At 60, David Coverdale’s still got it.

The hard rock legend seemed nary a year past his prime while fronting Whitesnake’s first concert in Singapore on Nov 1 to a massive audience of 5,000.

Coverdale drew an eruption of rock-god worship from the audience when he strutted on the stage at Fort Canning, with his 4 band mates in tandem. Pumping their fists in the air and roaring with exuberance, the audience jostled forward to get as close to the stage as possible.

Such a vehement response comes without surprise as Whitesnake, which has been around since the late 70’s, has amassed legions of fans in every corner of the globe. With 11 albums so far, they’ve produced enough heavy metal hits to be considered one of the greatest surviving rock bands in the league of other legends like AC/DC or Bon Jovi. Despite several lineup changes over the years, Whitesnake maintains a legendary following of hard rock fans not just in Singapore, but the world over.

Coverdale delivered his first words, “Are you ready?” to the audience with a bloodcurdling shriek. Without hesitation, the band rushed into “Best Years”, a song off their 2008 album Good to Be Bad, further igniting the audience’s enthusiasm.

Frontman Coverdale was the vocal powerhouse fans have come to expect. Although he had to take occasional breaks – bantering casually with the audience or letting his bandmates take the spotlight (with their solos or backup vocals) – his age was but a minor hindrance. Swinging the microphone stand perpendicular to his pelvis like a phallic lance, he was the same provocative, raunchy man who performed alongside his then-wife Tawny Kitaen in Whitesnake music videos of the 80’s. With a penchant for swearing and hip-thrusting onstage, he effortlessly backed his charisma up with an impressive vocal range – from low growls to high-pitched howls powerful enough to make Robert Plant envious.

While ex-Deep Purple singer Coverdale was the main draw, the rest of Whitesnake, while younger and relatively less experienced, held their own with superb professionalism as well.

Doug Aldrich (formerly of Diofame), the lead guitarist, seized every chance to rip into face-melting guitar solos in every song. At one point, the rest of the band left the stage, giving him room to fire up an impressive 5-minute solo with his Les Paul – at which point the equally talented rhythm guitarist Reb Beach joined in for an awesome guitar duel, the both of them shredding frenetically.

Drummer Brian Tichy worked up a storm with a funky solo of his own – in a transformation from rock star to drum magician – surprising the audience with spectacular tricks and antics. After throwing his pair of drumsticks to the audience, he pulled out a pair of steak knives, shocking the crowd. To prove it wasn’t just a gimmicky thing to do, he then broke into drumming with them.

While Michael Devin (bassist) and Brian Ruedy (keyboards) weren’t given the spotlight, they kept the dynamics of Whitesnake together – Devin delivered crisp, precise bass lines and Ruedy brought out the signature Whitesnake synth melodies.

And this is where Whitesnake shines as a one of the last great rock acts – the band performed with excellent cohesion and a sort of wild kinesis, and an impressive display of showmanship. With some of their hit songs from Whitesnake’s glam metal days (“Here I Go Again”, “Is This Love”, “Give Me All Your Love”), they had the male-dominated audience (mostly in their 40’s) singing along with impassioned excitement.

Songs from their latest album, 2010’s Forevermore (“Love Will Set You Free”, “Steal Your Heart Away”)were played as well; this was, after all, the Forevermore World Tour. The eponymous ballad was a tribute to fans for their years of loyal support – “This song is for you lot,” Coverdale proclaimed before Aldrich kicked it off with an acoustic guitar.

After “Still of the Night”, from their 1987 self-titled album, the band left the stage, leading to hungry chants for an encore – to which Whitesnake returned without hesitation, this time with Deep Purple fans in mind. After Coverdale delivered an unplugged and abbreviated, yet soulful rendition of the Deep Purple classic “Soldier of Fortune”, the band exploded into “Burn”, which turned the audience into a horde of headbangers with its instantly recognisable riff. Flowing seamlessly into another Deep Purple hit, “Stormbringer”, Whitesnake electrified the audience with their hard rock melodies for a final time.

After Coverdale’s farewell, Whitesnake departed the stage for the last time, bringing a close to one of the best rocks acts in Singapore this year.