Adrian Vandenberg, former guitarist of Whitesnake, recently shared the story of how he initially turned down multiple offers to join the band before ultimately agreeing to become part of the group. In a revealing interview, Vandenberg also expressed his surprise when David Coverdale and the rest of the band weren’t happy with John Sykes’ original guitar solo on “Here I Go Again.”
Although Vandenberg’s time with Whitesnake was relatively brief, he was there during one of the band’s most successful eras, contributing to the band’s self-titled 1987 album. By the time Vandenberg was asked to re-record Sykes’ solo for “Here I Go Again,” he was already an established rock star with his own band, Vandenberg, which had toured with the likes of Ozzy Osbourne, Michael Schenker, and KISS, and even had a Top 40 hit with “Burning Heart.”
In a candid interview with Alma Hard, Vandenberg recalled the early days when Coverdale first approached him to join Whitesnake in the early ’80s, before Vandenberg had achieved his own musical success. Despite being a fan of Coverdale’s work, Vandenberg initially turned down the offer due to timing issues.
“It was great. It was exciting. The timing was finally right,” Vandenberg said. “David had been approaching me when the first Vandenberg album came out; he already asked me to join Whitesnake, but I told him, ‘Man I would love to,’ because I’m a big David Coverdale fan, and still am. But the timing wasn’t right because I just signed the contract with Atlantic, and the first album was about to come out.”
Vandenberg was invited again by Coverdale during Whitesnake’s headlining performance at the Donington Festival. This time, however, he was recording the second Vandenberg album and had to decline again. Despite these setbacks, the two stayed in touch over the years.
“At the end of 1986, my manager and I got rid of the Vandenberg contract with Atlantic,” Vandenberg explained. “I got approached by an A&R manager at Geffen who was working with Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Guns N’ Roses… I was invited to Los Angeles to discuss a new deal for Vandenberg, but it ended up being a very different offer.”
The manager, Vandenberg said, presented him with two options: to form a new lineup for Vandenberg with top-class musicians or to join Whitesnake. To Vandenberg’s surprise, the manager also asked him to re-record John Sykes’ solo for “Here I Go Again.”
“That really surprised me, because John Sykes is a fu**ing great player,” Vandenberg admitted. “But they literally said, ‘We didn’t think the approach John Sykes had was the right one.’ I found out later that David had already stopped working with John two weeks before that… I recorded ‘Here I Go Again,’ and that was it.”
Reflecting on the decision to join Whitesnake, Vandenberg said, “If I went with the first proposition, I would never find a singer of David Coverdale’s caliber. So, I thought, ‘Man, maybe this is the right time, after those earlier invitations.’ I decided to join David, and it was just the two of us at the time. I learned that Rudy Sarzo [bass] and Tommy Aldridge [drums] had been approached. That was it.”
Vandenberg’s decision to join Whitesnake ultimately led to the band’s massive success, especially with the 1987 Whitesnake album, which included hits like “Here I Go Again” and “Is This Love.”
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