hit in Skinny Bop. A with Poison what you see is what you get Bassman Bobby Dali backstage after the show. It was t always Tike that. Witness Poison s 1965 debut album look what the cat dragged in on which the band members looked like escapees from the focal transvestite nub. Quot Hoy ii Vav Orwid Quot Dali Quot it Mace rot k n Sci h Story that s All i can say Quot o poo then they be grown he , a their music and a their attitude. Quot seven years ago when look what the cat dragged in was being recorded i was 19 years old and the biggest thing on my mind was ble pity Bleep Bleep and looking Cool 1 he . Quot now there Are things that Are More important to me. Nowadays we re More worried about what we re playing than what we look Poison Stilt has a few years to go to catch up with Aero Smith for their set in Dortmund the Veteran Boston rockers reached All the Way Back to 1973 with the tunes dream on and Sweet emotion. In Between they played newer songs including dude looks like a lady and love in an elevator mixing old and new presents a Challenge for Aero Smith Saiof guitarist Joe Perry Quot it s weird because when we do old songs one Hall of the audience goes crazy and the other half just sits there. Then we play a new song and this half goes crazy and the other half goes a yeah but they could done. Quot he . Quot we want to reach new fans and show them our old stuff and also try to bring some of our old fans up to Quot Perry had the Chance to step Back in time himself earlier this month when guitarist Jimmy Page of led Zeppelin Fame performed with Aero Smith at the monsters of Rock festival in the United kingdom Page was making Good on a Promise to sit in with the band Quot it was real mixed emotions because on the one hard he s a great musician and a peer a fellow string Bender. At the same time i was Back being 17 years old when i heard the first Zeppelin album. Quot my mind was blowing. I was standing there in the dressing room and Jimmy Page s guitars were in the Corner. It was like god this is incredible but at the same time he a a really Nice Guy. We talked about blues and houses in the it was More classic Rock mixed with new tunes when Whitesnake took the stage in Dortmund. Singer David Coverdale and his cohorts also reached to Thea a for such tunes As slide it in fool for your Loving Here go again a rerecorded version hit no. 1 on the stateside charts in 1987 and the Rock Ballad is this love. Highlights of Whitesnake s nearly two hour set include i guitarist Vai s Solo a Quot Steve is from another planet Quot Coverdale a and a rendition of the Whitesnake live Staple the soul classic Ain t no love in the heart of the City Coverdale stopped the music and let the audience take Over the chorus. A a Coverdale remembers the first time he heard what has come to be known As the Quot Whitesnake choir Quot it was during a club tour in England when he was just getting the band off the ground. Quot i was singing Ain t no love in the heart of the City and i could hear this noise this kind of Rush. I opened my eyes and the whole crowd a it was like 4,000 people a their arms were going like a soccer crowd and they were singing Tho words. So i just stopped the band and let the audience sing Quot he . Quot i had such an emotional Rush from that experience. I love the sound of thousands of voice singing to so what is it about Rock no Roll that keeps people coming Back for More that brings classic Rock bands Buck into the spotlight and new groups cropping up in Immos around the world. No doubt As Perry if Al Aero Smith s comeback in the 80s Quot i i Ink it s a testament to the a Vij of music we play. Pop a music comes and goes but he a amp a kind of Rock no Roll that Basic stuff that we re p aying everybody can to it. It s Rock n and real Rock n Roll will a a or go away. By Anita Gosch staff writer the first time i met David Coverdale of Whitesnake a one of the Rock stars most recently elevated to Mega celebrity status in America a he was just another Pale faced Singer in a British Rock a no Roll band. It was 1984, Coverdale was in his 30�?Ts, his hair was Long stringy and Flat and he was getting a Little Paunchy around the edges. He was a Star All right. Relentless touring and eight albums had made Whitesnake one of the hottest tickets in Europe. Besides Coverdale had already made Rock history through his stint As Lead Singer for deep purple in the mid-1970s. But something was wrong that evening in 84. Coverdale s Demeanour seemed As listless As his Hairdo. Perhaps he was just tired after another Harco rocking workout but in truth i thought i had witnessed a burned out Rock Singer facing the end of his career. M then came the summer of 1987. Suddenly Coverdale was