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Home , Alex Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Eddie Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, US Festival, Van Halen

FEATURE EXCESSEXCESSEXCESS ALLALLALL AREASAREASAREAS

WHEN EDDIE AND began their to the party, not to mention an ear for a hummable David and Eddie in particular helped create music that four guys produced on Van Halen’s first six albums. musical careers in The Broken Combs in the early melody and live energy to burn. The formula served was undeniably brilliant; edgy yet accessible. , nobody could have had any idea that by the them well. The first major incarnation of Van Halen, OUR 14-page tribute to VH MK I includes a revealing end of the decade these two Dutch boys would have who were originally known as Mammoth, featured ROTH’S OUTSTANDING showmanship and Eddie’s interview with the ’s manager at the time, Noel become globe-straddlingly famous as half of the on guitar, on vocals, extraordinary guitar playing made this version of Van Monk, a fascinating profile of David Lee Roth by quintessential ’n’roll band. Alex Van Halen on drums and Michael Anthony on Halen the definitive line-up as far as Rock Candy is renowned Rock Candy writer Mick Wall and an exclusive bass. Between 1974 and 1985 they rose from playing concerned. Various incarnations of followed piece with , where the legendary guitarist VAN HALEN were rooted in the stadium majesty of backyard parties in to become one of the that 1985 split – most notably with doing explains exactly why Eddie is such a musical genius. , and The Who. But they world’s biggest acts. There were rumours of ego- his thing out front – with varying degrees of success. But Why have we dedicated so much space to Van Halen?

added some good old-fashioned Yankee razzmatazz fuelled fights along the way, but the friction between nothing has ever quite captured the magic that those Because to our mind they are rock’n’roll! Costello/Redferns Getty Images/Fin Photo:

