Adrian Vandenberg | |
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Adrian Vandenberg in 2012
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Background information | |
Birth name | Adrianus van den Berg |
Also known as | Adje, Ad |
Born |
The Hague, Netherlands |
31 January 1954
Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal, blues-rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, songwriter, painter |
Instruments | Guitar, keyboards |
Years active | 1978–present |
Associated acts | Teaser, Vandenberg, Whitesnake, Manic Eden |
Website | vandenberg-art |
Adrian Vandenberg (born 31 January 1954 as Adrianus van den Berg) is a Dutch rock guitarist, best known for his tenure as one of the guitarists in Whitesnake during their successful late 1980s period and the band Vandenberg which he started in 1981. In 2013 Adrian formed a new band; Vandenberg's MoonKings and recorded a new album which was released in early 2014.
Born in The Hague in the Netherlands, Adrian van den Berg was originally the lead guitarist for the Dutch band Teaser, a band that released a self-titled album in 1978. This band should not be confused with the American band Teaser, which featured American guitarist Jake E. Lee. He then started his own band, simply named Vandenberg, who released three albums in the 1980s, Vandenberg, Heading for a Storm and Alibi. They are arguably best known for the ballad "Burning Heart," a song that features complementing guitar layers and harmonies, and "Friday Night", from the Heading for a Storm album. They toured extensively, including a support slot to the Michael Schenker Group in the UK in late 1982.
Adrian vandenBerg was originally approached to join Whitesnake in the early 1980s, having impressed David Coverdale with not only his guitar wizardry, but also with his songwriting talent and his ability as a band leader. He initially declined, due to the success of his own band Vandenberg and their Top 40 hit, "Burning Heart." By 1986, however, with pressure from the record company to become more and more commercial and their success hitting a plateau, he relented and finally disbanded Vandenberg, agreeing to join Coverdale in Whitesnake. Initially he was hired as a session musician, helping to complete their eponymous album Whitesnake (known as 1987 in Europe) after a mass-firing of the original band members by Coverdale. He contributed the solo to their No. 1 hit "Here I Go Again," but guitarist John Sykes played all of the other lead and rhythm guitar on the album.