the new hero of the american mtg generation. In october of that year Whitesnake s song Here i go again a originally released in 1982 a was a no. 1 hit and the band s album simply titled Whitesnake eventually sold More than 8v2 million copies. Coverdale was going again but this time to an extent that no doubt even he had t thought possible it was a different Coverdale who sat Down to Chat backstage after the super Rock festival in Dortmund West Germany saturday. He seemed Happy and Fuji of Confidence. And he looked different Tan slim with Well toned Muscles and his hair was full and streaked with Blond a Quot it disguises the Gray Quot he . He looked older but he exerted the kind of Youthful exuberance that comes with knowing that things Are going just right while still retaining the knowledge that they can go wrong at any moment. That realization keeps Coverdale living according to the one Day at a time school of life. Ask him about his future plans and hell Tell you what he s doing the next Day. Quot i Learned that from several friends in 1986 because otherwise i probably would have gone nuts Quot he . Quot it was a very difficult Coverdale s career almost ended that year when doctors diagnosed a deviated septum. There was a 50 percent Chance that he might never sing again. Quot i did t even consider that i could write music for other people Quot he . Quot it was just i can never perform again Quot a two years later a second blow he crushed a disc in his lower Back and again he thought his career was Over. Quot god sends me these reminders that i m there was a time when cover Dale bit off life in much bigger bites. In 19b5he moved from his native England to the United states specifically to conquer what he called Whitesnake s a a Quot you cant solve the Middle cast crisis without going there and i seduce America from London i relocated to America with the intent i on of napping t he nipples and pubic hair off the nation 1 had set my mind to it. The ultimate seduction. Coverdale did More than seduce America he raped it but first there was the matter of his looks in particular his hair. He May never live Down his Quot mousse abused Quot theory of Success but he his new hairstyle was simply a Quot hairdressing Accident Quot Quot i d been very ill and watching an inordinate amount of mtg. And i was going Well this is not too bad in be still got a full head of hair. But i thought it looked Boring it looked Bland t should get a couple of highlights Quot it turned out i looked like a surfing dude like from san Diego or whatever f could t believe it. 11hought id made an extreme by body was extremely . Then there were the videos. Coverdale is Well aware that some critics claim Whitesnake s Success was based solely on the group s videos which featured his wife actress Tawny Kitten. Quot i think it was a fusion of both Quot he . Quot she s an extraordinarily Beautiful woman but the songs were pretty Good too. To u can t dres s some i h ing up an d present it if there s no substance in the music Coverdale sees his Success in the United states As just desserts after a lot of hard work. Quot i d experienced s up pose j m leg a Success before with deep purple so t accepted it with an inner Grace and a gratitude like whew now this is some but what about the Whitesnake fans in Europe who had supported Coverdale All those years before he hit it big in America . The band had t performed there since 1 he mid 80s, and a scheduled Lour a few years Back had been cancelled due to illness. Quot i realize that i am at fault because the foundation of Whitesnake and the Success of Whitesnake was always in Europe. They embraced the snakes immediately. I owe them 1 genuinely owe them 1 to pausing a moment before adding Quot blinded by Success perhaps Quot Coverdale admits that performing in Europe again has put on added pressure Quot i m frying Loo hard Quot he . Quot i m trying to make up for six or seven years and it s difficult. 1 can t be just relaxed about it there a a great Deni of passion bursting out of the dam. Quot the audience has been wonderful but there Are no guarantees. It s been such a Long Lime there Are no guarantees that anybody would come and share the night with a Rosmith and Poison 1 nil Quot i super r a a to festival a a a irks ii Joe in Mariyln my iry. saturday a Ion 3 Unur the front Anil Cote re open at 11 a m1 f i 12 30-10 p a Quot Rrt Marks available at the a 1 a Filo beginning at 6 p m a u Tea Effiee wih Romam open Here s what the cat dragged to Europe guitarist cd. Deville and Singer Bret Michaels of Poison left. Whitesnake Sadrian Vandenberg above gets into jamming. A Page 14 a a a the stars stripes wednesday ?9, 1990 1 he stars and St vols a a Page 1 5 k
