From Billboard:
Van Halen European Tour Not Happening, Says Irving Azoff
Comments by Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth that the band will tour Europe beginning late this year are incorrect, according to Irving Azoff, manager for founders Alex and Eddie Van Halen and bassist Wolfgang Van Halen.
In comments picked up by multiple media outlets, Roth said on the Sirius Opie & Anthony radio show yesterday that Van Halen were “going to be playing Europe — probably 50 or 60 shows starting at the end of this year.”
Azoff begs to differ. “All the announced dates, which include the date in Australia, the dates in Japan and a date in Wisconsin, are confirmed and on sale and those are real,” Azoff tells Billboard exclusively. “I manage the Van Halens, and I know nothing about any European tour.”
While he wasn’t sure what Roth was talking about, Azoff confirms that Roth will indeed front the band that will play the scheduled dates, which include the Stone Music Festival in Sydney on April 20; June 21 at the Tokyo Dome, and June 24 and 26 at Osaka’s City Central Gymnasium.
Van Halen will also headline the final night of Rock USA festival July 20 at Ford Festival Park in Oshkosh, Wis.
The band played 46 shows last year and grossed $54 million, with attendance of 522,296, according to Billboard Boxscore, eighth among all touring acts for the year.
On the recording front, Wolfgang Van Halen recently told Billboard that the group is open to following up 2012’s “A Different Kind of Truth,” which debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 in February.
“Oh yeah, there’s plenty of other ideas laying around, and some new stuff that we’ve been working on, too,” Van Halen says. “You never know what’ll happen.”
From Rolling Stone:
Van Halen Shoot Down Tour Rumors: ‘Nothing’s Been Discussed’
Band won’t play add new dates ‘unless something special comes up,’ says managerIrving Azoff, manager of Eddie, Alex and Wolfgang Van Halen, has debunked a rumor singer David Lee Roth has spread in recent interviews that rockers Van Halen will perform “probably 50, 60 shows” in Europe beginning at the end of this year. “Nothing’s been discussed yet,” Azoff tells Rolling Stone. “Why would he say this? Hey, Dave’s a talkative guy. Why don’t you call and ask him?”
The band had to abruptly cancel a tour of Japan last August when guitarist Van Halen developed severe diverticulitis and his reps predicted he’d need four to six months to recover. Azoff emphasizes that the band’s only scheduled shows remain two April festival dates with Billy Joel in Australia, three June dates in Tokyo and Osaka, Japan, and a headlining gig at the Rock USA festival in July in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Would Van Halen possibly do a broader tour, or more dates in 2013? “Not unless something special comes up,” Azoff says. “It certainly won’t be a tour of Europe.”
Roth said on SiriusXM’s Opie and Anthony show Monday: “I am frankly surprised that these [tour dates] happened now. I think probably . . . they had designs on somebody else . . . or somebody else got sick, because we are here to save the day. These are big shows – these are like 50-70,000 person shows. And they’re just coming together fast, which says, hmm . . . probably somebody else bowed out or somebody else took ill.”
Azoff says none of Roth’s declarations about the “big shows” are true, although the band is beginning to rehearse for the Australian gigs.
Roth could not be reached for comment at press time.