Whitesnake, Foreigner, Europe, London 02 2022

Seeing Whitesnake is always a super-emotional experience for me. It’s the one band and lead singer for whom I have to be at the front and this emotion is intensified for me tonight as it is the final stadium tour. I have a photo pass, but this doesn’t stop me arranging for someone to keep my place and getting back to the barrier after each three song photo stint. I have never done that for any other band. The bill also contains two other bands I love. Good taste DC and an amazing package as always!! (What would a Whitesnake review be without the good old British institution of the double entendre.)

Europe opened with ‘Walk the Earth’ a brave and distinctive choice: they are sounding and looking good. Getting into ‘Rock the Night’ there is already an opportunity for the crowd to engage and sing along with Joey Tempest who extends his microphone to the front row. After photographing I get to the barrier at the front for the start of ‘Carrie’ one of my favourites with that lovely keyboard introduction and sensitively sung with Joey packing emotion into every note. The crowd sing the chorus so loudly and clearly that Joey shouts ‘Beautiful!’ before a lovely solo from John Norum. Joey plays guitar for ‘Ready or Not’ centre stage taking a break from all that pacing around and swinging his microphone stand to become briefly an axe slinger instead. ‘Superstitious’ with its amazing keyboards is next. Joey takes the time to reach down to high five members of the front row and hand out picks. John Norum delivers another staggeringly poignant solo finishing with a bit of a funky rhythm which Joey turns into a short cover of the chorus of ‘No Woman No Cry’ which the crowd joins in on before the band finishes the song, fist pumping to the final riffs. I love ‘Cherokee, so I am so glad they managed to fit it in. Joey throws the mike to the crowd to get them to shout ‘Hey’ between lines and they duly oblige. The interaction becomes a massive hand clapping session. With most of the set under his belt Joey brings the song to an end with a double shaking of fists in victory. Finally what else, but ‘The Final Countdown’ as Joey pogos along to the distinctive intro before swinging around his microphone stand in a huge windmill motion. Great choice by Mr Coverdale to get the crowd totally up for it.

Starting with ‘Double Vision’ Foreigner burst on stage. They have amazing screen graphics of nuclear bomb explosions etc which make a great backdrop. Kelly Hansen is an engaging front man keeping things interesting, while sounding fantastic whatever his antics. There’s a great sense of teamwork onstage with the band who deliver an extremely slick, flawless performance. After ‘Head Games’ Kelly says hello to the crowd saying the 02 is a magical place for the band having played this venue last time with Led Zeppelin. The iconic ‘Cold as Ice’ follows with Jeff Pilson taking up additional keyboards on top of the Organ behind. Kelly runs around the audience interacting with people on the barrier before making it back in time to sing. He drops to his knees for dramatic effect at the end with the blue lights making him look frozen.

Kelly says hello to the ladies asking if they want a naughty partner in their life before launching into ‘Dirty White Boy’. He takes the opportunity to remind the crowd it was recently the 45th anniversary of the release of the first album. He takes a round up of the ages of the crowd, complimenting the under 40s for their ridiculously good taste in music. With a short set, it is certainly incredible song after incredible song with ‘Feels Like the First Time’ ‘Urgent’ and (after an extended Organ and Drum solo with great crowd interaction) ‘Juke Box Hero’.

Mick Jones founding member and ‘Baron of Bad-assery’ as Kelly called him joined proceedings for an extended encore ‘Long, Long Way From Home’, ‘I Want to Know What Love Is’ and ‘Hot Blooded’. The crowd is invited to hug each other and send energy into outer space that will go on forever and ever. Indeed the audience sing ‘I Wanna know What Love is’ without being asked, easily audible over the full electric band. It already feels like we have had a headliner show and we still have the one and only Whitesnake to go!

David Coverdale looks trim and bounces on acknowledging the crowd both in the front row and the very back with ‘Here’s a Song For Ya!’. The band is full of energy kicking off with ‘Bad Boys’ “and this bad girl” as DC adds. Joel Hoekstra storms into his first solo and he and Tanya O’Callaghan strike a beautiful pair against the Whitesnake roundel. Joel strides to the front with Reb Beach for a guitar duet photo opportunity. DC is master of all he purveys as he twirls his microphone into the very first of his inverse microphone classic poses (or ‘the reverse mike stand dick bounce’ for the cognoscenti) which I was delighted to catch for posterity. ‘Slide It In’ follows with the striking album cover image up on the screen behind. Tanya works with Tommy Aldridge and Joel as if she has always been in the band while adding to the visual interest of the band with her amazing hair and physique. DC remarks on the beautiful full moon before launching into ‘Love Ain’t No Stranger’ which shows off his full bodied deep tones. He invited the Whitesnake choir to join in and they need no further encouragement. Joel performs the iconic solo keeping a bluesy feel before the squealing metal finish. DC gets the whole crowd to clap to bring in the end of the song.

