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Post by Monsters of Rock on Nov 25, 2022 21:27:31 GMT 10
How Van Halen Conquered the World in Just 10 Shows
One of the best chapters of Greg Renoff's excellent book Van Halen Rising chronicles the band's meteoric rise to fame during their first world tour in 1978. The below gallery offers a look at 10 particularly important performances that helped transform Van Halen from hometown heroes to platinum-selling superstars in just under a year.
One month after the release of their now-landmark debut album, Van Halen hit the road as the opening act for the much-more established Journey. As the year wore on, they'd cross the globe and share the stage with legends such as AC/DC, Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones and Ted Nugent.
In every case, the group made powerful and lasting impressions on both their peers and the fans in attendance. As explained above, their nightly performances were so strong that Ozzy Osbourne was ready to hand over his group's headlining spot, Journey's crew allegedly messed with Van Halen's sound equipment, and Nugent vowed never to let the group open for him again. Oh, and they also met their future lead singer, got screwed over a bit by Mick Jagger and pulled off an absolutely audacious stunt involving parachutes.
Read on to find out more on these fascinating Van Halen 1978 tour stories – and learn everything there is to know about the band's early years in the pages of Van Halen Rising.
March 3, 1978: The Journey Begins
Van Halen kicked off their first national tour as the opening act for Journey in Chicago, Illinois. "It was scary walking up there for the first time," Eddie Van Halen explains in Van Halen Rising, but "after the first song people loved us" – and by the end, "everybody loved us." The pattern repeated itself at future shows - so much so that a few weeks later, Journey allegedly began employing the time-honored tradition of sabotaging their opening act's PA. "There was nothing I could do," Van Halen roadie Tom Broderick remembers. "We were just really screwed and that was it."
March 6, 1978: Back to the Clubs
When they found out the venue for the Journey show in Madison, Wisconsin somehow didn't have room for three bands, Van Halen booked a small show at the nearby Shuffle Inn. After baptizing the sold-out club with "geysers of champagne" following a typically impressive performance, the group spent the next two days trying to destroy the local hotel. Journey singer Steve Perry eventually offered some wise counsel, pointing out that a table they were about to throw out the window would just wind up on their bill alongside the TV sets and fire extinguishers they had already trashed.
March 25, 1978: The Big Apple Bites Back
According to Van Halen Rising, the group's first NYC show proved to be a rare setback on an otherwise triumphant tour, with "some vocal fans heckling and booing Journey's support act." Happily, five months later Van Halen had a much stronger showing opening for Black Sabbath at Madison Square Garden, with Ozzy even conceding that they, not his group, "ought to be headlining the tour."
May 18, 1978: Ozzy Smells Trouble
Van Halen Rising's chapter on the band's 1978 tour begins with a highly entertaining and illustrative story about the night a weary, soon-to-split up Black Sabbath first witnessed the hungry young group that would be kicking their ass all over the world for much of the next year. As Ozzy Osbourne later recounted, "We were just too stunned to speak. We sat there, going, 'that was incredible.' Then, "there was a knock at the door and the best-looking man in the world (David Lee Roth) walked in and said hello." At that moment, Sabbath knew they were in deep trouble.
July 1, 1978: Van Halen Overcome Trouble in Texas
Already exhausted from a long flight from Japan, Van Halen got some bad news before having to perform in front of a massive crowd at the Texxas Music Festival: Almost all of their gear had been sent to Chicago instead. Amazingly, "we played in front of 82,000 on rented equipment and still blazed!," raved Eddie. Roth considers this a very important show: "That was what really made us down in Texas. It was one of our very best shows, and the crowd went nuts."
July 8, 1978: A Triumphant Homecoming
Van Halen took a quick break from hopping around the world in support of other bands with a homecoming headlining show at the Long Beach Arena. Happily celebrating their ability to sell out a 9,000 seat venue all by themselves, according to Van Halen Rising the group spent $20,000 in "special effects and equipment" to give the evening some added spark.
July 13, 1978: The Stones Stack the Deck
One rock star who decided not to succumb to Van Halen's might so easily was Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, who surprised the band at their soundcheck prior to a July 13 New Orleans Superdome show together. In a savvy (if somewhat uncool) display of veteran gamesmanship, Jagger banned Eddie's custom made "bombshell" prop - which housed his guitar effects: "Well, we won't be needing it onstage ..."
July 23, 1978: Let's Call This One a Draw
Most of the 1978 tour tales from Van Halen Rising feature the group outshining their more established peers. But when faced with following AC/DC ("One of the most powerful live bands I've ever seen") at the Day on the Green, Eddie confessed to battling a case of nerves: "We have to follow these motherf–ers?" Luckily, Van Halen rose to the occasion. "I remember feeling that we held our own," Eddie remembers. "I was really happy. ... I didn't think anybody could follow them."
