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November 1999 News Archive
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'Best Of' DVD Delayed
November 1, 1999 - The release of Van Halen's
Best Of Volume One DVD has been pushed back by one week. Originally
due for release tomorrow, the 14-song video compilation will now be
released on November 9 through Warner Reprise Video.
For a limited time, Amazon are selling the DVD for $10 off the list
price of $24.95. If you wish to take advantage of this special offer,
follow
this link.
Exclusive to the DVD release is the video for Without You, released
in 1998. The complete track listing is as follows:
- Jump
- Panama
- Hot For Teacher
- When It's Love
- Finish What Ya Started
- Poundcake
- Runaround
- Right Now
- Dreams
- Don't Tell Me (What Love Can Do)
- Can't Stop Lovin' You
- Not Enough
- Humans Being
- Without You
Gary Cherone Quits Van Halen?
November 5, 1999 - Every day there is a new
rumour about Van Halen going around the Internet. Today is no exception.
However, unlike most days, the rumour making the rounds today is being
reported almost everywhere.
The rumour reads like this:
Gary Cherone has left Van Halen after three years to pursue new
musical adventures. (Source: E! Online).
Other online sources include:
As we all know, it's not every day that a singer leaves Van Halen.
Something as big as this is usually accompanied by a press release.
None has been forthcoming so far.
Stay tuned to this site to keep up to date with the situation throughout
the day. If anything is confirmed officially, it will be reported here.
It's Official - Gary Cherone Quits
November 5, 1999 - Gary Cherone has quit as lead
singer of Van Halen. The news began to break late last night when the
Hollywood Reporter
and
E! Online web sites
reported the story.
Earlier today the rumour spread quickly across Van Halen email lists and
message boards. The story gathered more credibility when sites such as
MTV and
Billboard ran with it.
Below is Van Halen's press release, courtesy of the
Official Van Halen Web Site.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
11/5/99:
The members of Van Halen have announced that singer Gary Cherone is
leaving the band. The band stressed that the departure was both mutual
and amicable and they remain good friends. The band is currently
working on its next LP and Cherone is pursuing new musical ventures.
The members of the band, Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael
Anthony, expressed their appreciation for Gary's work with the band
and wished him well in his future endeavors.
"I had a great time singing with the band and I wish Eddie, Alex and
Michael all the best. I'll see 'em in Boston," said Cherone.
Eddie Van Halen said, "Gary is a brother and he and I will continue
to have a personal and musical relationship."
Here's how the general press are reporting the news:
Who Will Be The Next Van Halen Vocalist?
November 5, 1999 - Gary Cherone hasn't been gone
24 hours yet, and already the Internet is buzzing with the question:
"who will be the next Van Halen vocalist?" Will they re-unite with
Dave or Sammy? Will they hire a 4th lead singer? Will they retire?
All will be revealed over the coming months. Don't miss an episode
of As The Van Halen World Turns... ;)
Sammy Hagar released a press statement today in reaction to Cherone's
departure:
"I only wish the best for Van Halen and Gary. I hope they all continue
to make great music and have great success in whatever they
do."
No word yet from David Lee Roth.
The VHND is running a poll to gauge the reaction of fans to
the sudden departure of Gary Cherone. Go to the "Snippets" column
(left) to cast your vote.
The Road Ahead
November 8, 1999 - A week is certainly a long
time in the world of Van Halen. After the news of Gary Cherone's departure
on Friday, it seems like months ago that Edward's solos on
Lost Boys Calling and
David Lee Roth's
lawsuit against Ed Anderson
were in the news.
All eyes will be on the Van Halen camp over the coming weeks, waiting for
their next move. We know that Gary is gone, but who will replace him? If
anything positive can be taken out of the Van Halen press release
regarding Cherone's departure, it's the news that they will continue
on as a band.
Gary Cherone's future is uncertain, but from the feedback I've had
over the weekend, an Extreme reunion would be very well received by all.
If you think Extreme should get back together, head over to
Cherone.com and give
your opinion in their open forum.
What does Sammy Hagar think about all this? His official statement
reads as follows: "I only wish the best for Van Halen and Gary. I
hope they all continue to make great music and have great success in
whatever they do."
Hagar will be getting his hair cut on the Tonight Show this Friday, so
hopefully Jay Leno will quiz him about his future plans, and whether
they involve Van Halen.
What does David Lee Roth think? Nobody knows yet - he hasn't made a
public statement since Cherone's departure. Many see his firing and
recent lawsuit against longtime bodyguard/manager Ed Anderson as a
sign that he's ready to return. Dave has shown over the last 12
months that he can still cut it live and in the studio.
Dave's current tour
resumes this Tuesday night in Lubbock, Texas. Never the shy boy,
Roth is sure to make a statement on the current Van Halen lead singer
issue during the show.
I'm trying to keep up with all of the current Van Halen articles from
the news agencies on the web. If you find any that aren't already
on the press clips page, please
forward the original URL of the article to
gfisher@vhnd.com and I'll
add it to the page. Many thanks!
Poll Result: BRING BACK DAVE!!
