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VAN
HALEN
VAN HALEN CONCERT DATES
Brothers Alex and
Edward Van Halen moved to the U.S.
from the Netherlands
in '67; there, father was a semi-pro woodwind player. Both were schooled on
classical piano, but got the rock bug in America. At first, Alex played
guitar and Eddie drums, but they hit a stride upon trading instruments.
They formed Mammoth and were joined by outgoing singer David Lee Roth and
bassist Michael Anthony. Soon, they changed their name to Van Halen
because, as Roth claimed, "it sounded heavy like a German
tank."
By '76 they were a
popular Southern California bar band. Kiss's
Gene Simmons backed a demo tape and with the help of his recommendation,
they were signed to Warners. Their debut took off immediately thanks to a
huge sound, Roth's outrageous personality and vocal style and the brothers'
considerable virtuosity. It's no exaggeration to cite Eddie as the most
imitated guitarist of his generation. Eddie also became a tabloid fixture
upon marrying TV star Valerie Bertinelli in '81.
The hits kept
coming: Their sixth LP, 1984, hit No. 2 in the Billboard charts with four
hit singles, yet it was the last with Roth, who began a solo career. The
band successfully carried on with vocalist Sammy Hagar, releasing five
straight multi-platinum records thru the 1990's.
In one of the most disastrous publicity stunts in rock history,
Hagar was fired (or quit - depends who you ask) and Roth was brought back
on, seemingly as a permanent member, but only for two songs on a
greatest-hits album. He was subsequently replaced by Gary Cherone, a former
member of Extreme. After Van Halen III proved to be the worst-selling album
of Van Halen's long and illustrious career (the ensuing world tour was
poorly attended as well), Cherone was dismissed from Van Halen in 1999.
Immediately, rumors began to swirl once more of an impending David Lee Roth/Van
Halen reunion. Things were kept completely hush-hush in the Van Halen camp
until early 2001, when David Lee Roth went public on his website with an
update, confirming that he had recorded several new songs with the band
(tracks that Roth described as amazing, phenomenal, and astonishing), but
hadn't heard back from them since the previous summer. Only a few days
after Roth's news, Eddie Van Halen admitted to the public that he was
battling cancer, but was told by his doctors that chances were good for a
complete recovery. In the summer of 2001, Eddie told MTV News that Van
Halen's remaining members had penned a total of three albums worth of new
material and that they were still unsure of who their next singer would be.
Months later, fans were shocked to hear that the band parted ways with
Warner Brothers, their label since 1979. The band blamed the label for
promoting younger bands, while also admitting that they had not yet found
Cherone's replacement and were no longer considering Roth. At that point -
the two former frontmen David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar took the gloves off
(or put them on) to go on a duo headlining tour to help cure Van Halen fans
craving for the band. The tour itself was a success. Yet - it has been well
publicized that the two would NOT tour together again.
In late 2003/early 2004 - the rumblings began again. Eddie is
healthy, Sammy and Eddie were on goods terms - would a reunion with the Red
Rocker happen? The answer became official - YES! Since then, for the better
part of 2004, Van Halen with Sammy Hagar has brought rock and roll back to
the spotlight with a worldwide tour not to be missed!!! As their new single
states - IT'S ABOUT TIME!!!
MORE VAN HALEN CONCERT
DATES AND TICKET INFORMATION
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