According to Reb Beach, David Coverdale can retire any time he wants.
“I have no news. David [Coverdale, Whitesnake frontman] hasn’t told me anything,” the guitarist told Pedro Alonso of Spain’s Metal Journal. “The last I heard from David about it was he asked me to keep some equipment at his house in case we do something.”
He continued, “I know he has always talked about doing some shows in Vegas, just as a farewell in Vegas, but just personally, I don’t see David traveling anymore, doing a world tour again, and going to different countries.”
“I just don’t think he wants to do that anymore. That’s my opinion. He hasn’t said that. He’s 72 years old. He sold all of his publishing. He got a lot of money. And I don’t think he needs to do that, to tour anymore,” Beach added.
In 2022, while touring with the Scorpions and Thundermother, Whitesnake faced challenges when Coverdale and Beach missed shows because of health problems. These issues disrupted the band’s plans and raised concerns about Whitesnake’s future.
“We’re hoping… We’re hoping to finish the cycle at least, but I can’t really speak fully for David because he’s, as he says himself, never say never,” Tanya O’Callaghan told Chaoszine when asked if Whitesnake would continue its farewell tour. “But he’s still recovering a little bit because that was a pretty intense tour run.”
She added, “And between rehearsals and everything, he had gotten sick and a lot of health stuff unfolded for him. But he’s doing pretty good. He’s really excited about doing the farewell DVD and the book, and all that will be hopefully next year, which is fantastic. And, as he says, never say never.”
“Maybe we’ll go out around that, but he wants to write and record some stuff. So Whitesnake is not finished… It’s not over by any means,” Tanya also noted. “But I don’t know what iteration it will be that is next. Maybe, hopefully, I hope we finish the tour cycle. I really, really hope we do ’cause it’s a great group of people to work with.”
In a previous conversation, guitarist Joel Hoekstra said that it seemed unlikely Coverdale would return to the stage before everything stopped. He had hoped to have some former Whitesnake members join them for a celebration of David’s career. However, health issues changed those plans.