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Why did Robert Plant hate David Covedale?


ledsabbath

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Have you seen the Whitesnake DVD that was released a year or so ago? Excellent show recorded in London with the old bugger still in fine voice. Well worth a look.

Whitesnake: In The Still of the Night (Coming Home Studios) (B0006129-09) (2006)

I have this dvd. It's an entertaining performance superbly captured on film.

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Just to add a little spice to this thread....can anyone remember which singer joined Deep Purple in response to an ad asking for 'A Led Zep/Plant-type singer' ? Was it Ian Gillan? Or was it...Mavis Coverdwell? I honestly can't recall but i think the answer may shed a little light on this question. Thank you!

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You all need to understand that the people in the U.S. do not know anything about David Coverdale other than the "Whitesnake 1987" and "Slip Of The Tongue" so they view them as a hair band because they are ignorant. They know nothing about the great music before and after that period that he did with his world total sales of at least 40 million which say what you want is NOT shabby. "Coverdale/Page" is so good that I am waiting for them to do new material...and NO I am not joking. It was a brilliant project except for the fact that Mr. Coverdale does not know how to communicate with his audience and drops the "f" bomb all over the place.

Coverdale has one of the best connections with his audience of any artist I have ever seen.

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Coverdale was specifically hired by Deep Purple to [And i quote] "Match Robert Plant",they wanted someone to come out and BE Percy,Deep Purp always wanted to match the competition,and they randomly took a Plant-stalker and brought him off the streets and into their lives,they got lucky and got themselves a good singer,but i bet David spends his nights watching Robert in his sleep.

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Coverdale was specifically hired by Deep Purple to [And i quote] "Match Robert Plant",they wanted someone to come out and BE Percy,Deep Purp always wanted to match the competition,and they randomly took a Plant-stalker and brought him off the streets and into their lives,they got lucky and got themselves a good singer,but i bet David spends his nights watching Robert in his sleep.

They randomly took a Plant-stalker in from off the streets and got lucky? Well, all I can say, again, is that David Coverdale has been a singer of songs for most of his life and it was talent which led to his big break with Deep Purple:

David Coverdale was born on September 22nd 1951 in Saltburn in the North East of England. His first home was above a club in the town run by his parents and, via the juke-box, Coverdale was turned on to bands such as The Pretty Things, The Sorrows, The Yardbirds and The Kinks. He went on to art college where he joined college groups such as Vintage 67, Denver Mule and Magdalene.

At the end of 1968 this paid off when The Skyliners, a busy local outfit, asked him to join. They played all over the area and did supporting slots at the Redcar Jazz Club, soon changing their name to The Government. Some nights they played cabaret spots at night clubs, on other occasions they would be playing for college audiences, always doing covers. On one occasion in 1969 they even found themselves supporting Deep Purple at Bradford University. The band also backed people like Elkie Brooks and The Paper Dolls and had offers of full-time work. In the end the members decided not to go professional, so Coverdale left and took a job in a boutique to earn a wage and sang in the evenings with Rivers Invitation, who spawned a spin-off outfit called The Fabulosa Brothers. Coverdale was also busy writing; songs like 'Holy Man', 'Sail Away' and 'Soldier Of Fortune', all began life during this time.

Stories of the departure of Deep Purple vocalist lan Gillan surfaced and the boss at the Redcar Jazz Club sent in a tape of The Fabulosa Brothers. Coverdale was invited for an audition and on December 8, 1973, found himself fronting Deep Purple for the first time in Sweden. The new band cut the Burn album, and Deep Purple went on to become the biggest selling band in America the following year. After Stormbringer when Blackmore quit, Coverdale was instrumental in persuading the others to carry on with Tommy Bolin. He was also the first to quit when it became clear the band were falling apart. 'I was frightened to leave the band. Purple was my life, Purple gave me my break but all the same I wanted out,' he later admitted.

Contractural problems led to him taking time off to record two solo albums before he could begin to think of starting his own group, Whitesnake, who set out on their first low-key UK tour in 1978. Over the next twelve months first Jon Lord, then Ian Paice joined his band, who became very successful in Europe, with a number of hit singles penned by guitarist Bernie Marsden. The group underwent a number of personnel changes with Ian Paice being replaced by Cozy Powell in 1982 after which the group began to lose direction a little. In 1985 Coverdale disbanded the group completely before emerging again in 1987 with an American based band and a new album deal.