54 55 FEATURE VAN HALEN THE MANAGER’S STORY WHAT WAS THE RELATIONSHIP ‘We have a problem… we had to BETWEEN EDDIE AND DAVID put David in a straitjacket…’ Oh LIKE? WERE THEY ALWAYS yeah, what did he do? ‘He was BATTLING TO BE THE PUBLIC drunk and he threw everything out FACE OF THE BAND? of his hotel room…’ Well, he’d done “It wasn’t a battle. They had that before. So I asked who put maybe a battle in the studio him in the straitjacket? The guy over musical directions. And says, ‘Two or three bodyguards.’ whatever they did backstage… I I said, ‘Man, just sit on him… You don’t care how messed up they don’t put the lead singer in a were, they never did a bad show straitjacket…’ It’s not done. I flew for me. Except of course for the right out there. I went to David’s US festival [in 1983]. You pay room. There was nothing in there us a million and a half [then the except the bed. The rest of the highest fee ever paid for a single room’s contents were outside appearance], and we’re the hotel. He [David] was pretty Van Halen, 1978 vintage. L-R: Alex Van Halen (drums), Michael gonna screw it up…” demoralised. I’m claustrophobic, Anthony (bass), David Lee Roth (vocals), Eddie Van Halen (guitar) and I would have killed not to be DAVID HAD AN OVERWHELMING put in a straitjacket. I felt really PERSONALITY… sorry for David, and he didn’t “You don’t mean an egomaniac?” deserve that. We lost the road “YOU DON’T PUT THE LEAD SINGER manager at the end of the tour. NO, MORE THAT WHEN HE At the end of the day, it’s another WALKED INTO A ROOM, YOU story from the road…” IN A STRAITJACKET… KNEW HE WAS THERE… “Ah, yes… I loved it. The only DAVID HAD A VERY WEALTHY people I could let do phone “EDDIE WAS BRILLIANT. I CAN’T TELL YOU BACKGROUND, WHEREAS IT’S NOT DONE!” interviews were David and HOW GOOD. AND THEY USED TO SAY, ALEX AND EDDIE’S FATHER Alex. Edward, by two in the WAS A JOBBING MUSICIAN. ‘DAVID CAN’T SING.’ WELL HE’S A ROCK’N’ROLL afternoon, couldn’t get out of WAS THAT A FACTOR IN HOW bed. Michael didn’t have much SINGER – HE DOESN’T NEED TO GO OUT DIFFERENT THEY ALL WERE? to say. But don’t think that THERE AND DELIVER AN ARIA!” “Well Nathan Roth [David’s BETWEEN 1978 AND 1984 NOEL MONK WAS AS CLOSE TO VAN HALEN AS ANYBODY. ACTING FIRST AS David didn’t think up his great NOEL MONK father] was a great guy. TOUR MANAGER, THEN AS THE BAND’S MANAGER, MONK WITNESSED THE MADNESS OF THE GROUP’S lines in advance. ‘Do you see He was a really successful ASTONISHING RISE TO SUPERSTAR STATUS. SO WHAT WAS IT REALLY LIKE INSIDE THE VH BUBBLE? the lights coming atcha….?’ ophthalmologist, and he made JON HOTTEN ASKS HIM… ‘Look at all the people here all his money. He didn’t get it tonight…’ People think it was passed down or anything like A PROTÉGÉ OF LEGENDARY U.S. promoter , DID YOU HAVE TO THINK LONG AND HARD BEFORE on the spur of the moment, that. And David didn’t flaunt Noel E. Monk helped to stage-manage the Woodstock YOU DECIDED ABOUT THAT LEVEL OF DISCLOSURE? but it really took him a his money. I don’t think that Festival and went on to work with huge bands like the “No, I planned to do the book, but I wanted to see where long time to get those licks was a factor.” and . He’d just finished a Van Halen went. Plus it took me 10 years to find someone together. He was inventing spell on the road with the of all people when who could write with me.” himself as he went along, and EDDIE WAS, WITHIN A VERY Warner Bros asked him to join with Van Halen as their he was the brightest of the SHORT SPACE OF TIME, tour manager in 1978. He became the band’s manager a CAN YOU REMEMBER WHEN YOU FIRST SAW bunch. David’s problem was REVERED BY MANY PEOPLE year later, a position he held until 1985. Now a resident of THE BAND? that it was like flipping a coin, AS A GUITAR PLAYER… Colorado Springs, Noel has published two books, 12 Days “I basically didn’t hear about them until I came off the and you didn’t know whether “He still is, of course. His fans On The Road: The Sex Pistols In America and Running Sex Pistols tour in early 1978. And Carl Scott, who was heads or tails would come up. have shrines to him, and to With The Devil: A Backstage Pass To The Wild Times, head of artist development at Warner Bros, said, ‘I’ve got If tails came up, you ran out the band. Who can collect the Loud Rock, And The Down And Dirty Truth Behind The this new band…’ To me it was just another job. But Carl of the room. If heads came most paraphernalia? Whole Making Of Van Halen. His 2017 Van Halen book offers a said, ‘No, no… They’re brilliant.’ The first time I met them up you had a nice time. There rooms dedicated to nothing unique insight into the early workings of the band. was in a restaurant in Pasadena, and then a month later was no in-between. He was but Van Halen. They have in Chicago when we started the tour. From there I spent either hellacious or a really places where they talk about YOUR BOOK RUNNING WITH THE DEVIL IS REALLY over seven years with them.” nice guy.” minutia. It’s like a soap opera. ONE OF THE FIRST INSIDER ACCOUNTS OF VAN At his best, Eddie was brilliant HALEN. THERE’S STILL A SENSE OF MYSTERY HOW QUICKLY DID YOU SUSS OUT THE INTERNAL HOW DID YOU DEAL for Van Halen. I can’t tell you ABOUT THOSE EARLY YEARS… DYNAMICS OF THE BAND? WITH HIM WHEN HE WAS how good. And they used to “That’s true. There’s very little known about that time “Ah, that was pretty easy. When you’re dealing with a HELLACIOUS? say, ‘David can’t sing.’ Well and we wanted it that way. There wasn’t a lot we wanted band, it’s not difficult to get a feel for what they are. “We put him in a straitjacket. he’s a rock’n’roll singer – he out there in the public domain. My book is absolutely Unfortunately, they went from being a nice bunch of That actually happened once doesn’t need to go out there what happened, as was my book about the Sex Pistols. I guys, a brilliant, brilliant guitar player and a frontman when I was back in LA at the and deliver an aria! He was a consider them history books. And you don’t mess around who was incredible… to seven years later when I had a beginning of a tour. The tour EVH: “His fans have shrines to him” perfect frontman and a perfect

with history.” bunch of egotistical, alcoholic, coke freaks…” Weiss Mark Estrada; Kevin Costello/Redferns; Getty Images/Fin Photos: manager called me and said, singer for that band. I

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