Here's a newly surfaced audio interview with David Lee Roth from way back in the summer of 1978! Van Halen was rolling through Texas for a third time during their grueling first tour. Radio station KTRN 1290 AM's Mad Martin interviewed David Lee prior to the Van Halen concert at the Memorial Auditorium in Wichita Falls on August 2nd. This little radio spot was recorded the … [Read more...]
Van Halen 1978 Archive
Motorhead’s Lemmy Kilmister Recalls His First Van Halen Concert
The late, great Lemmy Kilmister had a great quote about his first experience seeing Van Halen. It was in London, 1978... "I first saw Van Halen at the Rainbow (no, not the L.A. one, the old London one, a big theater) back in 1970-something and I thought they could have been louder. Well, I always think it can be louder! Apart from that, they were excellent: an ultimately … [Read more...]
Audio: Van Halen Live in Bristol, England May 26, 1978
On this day in 1978, Van Halen played Colston Hall in Bristol, England. They were on their first world tour, and were thrilled to be opening for Black Sabbath. Luckily for us, a good sounding audio recording exists! Listen to the majority of Van Halen's May 26th, 1978 concert, embedded here: … [Read more...]
Audio: Van Halen Live in Hanley, England May 23, 1978
On this day in 1978, Van Halen played Victoria Hall in Hanley, England. Luckily for us, a great-sounding audio recording exists! (Listen below) This was during Van Halen's first world tour. They were thrilled to be opening for the legendary Black Sabbath. "The Sabs," as they called them, were part of their musical youth. To share the stage with them was like a dream come true. … [Read more...]
Audio: Van Halen Live in Manchester, England May 22, 1978
Embed from Getty Images On this day in 1978, Van Halen played the Manchester Apollo in Manchester, England May 22, 1978. Listen to this GREAT sounding audio recording of the entire concert, below. VHND reader, Paul Wilkinson adds, "I'm local to Manchester and have heard a few stories about this gig. The best one is that no one had really heard of VH and a lot of … [Read more...]
This Day in ’78: Van Halen’s Covers Black Sabbath & The Who (Audio)
Forty years ago today, Van Halen performed in Paris, France, for the first time. We have a funny story about their trip to Paris, some rarely seen photos of the band posing by the Eiffel Tower, and an audio recording of their entire concert at the Theatre Mogador, where they perform "Voodoo Queen," (an early form of "Mean Street"), Eddie Chochran's "Summertime Blues," (also … [Read more...]
Exclusive Photos: Van Halen Plays Houston on This Day in 1978
Here's live & backstage photos from the Van Halen concert which took place 38 years ago today, at the Music Hall in Houston, Texas. Some of these pics are exclusive to VHND, and never seen before. Here's the button that Pantera Ten Productions used as a backstage pass, which states, "JOURNEY CONCERT, Special Guest Stars Montrose & Van Halen." Note that Michael is … [Read more...]
Tony Iommi and Eddie Van Halen Discuss Their Careers, Friendship
Tony and Eddie tour the world in Black Sabbath & Van Halen, 1978! Photo by Ross Halfin. Any short-list of the greatest riff-makers of all-time would be incomplete without Tony Iommi's name inscribed in bold letters. Beginning with Black Sabbath's 1970 debut album, Iommi ushered in a dark, sludgy sound that through the years has impacted bands as varied as Nirvana and … [Read more...]
‘Van Halen’ 38th Anniversary!
On this day in 1978, Van Halen's debut album was released! Van Halen's magnificent 1978 self-titled debut album simultaneously rewrote the rules of rock guitar and hard rock in general. It's one of those rare debut albums — think The Doors, Jimi Hendrix’s Are You Experienced, Led Zeppelin— that simply announces itself. Guitarist Eddie Van Halen redefines what the electric … [Read more...]
FULL VIDEO of ‘Van Halen Rising’ Launch Party with Ted Templeman Q&A
Recently we featured exclusive video highlights from the Van Halen Rising launch party, which took place Oct. 9th at Vroman's Bookstore in Pasadena. Today we're debuting the complete 45-minutes video of the Q&A with Ted Templeman. Ted answers lots of great questions from fans! Watch the complete video coverage from the event below. All photos by Kevin … [Read more...]
‘VAN HALEN RISING’ is Coming!
Van Halen Rising: How a Southern California Backyard Party Band Saved Heavy Metal is a new book coming this October that solely focuses on Van Halen’s incredible rise during the ‘70s. We have an advance copy, and trust us — this book is absolutely loaded with wild and interesting details on Van Halen’s beginnings that even the most knowledgeable fans have never heard. It's … [Read more...]
Exclusive: Van Halen 1978 World Tour Shirt
Just a heads up to all the VHND regulars... there's a killer new shirt that we think is definitely one of the coolest shirts you can wear to the 2015 tour! Van Halen Store is proud to bring you a an exact replica of the most scarce Van Halen tour shirt ever - their very first one! This limited-edition is a Van Halen Store exclusive. Imagine attending a bachelor party … [Read more...]