UFO and MSG legend, Michael Schenker, has revealed for the first time that Whitesnake frontman David Coverdale wanted the German in his band - and the two musicians even jammed together with a view to forming a group.

Speaking to Rock Candy Mag for the cover story of the latest issue, Schenker told writer and editor Howard Johnson, “Back in the early ’80s when I had the Michael Schenker Group my manager at the time, Peter Mensch, believed we needed a new singer to replace Gary Barden. I’d picked Gary for a reason, but Peter wanted to take the band to the next level and he wanted David Coverdale to work with me.

“Coverdale probably asked Mensch to get me and [drummer] Cozy Powell and [bassist] Chris Glen over to Whitesnake to replace Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody and whoever else was in that band at the time. I think that was the idea, but I didn’t want to let go of MSG. I said, ‘No, you ask Coverdale to join us.’

“You know that song ‘Dancer’ from the MSG Assault Attack album? I actually jammed that song with Coverdale. I already had the music and he sung it differently, with some different words. So we tried something, but I didn’t really want to do it.”

The Schenker/Coverdale collaboration didn’t work out, and Michael eventually recruited former Rainbow singer Graham Bonnet to front MSG. But the idea of these two rock greats forming a band together can only leave rock fans wondering about the potential of what might have been.

Read  this revealing article in issue 18 of Rock Candy Mag, available in shops worldwide or direct online here.