Bernie Marsden

Bernard John Marsden (7 May 1951 – 24 August 2023) was an English rock and blues guitarist. He is primarily known for his work with Whitesnake, having written or co-written with David Coverdale many of the group's hit songs, such as "Fool for Your Loving", "Walking in the Shadow of the Blues", "Ready an' Willing", "Lovehunter", "Trouble", and "Here I Go Again".

Marsden got his first professional gig with UFO in 1972. He next played with Glenn Cornick's Wild Turkey in 1973, before joining drummer Cozy Powell's band, Cozy Powell's Hammer. He then joined Babe Ruth in 1975 and played on two Capitol Records releases, Stealin' Home (1975) and Kid's Stuff (1976). During his time with Babe Ruth, Cozy Powell recommended him to Jon Lord, who was forming a post Deep Purple band with Ian Paice, Paice Ashton Lord, in 1976, with Tony Ashton.

During his time recording the Malice in Wonderland album with Paice Ashton Lord, Marsden worked alongside saxophonist Howie Casey, who recommended he join Paul McCartney's Wings, but the position never materialised, as Whitesnake was being formed at the same time.

Paice Ashton Lord Paice Ashton Lord was the band formed by Jon Lord and Ian Paice after the demise of Deep Purple. Long-time associate and keyboard player Tony Ashton made up the third part. Cozy Powell recommended Marsden, who auditioned alongside bassist Paul Martinez. There was much anticipation for the band, but after one album and only five gigs, the band folded during sessions for a second album in Munich, a momentous period because it was in Munich that Marsden met David Coverdale for the first time.

Whitesnake After Paice Ashton Lord folded in 1978, Marsden formed a new band with former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale and guitarist Micky Moody. The band started as David Coverdale's White Snake, which then became Whitesnake. Marsden played on the first EP, first five albums and a live album: Snakebite (1978), Trouble (1978), Lovehunter (1979), Ready an' Willing (1980), Live... in the Heart of the City (1980), Come an' Get It (1981) and Saints & Sinners (1982), contributing many of the songs with David Coverdale and sometimes Moody. Marsden and Coverdale went on to create Whitesnake's anthem "Here I Go Again" in 1982.

Post-Whitesnake bands Following his departure from Whitesnake, Marsden formed a short-lived band called Bernie Marsden's SOS. Not long after, Bernie Marsden formed the band Alaska

In 2021, Marsden was crowned The Lord of The Blues at the HRH Awards.

Marsden continued to play solo shows, mainly festivals in Europe and the UK, joining Joe Bonamassa's Blues Cruises, and also took a show on the road playing the Whitesnake album Ready an' Willing in its entirety in the autumn of 2019.

On the evening of 24 August 2023, Marsden died from bacterial meningitis, with his wife and two daughters at his side. He was 72. Marsden's former bandmate, David Coverdale, expressed his condolences on his Twitter (X) account.

Guitar related PRS Guitars released a Bernie Marsden Signature Edition guitar, and Gibson Guitars made a limited edition number of his Gibson Les Paul guitar known as "The Beast". His second book, released in 2018, is Tales of Tone and Volume and is a large tome featuring his guitar collection. Marsden contributed a column to Guitarist magazine in 2018–19.

Discography

With UFO 1973 The Dave Edmunds Rockfield Demos

With Cozy Powell's Hammer 1974 Na Na Na/ Mistral (RAK single) + BBC Radio Recordings

With Wild Turkey 1974 BBC Radio Sessions 2002 Rarest Turkey Audio Archive label 2003 Rare Turkey BBC and rarities Audio Archive

With Babe Ruth 1975 – Stealin' Home 1976 – Kid's Stuff

With Paice Ashton Lord 1977 – Malice in Wonderland 1993 – BBC Radio 1 Live in Concert '77 2007 – Live in London '77 (DVD)

With Whitesnake 1978 – Snakebite 1978 – Trouble 1979 – Lovehunter 1980 – Ready an' Willing 1980 – Live...in the Heart of the City 1981 – Come an' Get It 1982 – Saints & Sinners

With Alaska 1984 – Heart of the Storm (as Bernie Marsden's Alaska) 1985 – The Pack 1986 – Alive (VHS, DVD – 2005) 2002 – Live Baked Alaska 2003 – Anthology 1

With the Moody Marsden Band 1992 – Never Turn Our Back on the Blues 1994 – Live in Hell – Unplugged 1994 – The Time Is Right for Live (the two above albums released as one) 1994 – Real Faith