November 9, 1999 -
First of all, apologies for the site being a little slow to load
lately. Traffic is peaking at 1,000 visitors per hour. Usually the
VHND averages 3,500 to 4,000 page views per day. Monday was the biggest
day ever - 16,000 visitors!
A reminder to all about the golden rule of Van Halen rumours - don't
believe anything you read on the David Lee Roth News Desk. Everyone
knows Scotty Ross is Van Halen's tour manager...
Best Of Volume 1 was released on DVD today. Click on
this link
to purchase it from Amazon.com.
This article
from Launch.com features
new quotes from Sammy as told to KCMQ's Jim Hunter last Friday after
the Gary Cherone news broke. Like everyone, Sammy has
20/20 hindsight:
"To me it was inevitable. It didn't work. Everybody knows
it didn't work. The album was a stiff and the tour didn't do well,
so I'm sure that for them to do that again it would have probably been
worse and it would have buried one of the great rock 'n' roll bands in
the world."
Sammy also mentioned that his solo career before he joined Edward
and the boys in 1985 was equal to Van Halen at the time. I'm not
even going to touch that one... :) To read more of what the general
press is saying about the latest Van Halen situation, check out
our press page.
The first VHND fan poll has now closed. The question was as follows:
"Now that Gary has departed, who would you like to see as the next
singer of Van Halen?" Here are the results:
A fairly convincing win for David Lee Roth, but one thing to be
noted is the "non-Dave" statistic. 54% didn't vote for him.
Don't take the poll too seriously - it's not our place to tell the
band who the singer should be. Thanks to the 9,585 people
who participated!
Finally for today, thanks to the many singers and agents who have
emailed me over the past 48 hours to apply for the job as singer
for Van Halen. The only problem is that I'm not affiliated with Van
Halen, so you probably should try to contact them some other way.
Another tip: I don't think they're searching for anyone right now.
More news tomorrow...
VHND Exclusive: An Interview With Don Engel
November 9, 1999 -
Todays update is in the form of an interview with Van Halen's lawyer,
Don Engel. It was conducted this afternoon by VHND reporter Lucas Aykroyd.
Lucas is the author of
1984: The Ultimate Van Halen Trivia Book.
Engel confirmed during the inteview the news that Edward Van Halen will be
having hip surgery before the end of this month.
Click here to read the interview.
Hagar Speaks About VH Singer Situation
November 11, 1999 -
If Van Halen ask Sammy Hagar to return as lead singer, he's likely
to decline the invitation. That's the impression he gave during his show
last Friday in Columbia, MO.
During a break between songs, Sammy brought up the topic on
everyone's lips that day - Gary Cherone's departure from Van Halen.
"Those old friends of mine are looking for a singer again," joked
Hagar.
With the audience lapping it up, Hagar continued:
"I'm changing my home phone number".... "Don't answer
the phone!" He also suggested that David Lee Roth
is probably sitting by his phone waiting for "the call".
Meanwhile, Roth's "album prep" tour resumed in Lubbock, Texas last
Tuesday night.
Carol Springer,
10am-3pm DJ at 93.3 KDKB, spoke to Dave off air on Tuesday afternoon.
Dave said that nobody from the Van Halen camp had contacted him, and that
no negotiations were underway. Roth's current plans are to finish this
tour and record a new album with his band. "Then it will be open." Hmmm..
On the Van Halen front, news agency Reuters picked up Lucas Aykroyd's interview with
Van Halen's Lawyer, Don Engel yesterday. Reuters confirmed
with Van Halen's Tour Manager, Scotty Ross, that Edward Van Halen is
scheduled to have his right hip replaced later this month.
Van Halen guitarist set for hip surgery (Reuters).
Hagar on Leno Tonight
November 12, 1999 - Sammy Hagar will be
appearing on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno tonight. He will
be cutting his hair and donating it to the
Locks Of Love.
Locks Of Love is a non-profit organization that provides custom,
vacuum-cap hairpieces to financially disadvantaged children with
long-term medical hair loss.
Yesterday I quoted a few statements that Sammy made during his
performance on November 5 in Columbia, MO. If you would like to
hear the entire audio clip, you can download it from either of
the links below:
There are strong rumours that Van Halen have parted ways with
their manager, Ray Danniels (SRO Management). This follows on
from the
October 31 Associated Press story
that David Lee Roth has filed a lawsuit against his recently fired
manager/bodyguard Ed Anderson.
Many see these events as a sign that Roth will return to the group.
However, it's well known that Hagar and Danniels had a stormy relationship
when Hagar was in the band, so it could just as easily be interpreted as a
sign of his return.
Sammy On Leno
November 13, 1999 - No doubt you saw
Sammy Hagar donate his hair to the Locks Of Love organization
on the Tonight Show last night.
Without taking anything away from the advertised reason for Hagar's
appearance, it's safe to say that most Van Halen fans were tuning
in to see if Jay brought up the inevitable question about the
Van Halen singer situation.
Surprisingly, Jay didn't bring up the topic at all. Sources
close to the show indicate that Jay and Sammy had a gentlemans
agreement not to discuss the topic. Again, read into this
what you will.
