On May 21, 1996 — before Google existed, before social media, before YouTube, before streaming music, before message boards and Facebook groups, and before most people even understood what a “website” was — the Van Halen News Desk officially launched online.
Today marks 30 years.
Thirty years of reporting on the world’s greatest rock band.
Thirty years of celebrating the music, preserving the history, and connecting Van Halen fans around the globe.
And honestly, we still can’t quite believe it.
When VHND first went online in 1996, the internet was a very different place. Fans connected through slow dial-up modems. Photos were used sparingly because they loaded painfully slowly — one line of pixels at a time.
Most official band websites barely existed, if they existed at all. At the time, there simply wasn’t one dedicated place where Van Halen fans could consistently find news, tour updates, interviews, rare photos, and discussion about the band we loved.
So VHND filled that void.
The website was launched by Australian Van Halen fan Grant Fisher, whose passion for the band had been reignited by the shocking news that Sammy Hagar had departed Van Halen — opening up the possibility that David Lee Roth might someday return to the fold.
Long before social media feeds and smartphones, VH fans refreshed VHND daily hoping for any scrap of news.
What started as a fan project quickly became something much bigger.
Grant did a stellar job running the site for several years before eventually deciding he no longer had enough time to devote to it.
The site was eventually acquired by Jeff Hausman of Van Halen Store, and publisher of The Inside—the Van Halen magazine published between 1995 and 2000—ensuring that the site would continue into a new era while staying true to its original spirit.
With Jeff at the helm, VHND earned a reputation for separating real news from rumors and became widely recognized as the internet’s most trusted source for accurate Van Halen news and information — often quoted, referenced, and followed by rock news sites and fans worldwide.
Over the decades, VHND has published more than 3,700 articles covering virtually every chapter of Van Halen history imaginable, including:
- The tumultuous 1996 era, including the departures of both Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth
- The Van Halen III era with Gary Cherone
- The years of inactivity and uncertainty
- The Sammy Hagar reunion and tour
- Wolfgang Van Halen joining the band
- The release of A Different Kind Of Truth
- The David Lee Roth reunion tours
- Eddie Van Halen’s groundbreaking gear and innovations
- Rare archival discoveries
- Countless anniversaries and deep dives into Van Halen history
- The heartbreaking loss of Eddie Van Halen in 2020
- Alex Van Halen’s recent projects
- The continuing legacy of Van Halen that still inspires millions of fans worldwide
Today, VHND remains proudly independent and fan-driven — built by people who genuinely love this music and understand what it means to millions of fans worldwide.
We also want to recognize our incredible — though small — staff, whose dedication has helped keep VHND going strong over the years.
Pamela Hazelton, for her web development expertise and for constantly putting out fires behind the scenes. Eric Senich, for helping keep VHND updated with countless articles over the last several years (who now hosts his own podcast, Booked On Rock). And Simon Pukk, for his longtime help moderating and keeping the VHND community running smoothly.
VHND has always occupied a unique space in the Van Halen world — unofficial, yet often surprisingly close to the action.
The site has never been officially affiliated with Van Halen, Edward Van Halen, or ELVH, Inc. Yet over the decades, various members of the Van Halen camp occasionally chose to share exclusive news and information directly with the ‘desk.
And as for the Van Halen merchandise you see advertised on VHND — that’s all as official as it gets. The website is funded through sales of officially licensed Van Halen and EVH merchandise at VanHalenStore.com.
So if you enjoy what we do and would like to support VHND, consider treating yourself to some official swag from the Van Halen Store. You’ll be supporting the band, VHND, and the hardworking staff behind both.
Over the years, VHND has been fortunate enough to speak with band members, family members, producers, crew members, photographers, and many others connected to the Van Halen story.
But the most important part of VHND has always been the fans.
For 30 years, you’ve visited the site daily. You’ve shared memories, photos, concert stories, opinions, corrections, and passion. You’ve helped keep this music alive across generations.
Some of you discovered VHND in the late ’90s on desktop computers the size of small refrigerators. Others found us during the reunion years. And many newer fans discovered the site while searching for a deeper connection to the band’s incredible history and music.
However you found us — thank you.
The internet has changed dramatically over the last three decades. Countless websites have come and gone. Social media changed how people consume news. Attention spans got shorter. Algorithms took over.
But through it all, Van Halen fans never stopped caring.
And neither did we.
Thirty years later, we still get excited discovering unseen photos, hearing unearthed recordings, revisiting classic interviews, and celebrating the insane brilliance of Eddie, Alex, Dave, Michael, Sammy, Gary, and Wolf.
Even now, it still feels like there are new discoveries around every corner — archival releases, unearthed photos and recordings, forgotten stories, and new chapters still being written in the Van Halen legacy.
And we’ll be here for all of it.
Because once Van Halen gets into your blood, it never really leaves.
From the bottom of our hearts: thank you for making these last 30 years possible.
The Van Halen News Desk.
Because too much Van Halen is never enough.
