I was in no hurry, to be honest... A lot of the in-concert DVD’s that interested companies sent me to look at looked a little cheaply done to me... mostly shot in small venues... minimal camera angles... & didn’t really sound very good...That may be OK for some, but, I wasn’t interested in documenting a Whitesnake show that way... 

My feeling, as always, was to wait until I could afford to do it properly, with no expense spared... The kind of high-quality I feel Whitesnake & our supporters deserve...Something my band & I could be proud of... I also wanted something I could show my grandchildren what their goofy, eccentric, gnarly ol’ grandad used to do for a living!

Anyway, most of the DVD deals I had been offered prior to 2004 were rubbish...it showed the arrogance, the uncaring attitude, of some of the big corporate record companies who wanted so very much from me for so little in return... My ambivalence was surprising to them...You see you can take away some of their power if you are prepared to walk away from a deal... They can sense, like predators, if you need, or are desperate for a deal & that fuels their insensitivity to giving you a fair piece of the pie... 

Sadly, the people who suffer, if that’s the word, are the fans of the band who simply want an in-concert DVD for their collection... & they cannot understand, no matter how many times you try to articulate your reasons, why they can’t have what they want from you...It’s so simple & uncomplicated to them... I felt very comfortable turning down their modest offers, & then when I was actually on tour in Europe in 2004 my manager called to tell me we’d had a substantial offer from a company called CHS... I Not only was the money significant enough to shoot the show properly, but, the deal included the opportunity to work with the exceptional director Hamish Hamilton...whom I consider the best in his field... I’m a big fan of his work & that was the bottom line that sealed the deal for me!... I knew with Hamish at the helm it would look marvelous! When we first met, Hamish asked me what I wanted to achieve with the DVD...I told him very simply that I wanted to experience what it was like to be in a Whitesnake audience...& now I know...it’s a whole lotta fun!

So, in essence, I am glad I waited...I feel it was definitely worthwhile...

 

Y es, actually...I don’t feel it’s the best Whitesnake concert we are capable of, but, it is far from being the worst!...All the necessary elements came together, I’m delighted to say... I can see I’m pretty nervous at the beginning of the show...& as it progresses I see myself getting more relaxed...more myself...Of course, there’s the awareness that you’re filming & recording & that one simple mistake could bugger it all up & that amplifies the already considerable pre-show adrenalin...but, all in all, I feel the band & I acquitted ourselves very well...individually, & as a collective...

If you notice, we feature the audience almost as much as the band...sonically & visually... The crowd are totally what makes, or breaks a Whitesnake show & that night it was obvious from the moment we walked onstage that they were charged, & ready to rock...& that suits us fine!...We feed off that energy... Some of the male interviewers I’ve spoken to were commenting to me on how surprised they were to see such pretty women in the audience...well...it’s no surprise to me...Whitesnake & happening babes are synonymous! Also, not only do we have the best looking crowds in rock, but, as you can hear, the Whitesnake Choir is in exceptional voice...I think they’d been practicing!

The other thing that was very noticeable on that tour , not so much in the video, was the new young element that were coming to our shows...I started to see some very young people in the audience...maybe 14, 15, 16 years old...& I realized that they made up about a third of the crowd in some venues... We’ve always had a great cross-section of ages coming to our shows...people who have supported me from Deep Purple, thro’ all the incarnations of Whitesnake...but, this was definitely new...& noticeably young... At first I thought it was an aberration...maybe nothing to do in Gothenburg that night...but, they were singing all the words to the songs!...I have no idea why they are attracted, but, they are most welcome...Another reason for us to stay in shape!

 

Y ou don’t want to know!...No...to be honest, it was all business related issues...Nothing to to do with the band...There were some minor technical problems, like syncing the music to the film once we got it to the States, but, we persevered & solved that problem...As a friend of mine says...”There are no problems...only solutions...” To be honest, I feel it’s redundant to keep reliving the negative aspects of what it took to deliver the DVD to you...Who cares?...Here it is!...I am just very, very grateful that it is coming out at all...cos’ quite honestly, there was a time, because of the business issues & constant challenges, when it looked very likely that it was going to be shelved...& I was ready to give up & walk away from it...but, I am glad we persevered... I feel it will please our hard-core supporters...& potentially open up the Whitesnake experience to a whole new audience...

