David Coverdale Coverdale was born on 22 September 1951, in Saltburn-by-the-Sea, North Riding of Yorkshire, England. Around the age of 14, he began performing professionally and developing his voice. "I don't think my voice had broken," he explained to "Sounds" in 1974. "And that's when I first learnt how to sing with my stomach, which sounds silly, but it's totally different from a normal voice." Coverdale started performing with local bands Vintage 67 (1966–68), The Government (1968–72) and Fabulosa Brothers (1972–73). In 1973, Coverdale saw an article in a copy of "Melody Maker", which said that Deep Purple was auditioning for singers
Ian Gillan also played at Dunstan's Hall, Ronnie and the Hightones, who renamed themselves as the Javelins after he joined. The band played covers of Sonny Boy Williamson, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard, and were early customers of then-local music shop owner Jim Marshall. The Javelins disbanded in March 1964, with guitarist Gordon Fairminer leaving to join what eventually became the group Sweet. After the Javelins, Gillan joined a soul band, Wainwright's Gentlemen, which included another future Sweet member, drummer Mick Tucker. The band recorded a number of tracks including a cover of The Hollies hit "Ain't That Just