Bassist TONY FRANKLIN Says He Wasn't Approached To Rejoin WHITESNAKE

June 22, 2005

The Dio Message Board recently conducted an interview with bassist extraordinaire Tony Franklin (ex-WHITESNAKE, BLUE MURDER, THE FIRM). A couple of excerpts from the interview follow:

The Dio Message Board: What was it like playing with Jimmy Page?

Tony Franklin: "Incredible and it just gets better with time."

The Dio Message Board: Did you get sick of the comparisons with THE FIRM and LED ZEPPELIN and also the fans wanting to hear the ZEP tunes?

Tony Franklin: "I didn't hear many comparisons. The feedback I heard was that THE FIRM stood alone on its own merit. They were different bands. Hey any comparisons to LED ZEPPELIN are just fine by me! I never heard any requests for ZEP tunes."

The Dio Message Board: Why did BLUE MURDER never really make it? There was so much promise there.

Tony Franklin: "Many factors. All my opinion of course. The wrong management. The wrong choice of first single. Too much taking it for granted that we were going to make it. Too much partying."

The Dio Message Board: Have you been contacted about joining WHITESNAKE?

Tony Franklin: "No. David [Coverdale] and I are great friends. He knows I have other things going on in my life so it wasn't even discussed. We both knew that I wouldn't be able to do it. Uriah Duffy has the gig. He's a great player. Perfect for WHITESNAKE."

The Dio Message Board: How did you end up joining WHITESNAKE for the 1997 Last Farewell tour?

Tony Franklin: "I met David Coverdale back in THE FIRM days. We talked about doing something together. It just took a while for it to happen!"

The Dio Message Board: Did you suspect that it might not be "the last farewell"?

Tony Franklin: "I didn't really think about it. We were just having fun playing some great music."

Read the entire interview in the "Don't Talk to Strangers" forum at The Dio Message Board (free registration required).

Find more on
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).