The Whitesnake '1987' LP went on to become his biggest seller ever and for several years the group enjoyed enormous worldwide success. This slowed in the mid-nineties and Coverdale teamed up with Jimmy Page for a one-off album Coverdale/Page and short tour. He then moved to recording solo albums under the Whitesnake/David Coverdale banner but the touring diminished. In 2003 he returned to the stage with a new Whitesnake to promote a number of Best Of Whitesnake albums in America and Europe.

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Coverdale was specifically hired by Deep Purple to [And i quote] "Match Robert Plant",they wanted someone to come out and BE Percy,Deep Purp always wanted to match the competition,and they randomly took a Plant-stalker and brought him off the streets and into their lives,they got lucky and got themselves a good singer,but i bet David spends his nights watching Robert in his sleep.

Wrong singer. Ian Gillan was brought into the band on Blackmore's instigation as he wanted "...a screamer like Robert Plant."

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Wrong singer. Ian Gillan was brought into the band on Blackmore's instigation as he wanted "...a screamer like Robert Plant."

I'm no Deep Purple expert - but are you sure about this? Gillan came in during 1969 - Zeppelin weren't THAT well known in the UK at that time, and just starting to get a profile in the US?

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I'm no Deep Purple expert - but are you sure about this? Gillan came in during 1969 - Zeppelin weren't THAT well known in the UK at that time, and just starting to get a profile in the US?

The quote was definitely in reference to Gillan - Zep's first album had come out and was selling well so the buzz was already beginning to spread.

It's also possible that the members of Purple Mk I had somehow crossed paths with Zeppelin in the States, during the latter's early tours. Maybe Blackmore witnessed the Zep audience response first-hand and realised that was where things were headed, hence Mk II?

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The quote was definitely in reference to Gillan - Zep's first album had come out and was selling well so the buzz was already beginning to spread.

It's also possible that the members of Purple Mk I had somehow crossed paths with Zeppelin in the States, during the latter's early tours. Maybe Blackmore witnessed the Zep audience response first-hand and realised that was where things were headed, hence Mk II?

Correct. Blackmore was well aware of Page, both guitarists had been session musicians in the early/middle 60's, Blackmore primarily playing on Joe Meek productions. Sacking Rod Evans and hiring Ian Gillan was a direct reaction to the first Zeppelin opus, which culminated in the seminal "Deep Purple In Rock" album. Which everyone should own. :D

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Thanks. My guess was that the answer was indeed Ian Gillian Gillam, of that parish,who was invited to 'come on down and be Robert Plant'. Just the faintest chance that it may have been Northwinds Dave was enough to amuse me, though. Fine singers, one and all. Thanks again,everyone.

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Isn't imitation the best form of compliment?

Mind you, comparing a whizzy Japanese moped to a good British Motorcycle might not be compliment.

Please feel free to cut the above comments up with a razor blade as I wouldn't know David Coverdale if I was stood next to him on a bus.

Edited by Ninedisks
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Isn't imitation the best form of compliment?

Mind you, comparing a whizzy Japanese moped to a good British Motorcycle might not be compliment.

Please feel free to cut the above comments up with a razor blade as I wouldn't know David Coverdale if I was stood next to him on a bus.

It's entirely subjective, you like what you like. I'm not a huge fan of DC myself but I realise he has talent.

As for Gillan, Deep Purple and the album In Rock, I'd put that up there with anything in the Led Zeppelin canon. And "Made In Japan" is a far superior live album than "The Song Remains The Same", albeit not under the same constraints as having to be matched with available film.

Just my opinion, not a definitive.

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Coverdale was specifically hired by Deep Purple to [And i quote] "Match Robert Plant",they wanted someone to come out and BE Percy,Deep Purp always wanted to match the competition,and they randomly took a Plant-stalker and brought him off the streets and into their lives,they got lucky and got themselves a good singer,but i bet David spends his nights watching Robert in his sleep.

Meaning no disrespect to you, but I find this very hard to believe. I know for an absolute fact that Ritchie Blackmore was looking for a vocalist who could sing the blues. After Ian Gillan, Mr Blackmore wanted to return to his blues roots, hence the qualification of a blues vocalist-which David Coverdale was more than capable of. Just look at some of the blues songs DP did with David Coverdale, which verifies this.

