Releasing their final studio album in 2019 with Flesh & Blood, Whitesnake hoped to celebrate their legacy in rock music. And like any band, that celebration included a full tour. Having toured numerous times over the decades, the band hit the road, ready for a time of reflection and one last run in front of the fans who helped build their legacy. But sadly, it didn’t go the way the band planned as musician Reb Beach considered the trek nothing short of “terrible.”
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Speaking with Blabbermouth, Beach still couldn’t shake his last time on the road with Whitesnake. Again, touring for decades, the musician had more than enough stories, both good and bad. But when it came to the final tour – he declared, “It was the worst ending that it could have been.”
While some fans might believe Beach is overreacting, the musician added to his statement, explaining, “It couldn’t have been any worse than it was. It’s just how the cookie crumbled. We had a new management, and we had a terrible soundman, then everyone got sick, and it fell apart like Jenga, like all over the table: ‘Okay, guys, that’s it. We sucked. Goodbye.’”
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Reb Beach Went From Bad Sound To “S***** Hotels”
Although the sound issues had little to do with the band’s talent, Beach promised it had a mental effect on the group. And it wasn’t just the sound. “I’m talking about front of house. The whole band’s sound was bad. We had sh***y hotels. It was a terrible tour; that last tour. Now that’s going to be the f***ing headline!”
Not the way he wanted things to end on stage, Beach reassured fans there was no possibility of a reunion. “That’s it. Whitesnake is definitely done. It makes me sad, of course. We’d be there in a second if David were up for it, but what the hell? How old is David? Seventy-three? Let him retire. I think it’s lovely that he’s going to retire and go on the beach and just enjoy his later years.”
Back in November 2025, David Coverdale announced his retirement, citing that it was “evident” he needed to “hang up” his “rock ‘n’ roll platform shoes and skintight jeans.”
Looking back, Beach made it clear the band’s final chapter didn’t deliver the sendoff he probably imagined. Still, with Coverdale officially stepping away and no reunion on the table, Whitesnake’s story appears to have reached its true end.
(Photo by Per Ole Hagen/Redferns)
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