‘Hey You (You Make Me Rock)’ (the only new song in a shorter set than usual due to the three stellar bands on offer) with its heavy bass line gives Tanya a chance to stand forward and rock out. DC drops a characteristic F Bomb in ‘Slow an’ Easy’ which also gives Reb a chance to show off his supreme skill with the solo. DC tells his ‘I was due to retire at 69 you know’ joke before saying this is the song that started the Whitesnake Choir, cue ‘Ain’t No Love in the Heart of the City’ which has Dino and Michael contributing great harmonies on the chorus. The crowd joins in and the voices are strong and deep suggesting the balance is in favour of men in the crowd or maybe it was a little low for the ladies. It was, I admit for me. Another crowd favourite ‘Fool for Your Loving’ follows with Joel and Reb joining forces for the firepower of the riffs with Reb taking the whammy-laden, squealin solo right at the front, suitably on the ego ramp. DC does a dramatic prolonged invert microphone stand penis pose before Reb’s extended solo spot with super fast finger tapping at the end of which the crowd roars. Dino comes to the front for a Keytar solo which is visually striking and shows off his skills to the crowd as they can see his fingerwork. It’s the first keytar solo I recall played partly behind someone’s head and it’s such a large one (keytar that is). Joel comes to the fore and does an extended finger tapping and whammy-packed solo with his beautiful blue glittery WS guitar, flicking his long mane back and forth in an arresting pose before being joined by Reb and Dino in a trio of finger tapping (again another first for me).

We are reaching my favourite song in this particular set the wonderful ‘Crying in the Rain’. Dino’s voice blends beautifully with David’s in the new vocal arrangements on the chorus. Following the way things used to be (this song not being on the set list in recent times till this tour) there was then a solo section starting with Reb. Then the hard hitting Tommy who when he hits the drums is so fast it’s like a speeded up Hollywood film with super fast stick twirls. Using his hands to slap his drums like bongos his whole exterior is hard muscle, amazing and giving drummers of any age a run for their money. Everyone else returns for another reprise of the chorus. There’s another reverse mike stand dick bounce before DC praises Tommy as ‘the fuckin’ Stormbringer’. He brings Tanya forward saying ‘Check this Babe out.. Not only beautiful, but incredibly gifted, incredibly talented’, followed by the ‘Italian Stalion’ Michele Luppi, Dino ‘amazing singer and instrumentalist, the Pride of Croatia’, ‘the incendiary’ Joel Hoekstra and ‘the crown prince of porno from Pittsburg Pensylvania’ (ha ha) Reb Beach, in a series of introductions delivered in DC’s inimitable style. DC asks if this is still the city of love? The crowd know to expect massive single ‘Is This Love’ which features a plaintively emotional solo from Joel.

I was thrilled, of course, to have the first two lines of ‘Give Me All Your Love’ sung directly to me with eye contact. David knows how to make everyone feel special. Twirling round for the lyric ‘running round in circles like a dog without a bone’ he demonstrates he’s still pretty fit. The band totally rocks out for the fast paced section, before the crowd takes up the mantle to sing the chorus.

As we roll into ‘Here I Go Again’ it’s bittersweet as I know we are coming to the end. The crowd take up the first verse and sing it with gusto. The two beats at the end of of the lines get the Coverdale reverse mike stand dick bounce before Reb makes a beautiful job of the solo. In response to ‘This is London make some real noise’ the dramatic and iconic ‘Still Of The Night’ follows. DC signs off ‘A thousand thanks for your hospitality London. Thank you for such an amazing journey of almost 50 years together. God bless you all, be safe be happy and don’t let anybody make you afraid.’ Before he does a smashing motion like a killer serve as if to say “Take That!”

‘As was the case for the last tour ‘Burn’ was the encore with a nod to DC’s incredible Deep Purple past: although with Whitesnake he forged his own reputation and proved he did not need anyone else’s coat tails to be eternally loved and cherished for his amazing talent. We understand he needs to retire at some point, but it’s really hard to accept that the golden days of regular tours from Whitesnake are over. With a big hug from DC for Tommy, DC loves to demonstrate his love for his band mates, there is a group bow and curtain call for photos. It is all over and I can start to calm down again.

I actually would have loved this to have been a mini festival starting early afternoon with each of the bands doing their normal length sets rather than shortened ones, but each band certainly left the crowd wanting more, which, I guess, is the way you want to leave ‘em. Whitesnake have gone out on a high and presented us with more
excitement than anyone could possibly expect for one rock show bill. I cling to the hints Mr Coverdale gave me in my last interview with him that although this is THE final stadium tour he may come back for smaller non stadium shows in the future maybe intimate performances with stories kind of like ‘An Audience With’. I’ll be there Mr Coverdale. You’ll always be welcome home. For one thing this was a shorter set, so how about, in addition, a more exclusive smaller longer show with some of the deeper cuts… I think a certain special London Venue in West London is calling your name.

Dawn Osborne

Space was limited in this review, but see the features section of this site for galleries with many more images with one full gallery for each band. All photographs by Dawn Osborne