 

O riginally it was going to be Helsinki...We’d sold a lot of tickets, very quickly, & our management thought that 10,000 Vikings in horny helmets, going crazy would make a great video...but, the logistics, & the cost of bringing the 30 plus British film crew to Finland was prohibitive.. Part of me feels it was totally appropriate to shoot the main show at the Hammersmith Odeon, or whatever it’s called now... It’s probably got a lot to do with the live album we made there many years ago that the place has become part of the Whitesnake legacy...&, of course, we have had many great, memorable concerts there over the years...There’s a great, positive energy there for us...Lots of good ghosts! Tommy said he was told that it’s regarded by many as the spiritual epicenter of Whitesnake! Hey...we could have recorded the show in a much bigger venue, but, it’s possible we wouldn’t have captured the same electric vibe we caught at Hammersmith...

The other thing you should know is that it was a very international crowd that night...not just a London crowd...People came from all over Europe & the World for that show!...Japan...South American...the United States...God Bless em!...Extraordinary!

We also filmed & recorded several other UK shows...Manchester, the 2nd Newcastle show, Wolverhampton...tho’ I left it to the illustrious Lord Redhead, Hamish Hamilton what footage he would ultimately use...He knows best in this scenario... I mixed the audio separately with the excellent John X in LA...He’s a total sonic treasure...He mixes in Technicolor & widescreen, if you know what I mean...He didn’t mix this as you would an album...He worked very hard on it, & told me this was to be his gift to rock & roll! My contributions to the video edits were done long distance...Y’know...if my nose looked way too big in a shot, I’d ask him to replace it with a shot of Marco’s even bigger nose!...I had minimal to suggest...Hamish pretty much covered all the bases...I kept asking him for more black & white...more of his patented ‘scratchy’ effects!

I ‘ve already been told by some people on my website that several audience shots are from different shows...They were somewhat surprised to see themselves in the show when they weren’t even in London at the time! It’s a testament to my respect for Hamish that I could put my total trust in him & his great team to get on with putting it all together without me sitting on their shoulders...That was huge for me!...I’m usually hands on thro’ every aspect of my work... I am hoping his excellent editor, Guy Harding & I will be working together when it comes to cleaning up & contemporizing the old Whitesnake video catalogue for a potential project...He is a very sharp & capable, creative young man...

 

B ecause it slowed the show down...I felt it interfered with the momentum of the show too much... A lot of what I edited was intimate, personal exchanges that took place with members of the audience on that particular night...People with whom I’m familiar with from seeing at many of our shows... It’s stuff that someone in Tokyo, or New York, or Zimbabwe, wouldn’t have felt part of, involved with, or perhaps understood...& I say that with all due respect to Shirley & her magnificent balloons! Some of the acappella stuff I put on our website for the terribly disappointed!...Oh...apart from ‘Soldier Of Fortune’, which I believe is somewhere to be found on the DVD... The show just moves along better in a more entertaining, kick arse, rock & roll way...Actually, pretty much how our show usually runs in most places...

 

N o, actually...we had the show up & running in Europe before the deal for the DVD came thro’... At first I was a little concerned that we should have had more of the better known WS songs in there...more like the ‘greatest hits’ show we had in 03...but, the DVD company was happy that they would be getting at least 4 or 5 of the biggies...

