26 Facts About Whitesnake

1. Whitesnake are an English hard rock band formed in London in 1978.

2. Whitesnake enjoyed much success in the UK, Europe and Japan through their early years.

3. Whitesnake adopted a more contemporary look, akin to the Los Angeles glam metal scene.

4. Band, dubbed David Coverdale's Whitesnake, played their first show at Lincoln Technical College on 3 March 1978.

5. Whitesnake began their first continental European tour on 9 February 1979 in Germany.

6. In support of the album, Whitesnake toured the US for the first time supporting Jethro Tull.

7. Whitesnake kicked off the supporting tour for Come an' Get It on 14 April 1981 in Germany.

8. Whitesnake explained: "I'd been surrounded by a mentality if you make five pounds profit let's go to the pub.

9. Whitesnake toured across Europe and Japan in early 1983, before starting rehearsals for their next album at Jon Lord's house in Oxfordshire.

10. Whitesnake began recording their sixth album at Musicland Studios in Munich with producer Eddie Kramer, who had come recommended by John Kalodner.

11. Whitesnake sustained nerve damage, leaving him unable to play guitar.

12. Whitesnake played his final show with Whitesnake on 16 April 1984.

13. The new material saw Whitesnake moving further away from their bluesier roots in favour of a more American hard rock sound.

14. Whitesnake was released on 30 March 1987 in Europe and 7 April in North America.

15. Whitesnake opted to recruit former Frank Zappa and David Lee Roth guitarist Steve Vai, who he had seen in the 1986 film Crossroads a few years earlier.

16. Whitesnake encouraged the band members to accept any outside offers for work.

17. On 29 January 2003, Whitesnake began a co-headlining tour of the US with the Scorpions.

18. Whitesnake continued to tour in late 2004, playing several shows across Europe and the UK.

19. That year, Whitesnake released a live recording of their 1990 Monster of Rock concert at Castle Donington.

20. Whitesnake was replaced by Tommy Aldridge, who rejoined the band for a second time.

21. Whitesnake described the resulting record as a tribute to his time in Deep Purple.

22. In Sheffield, Whitesnake were joined onstage by former guitarist Vivian Campbell.

23. In 2018, Whitesnake toured the US with Foreigner on the Juke Box Heroes Tour.

24. Coverdale discussed the possibility of Whitesnake continuing to perform without him.

25. David Coverdale's original vision for Whitesnake was to create a blues-based, melodic hard rock band with soul.

26. The band's eponymous album saw Whitesnake moving towards a sound Coverdale described as "leaner, meaner and more electrifying".