Whitesnake

Whitesnake is an English rock band whose most popular hit was 1987's "Here I Go Again" which reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 charts. The band's 1987 self-titled album was their most commercially successful, and contained two of their most recognisable songs, "Here I Go Again" and "Is This Love". In 1988, Whitesnake was nominated for the Brit Award for Best British Group. In 2005, Whitesnake was named the 85th greatest hard rock band of all time by VH1.

During their over thirty year history, the band has released two extended plays, eleven studio long plays, four live long plays, ten compilation albums and twenty-seven singles.

Whitesnake released the EP Snakebite in 1978 and included a cover of a Bobby "Blue" Bland song "Ain't No Love in the Heart of the City", which became the first hit from the band. A blues rock/R&B debut album Trouble, was released in the autumn of 1978 and peaked at #50 in the UK album charts. Whitesnake toured Europe to promote the album and their first live album Live at Hammersmith was recorded on this tour and released in Japan in 1979. Whitesnake released Lovehunter in 1979 and the album made the UK Top 30 and contained the minor hit "Long Way From Home" which reached #55 in the single charts. Tracks from the EP Snakebite were included in a reissue of the album Trouble in 2006.

They released the 1980 Ready an' Willing, which was a breakthrough hit for the band reaching the UK Top 10 and becoming their first entry into the U.S. Top 100. The single "Fool For Your Loving", which the band originally wrote for B.B. King, made #13 in the UK single charts and #53 in the US, and the title track also hit #43 in the UK charts. The band also released Live...In The Heart Of The City, which contained recordings made in 1978 and 1980 and achieved a #5 ranking in the UK album charts.

In 1981, the band released the album Come an' Get It which climbed to #2 in the UK album charts and produced the Top 20 hit "Don't Break My Heart Again" and the Top 40 hit "Would I Lie To You". Saints & Sinners was another Top 10 UK album and contained the hit "Here I Go Again" and the single "Guilty of Love" reached #31 in the UK singles chart.

In late 1983, the band recorded Slide It In, which was released in Europe in early 1984. A revised version of the album had its US release in April 1984. Slide It In went double platinum three years later after the release of the band's eighth album. The Slide It In album led to the album-oriented rock hits in the US: "Slow An' Easy" and "Love Ain't No Stranger", as well as the album's title track.

The Whitesnake album was released in 1987 which was entitled 1987 in Europe and Serpens Albus in Japan and marked the band's first mainstream success in the US. It has sold 8x platinum in the US and peaked at #2 in the US album charts. The album's biggest hits were the #2 power ballad "Is This Love" and the #1 hit single "Here I Go Again", a re-recording of a song originally on Saints & Sinners released in 1982. Other hit singles from the album were "Still of the Night" and "Give Me All Your Love". The album's exposure was boosted by heavy airplay of its videos on MTV.

The 1989 album Slip of the Tongue sold three million copies and hit #10 in both the US and UK album charts. The album also spawned three successful singles: a reworking of the band's 1980 classic "Fool for Your Loving", the melodic "The Deeper the Love" and "Now You're Gone". After the last show of the Slip of the Tongue Liquor and poker tour in 1990, Coverdale decided he would fold the band.

A new line-up of the band was assembled for 1994's Whitesnake's Greatest Hits album. They embarked on a short tour in Europe, and, following this, Whitesnake went into hiatus for three years.

In 1997, Coverdale and Vandenberg re-grouped to work together on a new Whitesnake album Restless Heart. Despite a release in both Japan and Europe, it was never available officially in the US. The album reached the UK Top 40 album chart and produced the blues ballad "Too Many Tears" which reached #46 UK singles chart. At the end of the year, Coverdale folded the band and took another break from the music business.

In December 2002, Coverdale reformed Whitesnake for Whitesnake's 25th anniversary and during 2003 they headlined the Rock Never Stops Tour with other popular rock bands.

In February 2006, Whitesnake released a live DVD titled, Live... In The Still of the Night and announced a Spring and Summer tour of Japan and Europe. In November 2006, a double live album entitled, Live: In The Shadow Of The Blues was released in UK, Germany, Switzerland and Austria. In June 2007, the band released a dual CD/DVD titled 1987 20th Anniversary Collector's Edition to mark the 20th anniversary of the mega-selling album 1987. The discs includes the four promo videos for the album on the DVD.

In April 2008, the band released their tenth studio album, Good to Be Bad, which reached #5 in the UK album chart.

Whitesnake released Forevermore in March 2011 in Europe and in North America. A digital single for the song 'Love Will Set You Free' was released, along with a video for the song. The album did not chart highly upon its official release in the UK. It did, however, show signs of Whitesnake's slow rebuild of support in the USA with the album charting at number 49 - the band's highest charting album since the 80s. A live album, Live at Donington 1990, was released.