David Coverdale says his heart breaks for Jimmy Page

In an interview with Sweden Rock Magazine, David confirmed there are plans to reissue several of Whitesnake’s classic albums including ‘Slide It In', ‘Whitesnake’ and 'Slip Of The Tongue’ with obligatory bonus demos etc. thrown in for their hardcore fans.

Describing rediscovering rare Whitesnake gems as a “fascinating journey”, David said: “It's like being a musical archaeologist - digging up the past in order to get the dust off it and present it and put it in a museum as part of special editions. It really is exciting."

Asked if he is painstakingly curating the material like his Coverdale•Page collaborator and perennial back catalogue tweaker Jimmy Page, David added: "I'm not going that far. The saddest thing for me, and my dear, dear, dear beloved friend Jimmy Page, I think one of the reasons he's explored the Zeppelin catalogue so significantly is because he can't get the guys to commit to making a new record or touring.

“Zeppelin's his baby, as Whitesnake is mine, but I'm very happy to say I have a fabulous fresh chapter of Whitesnake. I'm still a recording entity and I'm still a touring entity. The last two years have literally been the most successful we've had forever. It's been fabulous. Next year, God willing, won't be any different. This year, we're gonna be all studio, write a new album and have new product for next year."

David continued: "But can you see the comparison, whereas Jimmy doesn't have that — he doesn't have an opportunity. I've recommended to him for years to do what Carlos Santana did with 'Supernatural' (the 1999 album saw Santana join forces with a host of guest musicians and singers).

“Jimmy's got all these great songs. I said, 'I'm there for you. I'll do a couple of songs for you, without a doubt.' I said, 'Do something like 'Supernatural'. At least you're playing.'

“It breaks my heart, 'cause he's such a fing valuable musician. With what he's already given to us, he doesn't really owe us anything, but I just know that he's still valid and relevant and can still play amazing guitar and write amazing songs. Where do you go after fing Led Zeppelin, dude? Where do you go?"

Rumours of a Led Zeppelin reunion resurfaced earlier this month when an intriguing black landing page appeared on Robert Plant’s official website along with the words ‘Any time now…’

Several news outlets claimed that Led Zeppelin were about to be unveiled as the blockbuster headliners of Californian classic rock festival Desert Trip this autumn, however these claims were spectacularly quashed when organisers Golden Voice confirmed the event wouldn’t be returning for a second year.

Last September, Jimmy Page told Planet Rock’s Phil Alexander he was finally hoping to release some new solo material after wrapping up work on Led Zeppelin’s Complete BBC Sessions album.

“The BBC Sessions was an epic, when you think everything has to be listened to in real time and all of that,” Jimmy said. “It’s an epic but it’s an epic I was really prepared to take on because historically it was really important for people to have all that information about what was going on in the studio at that point of time.

“It took a lot of time and I must say that I hoped by this time (September 2016) that I would be sort of playing with other musicians. I’ve said that to you before but I still hope to do that. Clearly now it’s not going to materialise until next year. That’s not that far away now!”