‘Van Halen: A Visual Biography‘ by Martin Popoff is a hardcover coffee table book now offered at the Van Halen Store. Many have asked how good the book is and if the pictures inside are rare. So, we’re giving you an exclusive look inside the book!
It’s a stunning visual presentation – this is a hardcover book on thick 100 lb. gloss stock, clocking in at 224 pages. There are approximately 330 images, more than half of those being live shots from five decades of tap ‘n’ shred guitar, the rest being rare memorabilia, magazine ads, 45 sleeves, promo items, ticket stubs, passes… you name it. David Lee Roth’s and Sammy Hagar’s solo careers are also covered in a Van Halen coffee table book for the first time. It also features an exquisitely detailed timeline of the band’s career (nearly 20,000 words).
Note—this covers practically everything through 2020. The club days in the seventies, all four Van Halen lineups, Dave solo, Sammy solo (including Montrose and his early years), and Chickenfoot—it’s all here.
Millions of fans would attest that this band eminently deserves a complete Visual Biography. From the single sleeves through the passes, posters, promo items, and of course, most especially Dave, Ed, Mikey, and Al themselves (and Sam, Gary, and Wolfgang!), Van Halen was an explosion of color and action, resulting in a feast for the eyes within the pages of this sumptuously appointed book.
As one celebrates this legendary band in karate-kicking action, from the mid-‘70s up until the last tour in 2015 and many solo points and projects in between, provided for your reading pleasure is one of Martin Popoff’s celebrated detailed timelines, stuffed with trivia that swiftly moves us through forty years of massive rock history from one of the storied greats of the genre.
“Runnin’ with the Devil,” “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” “Jamie’s Cryin’,” “Unchained,” “Jump,” “Panama,” “Hot for Teacher,” “Why Can’t This Be Love,” “Finish What Ya Started,” “Right Now”… these are some of the biggest anthems of all time, and accompanying the tunes is the narrative of two opposing lead singers, Diamond David Lee Roth and Sammy “Red Rocker” Hagar, both of whom are also represented in detail vis-à-vis their solo careers among the celebration of the core band at hand.
The result is a beach-balling an’ sun-tanned symphony of words and pictures, indeed a book that differs from previous Van Halen photography projects through the inclusion of so much rare memorabilia, side ephemera, and otherwise nifty pictures of paper goods perking up each page as one basks in what this band managed to accomplish over four decades of white-knuckle rock on the edge.
Author Martin Popoff has penned 115 books on hard rock, heavy metal, classic rock, and record collecting. For 14 years, he was Editor-In-Chief of the now-retired Brave Words & Bloody Knuckles, Canada’s foremost metal publication. He has also contributed to Revolver, Guitar World, Goldmine, Record Collector, bravewords.com, and more. He currently resides in Toronto.
- Hardcover
- 224 pages
- Approximately 330 images
- Size 12.6” x 8.66” x 1”
- Weight 3.4 pounds
- Published in Great Britain in 2020
- Out of print
Order your copy at Van Halen Store.
