Today (January 9) as the 32nd anniversary of the release of Van Halen's monumental album, '1984.' You may want to take a moment and recognize the significance of the date: January is the first month of the year and marked as "1." The ninth day of the month is marked as "9." The year is marked "84" in short, thus lining them up as "1/9/84." A pretty cool little fact about one … [Read more...]
Behind The Scenes: Making of Van Halen’s “Jump” Video
This week in 1984, Van Halen began an incredible 5-week run at the top of the Billboard charts with their colossal hit, "Jump!" Here's a behind-the-scenes look at the making of the unforgettable video. Pete Angelus [Van Halen road manager, lighting director, 1978-84]: I think we spent less money making "Jump" than we did on having pizzas delivered to the set of "Hot for … [Read more...]
Photos: Van Halen Plays Virginia, 1984
Enjoy rare photos from 31 years ago this month, when Van Halen played Roanoke, Virginia, during their 1984 World tour. Eddie Van Halen on the 1984 tour: “Our live show for the 1984 tour just could not get any bigger, but it was so over the top that we never made any money from it. We had 18 trucks hauling the stage and equipment. That was unheard of. The standard lighting … [Read more...]
An Appreciation of ‘1984’ as Eddie Van Halen Turns 60
This great piece was written by Dan Benbow for VHND and his own site, Truth and Beauty. Enjoy. I was late to the party known as Van Halen. Throughout most of their vintage period I listened to the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, top 40 radio. I saw the classic “Fair Warning” concert videos in the early ’80s on MTV, but the music didn’t stick; hard rock wasn’t yet part of my musical … [Read more...]
Exclusive Photos from This Day in 1984: Lakeland Civic Center, Florida
On this day in 1984, Van Halen performed in front of a sold-out crowd of 10,000 at the Lakeland Civic Center, in Lakeland Florida. Enjoy these exclusive photos from the 4th show of their 1984 tour. All of these live shots—many seen for the first time ever—are from Tim Mccrum, the same photographer who shared his photos from Van Halen's 1981 Tangerine Bowl shows with the … [Read more...]
38th Anniversary of ‘1984!’ Eddie Looks Back on Van Halen’s Landmark Album
Van Halen's 1984 was released 38 years ago today! Van Halen’s 1984 album and tour were the pinnacle of Van Halen's popularity. To this day, the album remains an absolute classic, and the tour goes down in history as on of the biggest and most extravagant (and costly) rock tours of the decade. Even into the nineties, the staff of Guitar World magazine proclaimed it … [Read more...]
Alex Van Halen Drum Intro is Voted Best Ever
The drum intro to Van Halen classic "Hot For Teacher" has been voted the best of all time – ahead of work by Led Zeppelin, Rush, Guns N’ Roses, Nirvana, and Queens Of The Stone Age. The team at Rhythm magazine have pulled together a massive list charting the 101 greatest ever drum intros. From Dave Grohl's iconic 'Smells Like Teen Spirit' pick up fill with Nirvana to the … [Read more...]
Van Halen’s Cover of Wilson Pickett’s “In The Midnight Hour”
You can hear one minute of David Lee Roth sounding absolutely fantastic on a cover of "Mustang Sally" in the teaser video for The Roth Show below. The video was shot recently in his Pasadena home. We would love to hear the entire song some day! (The R&B song was written and first recorded by Mack Rice in 1965, named by Aretha Franklin, and gained greater popularity … [Read more...]
This Day in 1984: Van Halen’s Original Lineup Plays Final Concert
On this day in 1984, the original lineup of Van Halen—Michael Anthony, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, and Alex Van Halen—played their very last show together. Five ‘Monsters of Rock’ Festival dates in Europe were to be their last shows of their massive 1984 tour. Those festival dates kicked off Aug 18th in Leicestershire, England, and ran through Sept 2nd in Nuremburg, … [Read more...]
Video & Photos: Van Halen at Monsters of Rock Festival, Castle Donington, England
Updated 8/18/19 with more photos On this day in rock history, Van Halen performed for 65,000 sweaty heavy metal fans at the 'Monsters of Rock' Festival at Donington Park in Castle, Donington, Leicestershire, England. This show was the first Monsters of Rock show out of five the band played to wrap up the 1984 tour. This was also Van Halen’s first U.K. appearance since 1980. The … [Read more...]
Photos: Van Halen in Concert & Backstage, 1984!
Backstage in 1984: Eddie Van Halen with Journey's Neil Schon & The Who's John Entwistle Legendary rock photographer Ross Halfin has photographed Van Halen many times over the years. Here's some of his incredible shots from Van Halen's massive 1984 world tour. Thanks for the fantastic shots, Ross! You can keep up with him on Ross Halfin Photography's Facebook page. … [Read more...]
VHND’s All Access Photo: Eddie Van Halen & Mini Eddie
Eddie Van Halen with mini Eddie on the set of one of the most classic music videos of all time, "Hot For Teacher." “All Access” Photos is a weekly feature at VHND.com. Every weekend we feature a photo from a roadie, friend, or band insider. Many are never-seen-before exclusives. Tune in every weekend for more! … [Read more...]