Former DEEP PURPLE and current WHITESNAKE frontman David Coverdale has dimissed reports that he is contemplating retiring in 2017 on the 30th anniversary of the release of one of the best-selling hard rock albums in history, WHITESNAKE's "1987". Asked by Argentina's Vorterix radio if there is any truth to rumors that he will call it quits after next year, Coverdale said: "Well, no. I made the mistake of saying to a friend of mine, a journalist, when I was mixing [WHITESNAKE's] 'The Purple Album', my tribute to [my DEEP PURPLE bandmates] Ritchie [Blackmore] and Jon [Lord] and Ian [Paice] and Glenn [Hughes]. I thought, 'Wow! This could be an interesting last project for me to finish as I started, 'cause the first time anybody ever heard of me was the [DEEP PURPLE] 'Burn' album. So it was kind of a foolish thing of me to say. Then we went on an incredibly successful fucking tour, which we're finishing up editing, a DVD and a CD for spring [release] next year of 'The Purple Tour' experience. But, yeah, so I turned around to a friend of mine and said, 'You know, this would be a great way for me to stop.' I was very pleased with the album. And my co-producer, Michael, looked at me like I was fucking crazy. And then, of course, we had an amazingly successful tour last year. And then we started getting invited to come out this year. I think it was [WHITESNAKE guitarist] Reb Beach who said, 'Why don't we do a 'greatest-hits' tour? We've never done that.' Which is why we're doing songs [on the current WHITESNAKE tour] like 'Judgement Day', 'Slow An' Easy', 'Crying In The Rain' — stuff we haven't done for many years." "The Purple Album" was released in May 2015 via Frontiers Music Srl. The effort was billed as "a re-imagination of classic songs from Coverdale's time as the lead singer for DEEP PURPLE's Mark III and Mark IV studio albums." Coverdale was DEEP PURPLE's frontman from late 1973 to early 1976 and sang on the albums "Burn", "Stormbringer" and "Come Taste The Band". David previously told Macedonia's Metropolis Radio that "The Purple Album" was originally going to mark the end of his recording career but turned out to be the catalyst for the new WHITESNAKE band to work on new material. He said: "When I was mixing 'The Purple Album' with my co-producer Michael McIntyre and Reb, it felt to me…You know, I was 63 years old, and I'm going, 'Man, how long do I have to do this? This would be a perfect closure for me — to finish as I started.' But it's just kind of… In essence, it's re-energized me. I still write new music. We'll be recording some new music [in 2016]. But it's just revitalized me… re-renergized. That's all I can say. So any ideas that I had six months ago of retiring… I was totally honest, when I was making interviews, that I thought, you know, 'This is probably it.' But I had an incredibly good time on this U.S. tour with my musicians. It was incredible… Everybody contributed to this project in the most positive way. Now we've been performing these songs, it's even better than when we were recording them.And it just makes it more inspiring to look at the future for new stuff, with these guys. They are fabulous musicians, great people. I have no desire to hang up my rock and roll sneakers just yet." WHITESNAKE's current touring lineup — David Coverdale (vocals), Joel Hoekstra (guitar), Reb Beach (guitar), Michael Devin (bass), Tommy Aldridge (drums) and Michele Luppi (keyboards) — made its live debut in May 2015 at Northern Quest Casino in Airway Heights, Washington. PURPLE classics revamped for "The Purple Album" include "Stormbringer", "Lady Double Dealer", "Soldier Of Fortune" and "Sail Away".
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