Found my DAVID COVERDALE-interview from August 14, 2000.

Apologies for the first 2 minutes of this recording that, unfortunately, have been ruined after 11 years kicking around various drawers and boxes around the house.

The sound quality gets better after a few minutes. I’ve got the original recording somewhere….

It will be a nice surprise for me when I find it – someday…!

[David Coverdale and me in his suite at Sheraton Hotel, Stockholm, August 2000]

There was a transcript of it on my first website, but not this particular part of it.
The interview was divided in two parts – one for radio and the other one, which was a more relaxed version where there were no rules for what I could ask him, was for a website.

As it turned out, the “relaxed” version of the interview became very popular.

It was still the early days of Internet, as you can hear David mentioning in the beginning of this interview, that “Internet is becoming huge“. It still wasn’t back in those days.

So, when I published that online, every single Whitesnake-fan that had a modem, knew about it. I think it was actually linked from the official Whitesnake-site.

THIS part of the interview (the first one) was only aired once on the radio, no re-runs or anything.

So, here it is, back for Whitesnake-fans to enjoy – eleven years later! :)

I hesitated when I thought I should include David Coverdale and Whitesnake in this blog, because there is just way too much to look back on and remember. Tour-stories, interviews, David’s birthday-greeting, the Sweden Rock-kickoff press conference…

I love Whitesnake and David Coverdale is way up there on my list of heroes, alongside Judas Priest/Rob Halford and The Beatles.

There will be more – of everything Whitesnake-related! The second part of this interview for instance, with the “crazy questions”.

Bookmark this page or subscribe to it if you don’t want to miss it!

 

 More to come….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The original diary-notes from that day, August 14, 2000

I checked my tape recorder and the microphone probably twenty times, went through the questions over and over again, tried to organize myself. I saw some people who looked like record-company people, but I didn’t approach them. You can tell which ones are record company people, managers, roadies – all that, it’s just written all over them for some reason. I could pick them out of a crowd anytime. Well, after all these years of doing this, I’d better…! :) 

It was 4 pm and my interview was 4.05! I called the record-company girl from the hotel phone and she went:

“I’m downstairs with your photographer, are you coming?”.

I took the elevator and went downstairs. She looked at her watch and said:

“Well okay…! Let’s go!”

Before I knew it, we were in the elevator on our way up to David Coverdale’s room.

Next thing I know, we’re outside room 520. She knocked and we went in. There were three people in the room, a girl and a guy, and a man sitting next to the door who turned around when we came in.

He looked at me and went:

-I know you from somewhere, don’t I?
– Yes you do – you put me on the guestlist in Southhampton!
– Oh, is that where it was? he said and smiled.

That’s when I recognized him – it was David’s manager, I remember seeing him a few times during the last tour. A very nice man back then, still a very nice man.

– You have a very good memory! I said.
– Weeell, it wasn’t THAT long ago... he answered and smiled. Man, three years IS a long time for ME! I don’t even remember people I met last week!

We started talking about David’s new website, and he mentioned how they had met Kino* in Japan recently and how they wanted to collaborate with all the people who’ve had the “unofficial” sites up until now. [*Kino runs one of the unofficial Whitesnake sites]

He gave me his business card with the “www.davidcoverdale.com” and I thought “finally!” there will FINALLY be an official site! We talked a bit about the people in the band, about Earl Slick about this and that.. He started to laugh, cause if we had continued, there wouldn’t have been anything left for David to talk about!

Everybody left and went into the room next door. It was only me and the photographer left, and I told him in a quiet voice that I was dead nervous…

– You’re smart, I’m sure this will go just fine… he replied.

I didn’t feel the least “smart” or cool, only extremely nervous…!!
I was the last one to enter the room. I went in there as quietly and discreetly as I could, stared down on my boots and tried to make myself invisible by standing behind everbody as far back in the room as I could possibly get.
Then I saw how David stretched his neck to see who just came in and said in a loud voice:

– Hey, I know you!

The guys who had just finished their interview with him looked at me, the record company people looked at me, I felt like some sort of celebrity or something.

He wanted me to step forward, and when I did, I took his hand to introduce myself politely, the “journalist-way”, but he kissed me on my left, then my right cheek like “Uncle David kissing his niece“-kind of way! :)

– Nice to see you again!

 The people left the room and I was left alone in the room with David.

He was very relaxed, leaned back and told me to have a seat.

– So what’s new then? he asked while I was preparing my taperecorder.

It sounded just as if we were old pals who hadn’t met in a few years.

 

The first part of the interview was for a Swedish radio station, so we just talked about his CD and what he had been up to the part three years, also a few questions about the Van Halen rumors and things like that.

 The second part was a bunch of funny, stupid, unusual questions that I brought with me just in CASE I felt he was in a mood to answer them…! And he was. Not once was it even close that he’d look at me with a “are you totally out of your mind?“-glance. On the contrary.

It was one of the best interviews I’ve ever made.

The original 30 minutes that I had for my interview turned into more than an hour, and I wish I could have stayed there all day.

When the interview was done, he even thanked me and said:

– Thank you Daniela, this was some interesting stuff…

That really warmed my heart. He had enjoyed the interview… And I got it confirmed a few days later too when I received an email from EMI that said “David was very happy with the interview…“. I don’t think I could have gotten a better compliment!

After the interview was officially over, we talked a little bit more about this and that, and suddenly he asked if I had seen the CD-cover.

– Wait, I’ll show you! he said and got up from the couch.

– Hey Mikey, do you have the CD artwork here somewhere, I want to show her.

Then he came back with a few stapled A4-sheets with the idea for the cover printed on them.
His wife was the centerfold in the booklet and I spontaneously said:

– Wow! She’s beautiful! (where the hell does he FIND all those unreal women?? *lol!*)
– Thank you, he said and sounded proud.

She was blonde, curly long hair – well you get the picture. Well anyway, he had been involved with the cover and said that there was no bullshit anymore, only class and style. We’ll all get to see it very soon!

 

He signed a few things for me and before I left he said in his “bedroom voice” (well, that deep voice of his always sounds like that…!)

 

– You look very glamourous in that picture, baby!

What…? Baby? Lol.

[The “glamourous” photo from Southhampton]

He did the “Uncle David kisses his niece“-routine again and said:

– A pleasure… as always! with a smile.

I gave his manager my business card, and left.

I played my journalist-role until the elevator doors closed, THAT’s when I relaxed and allowed myself to just be the Whitesnake-fan that I am.

 

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