There is sad news to report in the world of rock today as Whitesnake is unable to continue the remainder of their tour with Judas Priest. David Coverdale experienced pain in his vocal cords during last night’s show at the Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado. The performance was cut short, and afterwords Coverdale was taken to a specialist for an examination. The singer soon learned that the cause of the pain was a severe vocal fold edema and a left vocal fold vascular lesion.
According to the Whitesnake camp: “He was instructed to cancel all performances for the next two weeks and then undergo a further examination. The doctors told us we were fortunate this was caught at a stage where no apparent permanent damage has been caused.”
You can read the full release from the band at www.Whitesnake.com. The tour was scheduled to include eight more dates, ending on August 23 in Gilford, New Hampshire. Melodic Rock Concerts reviewed the band’s performance three weeks ago at the Moondance Jam in Walker, Minnesota – that review along with a full photo gallery can be found here. All of our best wishes go out to David, a man with a voice like no other, as he recovers. Let’s hope that this ends the bad luck encountered by some of the summer’s biggest tours.
Update on 8/15/09 - David adds the following statement, sounding as witty and charming as ever:
“Ahh… Good day, my Loves… I genuinely appreciate your care and concern, but, may I assure you all that I am now safely home and doing well… all I need to do is to rest my vocal cords for a couple of weeks. The really difficult thing is for me to shut the F up. I am not on any medication, other than room temp waters to stay hydrated. I have a list of do’s and don’ts… and don’t even think about it, mate! I’ll be back to see the exceptionally good specialists in a couple of weeks. Until then, I would appreciate everyone not worrying… everything will be fine. I’m at my beautiful home, surrounded by all my books… all my big boy toys that will help keep me busy and distracted while I rest up. Mmm… my steam room… where I’ll be spending lots of reflective time… an incredible Tahoe Summer that I will enjoy to the max, and of course, my favourite family in the whole wide world.
Of course, I sincerely regret being unable to complete the Red Rocks show… that was tough… on such a gorgeous evening and after being given a heartwarming, inspiring reception. A hard decision to stop… and then to be unable to finish the US tour with Priest, but, obviously, it was not to be. With hand on heart I thank Judas Priest and their fine crew for extraordinary hospitality and camaraderie… and of course, my fantastic band and crew for their amazing support. Without a doubt, that includes the wonderful responses we received all over the US from you golden people. Treasured memories… thank you, a thousand times. Now… with respect, let’s get on with our lives, my friends… Big Love & LIGHT…DC…XX.“
