Sammy Hagar appeared on Sirius/XM's Trunk Nation to talk about his friend and former bandmate Eddie Van Halen but said he's still coming to terms with his death. "To talk about someone like Eddie Van Halen, the greatness of him and to try to explain it to people or try to tell old stories, it's still not time. I don't feel comfortable with it yet," Hagar told host Eddie … [Read more...]
Video: Van Halen ‘Monsters of Rock’ Buffalo NY, June 19th, 1988
32 years ago today, Van Halen's "The Monsters of Rock" summer stadium tour came to Rich Stadium in Buffalo, New York. This year, a good-quality audience-filmed bootleg surfaced on YouTube. Watch Van Halen's full set, embedded above. Setlist:A.F.U. (Naturally Wired)Summer NightsThere's Only One Way to RockPanamaBass SoloRunnin' With the DevilWhy Can't This Be LoveMine All … [Read more...]
Sammy Hagar Answers The Critics Regarding Keyboards In Van Halen
Sammy Hagar has heard it many times over the years. He’s the guy who wanted more keyboards and less guitar in Van Halen. Well, the former Van Halen frontman finally set the record straight on the topic and he had a rock-solid witness to back him up – Michael Anthony. “I didn’t do any of that. That’s what Eddie did,” Hagar said during yesterday’s interview on Sirius/XM’s … [Read more...]
Eddie Van Halen Shreds And Pays Tribute To Les Paul
A historic Van Halen event occurred during this month in 1988 which we never featured on the Van Halen News Desk until now… After a break following Van Halen’s Monsters of Rock tour, Edward Van Halen paid tribute to the great guitarist, performer and inventor Les Paul, along with some other musical big wigs. Ed and Les had by now formed a genuine friendship. Les was 73 years … [Read more...]
Oh, You Ate 5150 Too! – Van Halen Mashup
Kick off your weekend with a KILLER new Van Halen mashup! Here's a new, unique Van Halen medley from guitarist Charlie Stinchcombe (aka “Liquid Charlie”) that cleverly combines classic riffs from Van Halen's 5150 and OU812 albums. Yet another great one from Charlie! Keep up with Liquid Charlie: Follow him on Instagram and Facebook. And Check out his YouTube Channel, … [Read more...]
Unearthed TV Special From OU812 Tour
Watch some newly-surfaced footage from the OU812 tour! This was filmed in Portland, Oregon, for a Japanese TV special, and it seems that little or no people in the USA have seen this until it popped up on YouTube a few days ago. Enjoy some RARE footage from the road, circa 1988! This 16-minute clip features interviews, backstage footage, and on-stage footage of Van Halen, … [Read more...]
30 Years Ago: Van Halen Launches ‘Monsters of Rock’ Stadium Tour
Embed from Getty Images 30 years ago this week, "The Monsters of Rock" summer stadium tour launched, featuring Van Halen, the Scorpions, Dokken, Metallica and Kingdom Come. From The New York Times, May 29th, 1988: The Monsters of Rock Open a 23-City Tour America's stadium-rock season opened here today with a bang - or, more precisely, the nine-hour roar of Van … [Read more...]
30th Anniversary Roundtable Discussion: Did Van Halen Bite Off Too Much With ‘OU812’?
30 years after the release of Van Halen's OU812, our friends at Ultimate Classic Rock hosted a roundtable discussion about the album. Featuring UCR staff, along with VHND's Jeff Hausman, and Van Halen Rising author, Greg Renoff, they tackle five big questions about the album. Read everyone's answers to question #1, below, and continue to read the rest at UCR. From … [Read more...]
Van Halen Rocks Cabo Wabo Cantina, 1990 (Photos & Video)
On this day in 1990, Van Halen performed at the Grand Opening of their very own Cabo Wabo Cantina! There's a sleepy town, south of the border. If you go there once, you'll be there twice. Sound familiar? These are the hallowed words that introduced us to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and the Cabo Wabo Cantina, which was, at the time, owned by Van Halen. Today marks the 26 … [Read more...]
Never Seen Photo: Ed playing 316 for Val & Wolfie…
Valerie Bertinelli posted a CLASSIC photo today on her Facebook: "Ed playing 316 on my growing tummy, before he knew he would call it 316 #HappyBirthdayWolfie!" … [Read more...]
VHND’s All Access Photo: OU812 Anniversary
On this day in 1988, Van Halen's fantastic OU812 ("Oh, You Ate One Too!") was released! Their second album with Sammy Hagar reached #1, sold over 4 million copies in the US and featured six songs that landed on the Billboard Hot 100 and/or the Mainstream Rock Tracks. Here's a super rare photo of Eddie, Michael, Alex and Sammy from that year. Track list: Mine All … [Read more...]
Unearthed: Van Halen 1988 Raw & Uncut Video Interview
VOX POP has released their full, unedited 1988 video interview with Van Halen. This was filmed in the spring of '88, as the band was starting to do press for their upcoming "Monsters Of Rock" stadium tour. The crazy thing is that they weren't even finished recording OU812 yet! It was crunch time, as their album had to be out by the time the tour started in late May. For the … [Read more...]