I am thrilled we captured such a potent drum solo from Tommy, too... ultimate driver...Listen to him...watch him go... He’s relentless!... It’s impossible not to reach for the sky when he’s driving you... All the guys deliver huge!...Reb told me he felt that Marco had come out so powerfully that night, that he’d felt squashed...but, I assured him he had nothing to worry about...he’s on fire...so, is the Dougmeister...firing on all six!...Man...Doug’s got the works...He’s got it all...& he is getting better & better at his game all the time...I love that he doesn’t rest on his considerable laurels...Always reaching, stretching for the next level...With my blessing, Baby! Timothy’s holding the fort while we’re all jumping around like benzedrined Morris dancers!...Timothy is one of the most consistent players I have had the pleasure to work with...a great player & an excellent singer...There’s an unfortunate tendency for Timothy to be lost in the mix at times with all the sonic chaos we produce onstage...I hope the DVD will bring to people’s attention just how accomplished he is...

 

L et’s wait & see what this one achieves, shall we?...There is certainly enough WS material to record a whole set of DVD’s!!!

 

 

 

P ersonally, I think we should all consider ourselves lucky that there is a DVD at all!...I know what you’re saying...but, if you knew what we went thro’ to get the DVD finished & ready for release...you wouldn’t ask! Apart from the show, there is a 15 minute documentary, a comprehensive still photo gallery from the show & a separate 10 track CD featuring the audio highlights of the DVD that you can crank at home, or better still in the car!...I put a disclaimer on the packaging that says we will not be responsible for speeding tickets, or damage to home furnishings!

Hopefully, most people will be satisfied with what they get...a bloody good rock & roll show that looks & sounds great!

 

W e’re currently planning our next sonic assault on Europe & the World! I have recently severed all connections with my management company...WS really should have worked more thro’ 05 but, I felt there was minimal effort made to achieve this, so, it was time to look for more enthusiastic & motivated representation...after all, these people benefit quite substantially from my endeavors...In some cases better than me! I have a feeling we will be dancing the night away & plying our craft around Europe quite a lot in 2006...preaching the ‘Gospel Of The Snake’...altho’ my US agent is still looking for something suitable for the Americas... I’ve been very disappointed in how we are perceived in the States by a lot of the promoters...It’s very different from anywhere else in the World...However, it is what it is...& until I can change that perception it will remain...so...I’d better get to work!

I have just finished putting a deal together with the good people at Geffen & Universal in the States, & they seem very keen on promoting WS after a particularly lethargic period, which doesn’t serve either side well...On my last US tour I didn’t find one...not one, Whitesnake CD in any of the stores I checked out...& that, my friends...is not good...not good at all!

Also, I am hoping to open dialogue with my ol’ pals at EMI...they have the complete WS catalogue for most of the World for some time to come, & I have just discovered the reason for their silence & absence at my recent shows...it was because they felt understandably alienated thro’ not hearing a word from my former management company...Not a word in over a year! Once again it is brought screaming to my attention that total lack of communication in business, in this day & age, is the kiss of death...So...my intention is to embrace all aspects & all the companies with whom WS is involved & communicate with them on a much more regular, personal basis...& start a fire under all our collective arses to work together to successfully promote Whitesnake & all the goodies it has to offer! 

My new team & I are also shopping for any interested partners whom would like to be part of the grand WS adventure and get involved with an excellent double CD of quite potent live material recorded over the last 3 years...I will also be recording 3 or 4 new WS studio songs to add to the live stuff to make it more interesting...I would like to see that released sometime in 06...& hopefully, we can find solid financing to record a whole new WS album as soon as possible... Doug & I already have a substantial amount of new song ideas at the ready...& that’s without exploring what the rest of the Snakes have up their collective sleeves... I am also about to open dialogue with Geffen, & hopefully, EMI, to put a definitive Whitesnake Video Collection together while I have some time before touring, which will feature all the biggies from the MTV years, the Coverdale Page vids & some not so well-known clips, but, all worth having, nonetheless...

My good friend & assistant of many years, Michael McIntyre has been working with my Webmaster, Poor Albert, going thro’ miles & miles of my private home videos of behind the scenes stuff for a comprehensive documentary...Stuff not even the musicians who were involved at the time have ever seen!...Should be fun... I am really excited about the next 3 years...now, all I have to do is stay in balance, focused...rested...& in good shape...& the rest will take care of itself!