RIP Bernie Marsden

Bernie Marsden – former Whitesnake guitarist and a legend in the blue-rock sphere – has died at the age of 72. The news, first broken by bassist and friend of Marsden Neil Murray, has since been confirmed by Marsden’s record label Conquest Music, which writes: “On behalf of his family, it is with deep sadness we announce the death of Bernie Marsden. Bernie died peacefully on Thursday evening with his wife, Fran, and daughters, Charlotte and Olivia, by his side.” Bernie Marsden – former Whitesnake guitarist and a legend in the blue-rock sphere – has died at the age of 72. The news, first broken by bassist and friend of Marsden Neil Murray, has since been confirmed by Marsden’s record label Conquest Music, which writes: “On behalf of his family, it is with deep sadness we announce the death of Bernie Marsden. Bernie died peacefully on Thursday evening with his wife, Fran, and daughters, Charlotte and Olivia, by his side.”

Born in Buckinghamshire, England on May 7, 1951, Bernard John Marsden landed his first professional guitar gig with UFO in 1972. Thereafter, he worked with Glenn Cornick’s Wild Turkey, Cozy Powell’s band Cozy Powell’s Hammer, and Babe Ruth, with whom he played on two releases: Stealin’ Home (1975) and Kid’s Stuff (1976). He later played in short-lived band Paice Ashton Lord, which was formed of former Deep Purple members Ian Paice and Jon Lord with singer Tony Ashton. But the gig he perhaps became best known for came in 1978, when he formed a new band with David Coverdale and guitarist Mick Moody, originally named David Coverdale’s Whitesnake. The band later changed their name to simply Whitesnake.

Marsden was a member of Whitesnake between 1978 and 1982, during which time he appeared on the band’s first EP, first five albums and a live album: Snakebite (1978),  Trouble (1978),  Lovehunter (1979),  Ready & Willing (1980), Live In The Heart Of The City (1980), Come An’ Get It (1981) and Saints & Sinners (1982). Saints & Sinners would see Marsden, alongside Coverdale, pen the biggest hit of his career: the anthemic Here I Go Again. 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 with Robert Hawthorne on vocals and Richard Bailey on keyboards. Alaska released two melodic rock albums in two years, Heart of the Storm (1984) and The Pack (1985), before splitting. In 1986, he put together MGM with former Whitesnake members Neil Murray and his replacement guitarist in Whitesnake Mel Galley. The band, briefly, also included former Toto vocalist, Bobby Kimball. Recordings were made but still remain unreleased.

The guitarist’s star-studded list of collaborators also includes names such as Robert Plant, Paul Weller, Jon Lord, Ringo Starr, Rory Gallagher, Jack Bruce and Warren Haynes. He has also had a wide & varied solo career. 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. Marsden released his autobiography Where’s My Guitar in 2017. On the evening of 24 August 2023, Marsden died with his wife and two daughters at his side.