Dave Receives Death Threats
November 16, 1999 -
The Associated Press is reporting that David Lee Roth received eleven
death threats via email while in Lubbock, Texas last week.
According to the Lubbock police report, the threats came from someone
outside of the city. Roth's bodyguard contacted the FBI, who referred
him to Lubbock police because that's where the messages were received.
When quizzed by the
Lubbock Avalanche Journal,
Roth's bodyguard, Jeff Green, said "We don't know anything about it".
Poll: Roth Still Fan Favourite
November 19, 1999 -
The results of our second poll are in. The question:
"If Van Halen were to get Dave or Sammy back, who would you prefer?"
The results are printed below. Thanks to the 8,000+ people who
participated in the poll. The next one will be up soon.
As you can see, it was another win for David Lee Roth, even more
convincing than his victory in the previous VHND poll. Roth scored
just over half of the total votes, beating out Sammy Hagar by more than 800.
820 people voted for the "Sam and Dave" option, which is probably the
least likely outcome.
More Roth Dates Added / VH Update
November 24, 1999 - While Edward Van Halen is
recovering at home from his hip replacement surgery, David Lee Roth's
"album prep" tour is adding more new dates all the time.
The latest additions to Dave's tour schedule include
Tulsa, OK - Wichita, KS - Robinsonville, MS - St. Louis, MO -
St. Petersburg, FL and the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC.
Check our DLR Tour Page for
full details of the new dates, plus the reviews and photos
from his recent shows.
I've received tons of email and rumours since the news broke that
Van Halen were once again without a lead singer. At the moment it's
unlikely that the band will name a replacement before the end of the year,
but anything can happen.
Rumours are spreading that Dave will be back. There are also
rumours that Sammy will rejoin. Others are saying that both
former singers will return!
All three partys are refusing to comment publicly.
Van Halen's
official web site simply says "NO NEW NEWS".
Dave's site hasn't
even acknowledged the Van Halen singer vacancy. This is hardly a
surprise, considering the tour date list on his official site ended with
the November 19 show.
Sammy's web site
reports that the Red Rocker "is currently in Hawaii resting and
relaxing, and also preparing for a BIG Thanksgiving!"
Photo by Rick Barrett - TheRickyB@aol.com - � 1999
Final DLR Dates Confirmed
November 28, 1999 - David Lee Roth's
official web site has announced the final list of DLR Band tour dates for
the year. Dave and his band will be touring through Texas, Oklahoma,
Kansas, Mississippi, Illinois, Kentucky, Ohio, Florida and South Carolina.
Tickets to many of the shows are already on sale.
After the tour is finished, Dave will return to the studio to record
his next solo album.
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VH on TV
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Nothing scheduled.
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Nov 1999 Snippets
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Feedback Wanted
Nov 9, 1999 -
The VHND is always looking for ways to improve. If you have any suggestions,
or just want to give some feedback, please follow
this link,
courtesy of the "Yahoo!" of Van Halen sites,
vhlinks.com.
Hot For Remixes
Nov 9, 1999 -
A new Van Halen tribute album has been released. Hot For Remixes
is a collection of Dave-era tunes, performed by artists such as
Dweezil Zappa, LA Guns, Bruce Kulick and Gilby Clarke. Many of the
tracks feature Bart Walsh (DLR Band) on guitar.
Amazon.com: Buy CD
DLR Tour Resumes
Nov 9, 1999 -
David Lee Roth's tour resumes in Lubbock, TX tonight at
Liquid 2000. As usual we will post all reviews and the set
list on our DLR Tour page.
If you're at the show tonight, feel free to submit your review.
We're all waiting to hear what Dave's thoughts are regarding the
recent events in Van Halen land!
Engel Interview Up
Nov 12, 1999 -
Sorry for the delayed posting of part two of our interview with
Don Engel. It's up now...
Part 2
DLR Tour Continues
Nov 16, 1999 -
David Lee Roth's tour is continuing through Texas. You can catch up
with all the dates, reviews and photos on our
DLR Tour Page. More dates are being
added all the time, so keep checking to get the latest information.
EVH Hip Surgery
Nov 18, 1999 -
Edward Van Halen has had his hip replacement surgery. Obviously
he will require many weeks or even months to fully recover from
this major operation. Let's hope the surgery went well.
DLR Show Cancelled
Nov 18, 1999 -
Tonights David Lee Roth show in Bryan, Texas was cancelled
due to the bonfire tragedy at
Texas A&M University.
Hartman Cancels Shows
Nov 19, 1999 -
Ex-DLR guitarists Steve Vai and
Mike Hartman
were scheduled to tour together during this month. Unfortunately, Hartman
has been hospitalized with pneumonia, so the unique double-bill won't be
going ahead.
Surgery Update
Nov 19, 1999 -
Edward Van Halen's hip replacement surgery took place last Tuesday,
November 16. Edward's wife, Valerie, posted today on the
Van Halen Mailing List
that the surgery went "incredibly well", and he is now at home resting
comfortably.
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