Described by Guitar World magazine as “one of the finest British players to ever pick up an electric guitar”, Bernie Marsden, who has died aged 72, was best known for his work with Whitesnake, the band formed by the former Deep Purple vocalist David Coverdale in 1978. Coverdale described how “I’d met Bernie casually in Munich when he was with Paice Ashton Lord. He asked what I was doing in town [London], and on being told immediately offered to come and help out … shrewd, was ol’ Bernie.”
Marsden’s powerful and expressive playing, as well as his songwriting skills, made him a mainstay of Whitesnake. He appeared on their debut EP, Snakebite, as well as their first five studio albums and the in-concert set Live in the Heart of the City, which reached No 5 on the UK chart in 1980. It was one of a stream of high chart placings. Lovehunter (1979) reached 29, Ready an’ Willing (1980) reached No 6 as well as entering the US Top 100, Come an’ Get It (1981) went to No 2 and Saints & Sinners (1982) reached No 9.