With the Snakes / The Company of Snakes 1998 – Once Bitten (Japan only) 1998 – Live in Europe 2001 – Here They Go Again 2002 – Burst the Bubble

with M3 2005 – Classic Snake Live 2005/2007 – Rough an' Ready (CD/DVD) 2007 – Rough An' Ready CD Castle

With the Little House Band 2000 Christmas 2000 (COS line up as The Little House Band) Unreleased Promo, Cover Versions With The Majesticaires 2001 Solid Rock (COS line up as the Majesticaires) Unreleased Promo, Cover Versions

Solo recordings 1979 – And About Time Too! (reissue: 2000) 1981 – Look at Me Now (reissue: 2000) 1992 – The Friday Rock Show Sessions '81 1995 – Tribute to Peter Green: Green and Blues 2002 – Blues Rock (Bad Ass'd Boogie Driven Hot Licks) Industry Only Sampler 2003 – Big Boy Blue (Advance Edition) 2003 – Big Boy Blue (2CD Edition) 2005 – Live at the Granary 2005 – Stacks 2006 – Blues 'n' Scales: A Snakeman's Odyssey 1970–2004 (compilation) 2007 – Big Boy Blue... Live (live album) 2009 – Bernie Plays Rory 2009 – Going to My Hometown (live acoustic album) 2010 – Remix of Bernie plays Rory 2011 – Ballyshannon Blues 2012 – Very Local Boy (compilation) 2013 – Jam with Bernie (Guitar Help) 2014 – Shine 2015 – The Rory Gallagher Sessions 2 CD 2017 – Tales of Tone and Volume CD (Only with book) 2021 – Kings (Conquest Music) 2021 – Chess (Conquest Music) 2022 – Trios (Conquest Music) 2023 – Working Man (Conquest Music) 2025 – Icons (Conquest Music)

Other recordings 1971 Speedy Keene Island LP 1973 You & Me Chrysalis LP (Chick Churchill) 1973 Matthew Fisher RCA LP 1974 Jumblequeen Chrysalis LP (Bridget St John) 1979 Over the Top (Cozy Powell) 1980 Why (K2) 1981 Tilt (Cozy Powell) 1982 Before I Forget (Jon Lord) 1982 Reading Rock '82 (VA) 1988 Guitar Speak 2 (VA) 1988 "South Africa" (Ian Gillan, songwriter) 1990 Perfect Crime (Blonde on Blonde, as producer only) 1991 Forcefield IV: Let the Wild Run Free (Forcefield) 1992 Instrumentals (Forcefield) 1994 Tellin' Stories (Walter Trout Band) 1994 Line Up (Borderline) 1995 Frankie – Soundtrack 1998 Still Crazy – Soundtrack 2000 Snakebites – The Music of Whitesnake (Tribute) 2000 Popmodel (Mama's Jasje) 2002 Blues for Harlem (Larry Johnson) 2002 I Eat Them for Breakfast (Micky Moody) 2003 Freak Out! (Chris Catena) 2007 Booze, Brawds and Rockin' Hard (Chris Catena) 2007 Human Spirit (Gary Fletcher) 2007 Ian Paice and Friends Live in Reading 2006 (DVD) 2007 Little Hard Blues (Andrea Ranfagni, "Everybody Knows", "May Day", "New Baby", "Easy Woman") 2008 The Original – The Audiolab Sessions 2002 (Les Castle) 2008 Slap My Hand (Jimmy Copley) 2009 Endangered Species – Live at Abbey Road 2000 (CD/DVD, Tony Ashton & Friends) 2011 All Out (Don Airey) 2014 Where Blues Meets Rock ("Linin'" Track) 2014 Silver Rails (Jack Bruce) 2014 Celebrating Jon Lord (VA) 2016 Cream Revisited (VA) Audio and DVD

Film and television appearances 1989 Runaway Dreams (musical director) 1989 The Paradise Club BBC Television 1995 Rock Family Trees (interviewee) 1995 Frankie – Liebe, Laster, Rock 'n' Roll (German youth series as piano player Big Ed) 1998 Still Crazy (performer, song "A Woman Like That") 2006 Heavy Metal – Louder Than Life (interviewee) 2013 Dance with the Devil: The Cozy Powell Story (interviewee) 2013 A Day in the Delta (host) 2014 Play It Loud: The Story of Marshall (interviewee)