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Bender and rotator
David Coverdale did an over-the-phone interview with Atlanta radio station Rock 100.5 WNNX. Amongst other rather entertaining things, he went on the record to admit that he had underwent a knee replacement surgery a couple of years ago.
When I see people have trouble getting up out of a chair in a restaurant or in the street, just my heart aches for them immediately, because it was miserable for me. And, basically, for 10 years, we’d been covering it up with shots, injections and stuff for tours, pain-killing ointments, and I was fine on stage until I had some shots in South America, and they were hurting me through the show. Now, when I go on stage, I go into the zone. I don’t know what the hell I’m doing. My job is just to have fun with the audience and encourage them to have fun. I totally trust my band to kick ass, ’cause that’s the driving force behind me, and the energy from the crowd, which is an intense power crowds have, how the evening’s gonna go, and channel that energy back to them — constant refueling from the audience and sending it back. But to be pulled out of the zone by insane bone-on-bone pain was ‘ouch.’ And that happened in South America. And, fortunately, it was near the end of my tour cycle. There was no question — had I not gone in to have knee replacement surgery for both knees, I would have certainly been in a wheelchair, and I could not see myself within that picture.
His 2018 tour with Foreigner and Jason Bonham’s Led Zeppelin Experience was an opportunity to “test drive” the new body parts:
I didn’t have the courage to say, ‘Let’s book a world tour,’ ’cause I had no idea how my knees were gonna be. I was doing physical therapy for over a year every day of the week to rebuild strength and stamina. And I’m just not the kind of performer who just stands there and sings. I have to work that stage and interact with the audience and my musicians. I went in to see my surgeon. I said, ‘I’m gonna go out for two months.’ He said, ‘No. I never thought you’d do it till next year’ — till this year, 2019. I said, ‘It’s only an hour [on stage].’ And he said, ‘Whatever you do, don’t do any bending and rotating.’ And I went, ‘Christ, that’s what I do.’ [Laughs] I’m a singer, bender and rotator, for God’s sakes.
Thanks to Blabbermouth for the info.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
I can myself recommend knee ( both the same time) replacements! Best thing I’ve done in a long time.
March 11th, 2019 at 20:13Most rock stars go on stage drunk and high to kill the pain anyways. Look at the rock stars like Jagger and Richards, with all the arthritis and stuff.
March 13th, 2019 at 15:51It sounds like Gorgeous Mr. Coverdale needs to make an appointment with a massage therapist to rub those aches and pains away! I will gladly volunteer for free! Haha
March 14th, 2019 at 23:32He has both knees replaced, just like Glenn did…….Could it be from those high platform boots they wore back in the 70’s that caused the arthritis problem?
April 9th, 2019 at 16:55