I find it extremely hard to believe that the creative and original thinking Ritchie Blackmore was looking for a Plant clone. It is just not his style, to ride on the coat tails of another vocalist and emulate him. Because one thing that Ritchie Blackmore hates, amidst a sea of hates in his case, is unoriginality. So it just was not his thing to copy another musician, be it guitarist or vocalist. Anyone familiar with the history of DP and Ritchie Blackmore would understand this.

Edited by ledsabbath
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Meaning no disrespect to you, but I find this very hard to believe. I know for an absolute fact that Ritchie Blackmore was looking for a vocalist who could sing the blues. After Ian Gillan, Mr Blackmore wanted to return to his blues roots, hence the qualification of a blues vocalist-which David Coverdale was more than capable of. Just look at some of the blues songs DP did with David Coverdale, which verifies this.

I find it extremely hard to believe that the creative and original thinking Ritchie Blackmore was looking for a Plant clone. It is just not his style, to ride on the coat tails of another vocalist and emulate him. Because one thing that Ritchie Blackmore hates, amidst a sea of hates in his case, is unoriginality. So it just was not his thing to copy another musician, be it guitarist or vocalist. Anyone familiar with the history of DP and Ritchie Blackmore would understand this.

Nicely put. Also, back in those days Coverdale didn't sound at all like Robert, or look like him. Like you said, he was far more of a blues singer - I would even go so far as to say a lounge singer. Beautiful vocals.

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the answer to myquestion is Ian G, isn't it? Since I first asked, I checked with a friend who's a big fan of Da Purps and ,eventually,under close questioning and with some persuasion, he said that Mr G was the man who had to don the curly wig and put on a Black Country accent. Got him through the audition ok.Did well for himself,too. This person is a bona-fide D.p fan who harbours no illusions about Rocky Blockhead's much-touted[by himself, mainly]'integrity'or 'artistry'.He confirmed the Zep-related reasons for the transfer-window purchase of a hairy singerman with occasional bongos. Should really have asked the mate first but this board is the source of mucho Bigrock wisdom and humour so I felt sure someone would know, and someone else would disagree and there'd be a debate of sorts.And they did! And there was!! Cheers a lot.Still a bit sad that it wasn't Davy Croonerdale though...

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Meaning no disrespect to you, but I find this very hard to believe. I know for an absolute fact that Ritchie Blackmore was looking for a vocalist who could sing the blues. After Ian Gillan, Mr Blackmore wanted to return to his blues roots, hence the qualification of a blues vocalist-which David Coverdale was more than capable of. Just look at some of the blues songs DP did with David Coverdale, which verifies this.

I find it extremely hard to believe that the creative and original thinking Ritchie Blackmore was looking for a Plant clone. It is just not his style, to ride on the coat tails of another vocalist and emulate him. Because one thing that Ritchie Blackmore hates, amidst a sea of hates in his case, is unoriginality. So it just was not his thing to copy another musician, be it guitarist or vocalist. Anyone familiar with the history of DP and Ritchie Blackmore would understand this.

Agreed. Looking for a 'Plant-stalker' in order to 'match the competetion' sounds very un-Blackmore-ish.

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Agreed. Looking for a 'Plant-stalker' in order to 'match the competetion' sounds very un-Blackmore-ish.

Would have to agree, Coverdale was a great singer and fit DP perfectly. That band had it's own sound and fan base. The important thing for Blackmore was to get a singer who could do just that...and he did

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Would have to agree, Coverdale was a great singer and fit DP perfectly. That band had it's own sound and fan base. The important thing for Blackmore was to get a singer who could do just that...and he did

I never liked Coverdale himself, but I must say that I've always enjoyed those albums far more than those recorded with Gillan (who has a great voice but his expression is utterly boring ...IMHO).

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I never liked Coverdale himself, but I must say that I've always enjoyed those albums far more than those recorded with Gillan (who has a great voice but his expression is utterly boring ...IMHO).

Wow. I think you finally put into words the reason I have been looking for for years as to why I am not a Gillan fan. I was never able to say I didn't like his voice - I do - I just couldn't explain it. Thanks.

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Wow. I think you finally put into words the reason I have been looking for for years as to why I am not a Gillan fan. I was never able to say I didn't like his voice - I do - I just couldn't explain it. Thanks.

I can't help it, but I've realized that he's the reason why I never learned to like Deep Purple, even though I really tried. EVERY song sounds the same.

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