Aug. 12, 1978: Eddie Outguns the Nuge
Eddie Van Halen earned another notch on his belt when the group played a one-off show opening for guitar hero Ted Nugent. According to an in-attendance Henry Rollins, the crowd began chanting for the warm-up act during Nugent's set, prompting a frustrated Motor City Madmen to (allegedly) yell "F– Van Halen!"
Sept. 23, 1978: Van Halen 'Parachutes' Onto the Stage
Van Halen came up with a pretty amazing trick to steal the spotlight from headliners Boston and Black Sabbath in front of over 50,000 fans at Anaheim Stadium's Summerfest: Flying. Before the start of their set, the crowd saw four figures descend from the sky via parachutes, jump into a van and hit the stage still wearing their jumpsuits. Of course, as Van Halen Rising explains, the real band was actually hiding in the van for hours beforehand, "drinking, smoking, and pissing in a coffee can," then switching with their identically dressed stuntmen before the show.
Sept. 23, 1978: Van Halen Meets Their Future
The same night Michael Anthony, Eddie and Alex Van Halen "parachuted" from the skies, they also met their future second lead singer. As Sammy Hagar, who was performing earlier on the bill, told us in a 2015 interview, "[Eddie was] shaking my hand, ‘Oh, Sammy, man. I’m a big fan, you know, Montrose, we used to play ‘Make It Last’ and ‘Rock Candy’’ and all of this stuff." Seven years later, Hagar would take Roth's place and lead Van Halen to the top of the charts with four straight studio albums.
Ultimate Classic Rock
One of the best chapters of Greg Renoff's excellent book Van Halen Rising chronicles the band's meteoric rise to fame during their first world tour in 1978. The below gallery offers a look at 10 particularly important performances that helped transform Van Halen from hometown heroes to platinum-selling superstars in just under a year.
One month after the release of their now-landmark debut album, Van Halen hit the road as the opening act for the much-more established Journey. As the year wore on, they'd cross the globe and share the stage with legends such as AC/DC, Black Sabbath, the Rolling Stones and Ted Nugent.
In every case, the group made powerful and lasting impressions on both their peers and the fans in attendance. As explained above, their nightly performances were so strong that Ozzy Osbourne was ready to hand over his group's headlining spot, Journey's crew allegedly messed with Van Halen's sound equipment, and Nugent vowed never to let the group open for him again. Oh, and they also met their future lead singer, got screwed over a bit by Mick Jagger and pulled off an absolutely audacious stunt involving parachutes.
Read on to find out more on these fascinating Van Halen 1978 tour stories – and learn everything there is to know about the band's early years in the pages of Van Halen Rising.
March 3, 1978: The Journey Begins
Van Halen kicked off their first national tour as the opening act for Journey in Chicago, Illinois. "It was scary walking up there for the first time," Eddie Van Halen explains in Van Halen Rising, but "after the first song people loved us" – and by the end, "everybody loved us." The pattern repeated itself at future shows - so much so that a few weeks later, Journey allegedly began employing the time-honored tradition of sabotaging their opening act's PA. "There was nothing I could do," Van Halen roadie Tom Broderick remembers. "We were just really screwed and that was it."
March 6, 1978: Back to the Clubs
When they found out the venue for the Journey show in Madison, Wisconsin somehow didn't have room for three bands, Van Halen booked a small show at the nearby Shuffle Inn. After baptizing the sold-out club with "geysers of champagne" following a typically impressive performance, the group spent the next two days trying to destroy the local hotel. Journey singer Steve Perry eventually offered some wise counsel, pointing out that a table they were about to throw out the window would just wind up on their bill alongside the TV sets and fire extinguishers they had already trashed.
March 25, 1978: The Big Apple Bites Back
According to Van Halen Rising, the group's first NYC show proved to be a rare setback on an otherwise triumphant tour, with "some vocal fans heckling and booing Journey's support act." Happily, five months later Van Halen had a much stronger showing opening for Black Sabbath at Madison Square Garden, with Ozzy even conceding that they, not his group, "ought to be headlining the tour."
May 18, 1978: Ozzy Smells Trouble
Van Halen Rising's chapter on the band's 1978 tour begins with a highly entertaining and illustrative story about the night a weary, soon-to-split up Black Sabbath first witnessed the hungry young group that would be kicking their ass all over the world for much of the next year. As Ozzy Osbourne later recounted, "We were just too stunned to speak. We sat there, going, 'that was incredible.' Then, "there was a knock at the door and the best-looking man in the world (David Lee Roth) walked in and said hello." At that moment, Sabbath knew they were in deep trouble.
July 1, 1978: Van Halen Overcome Trouble in Texas
Already exhausted from a long flight from Japan, Van Halen got some bad news before having to perform in front of a massive crowd at the Texxas Music Festival: Almost all of their gear had been sent to Chicago instead. Amazingly, "we played in front of 82,000 on rented equipment and still blazed!," raved Eddie. Roth considers this a very important show: "That was what really made us down in Texas. It was one of our very best shows, and the crowd went nuts."
July 8, 1978: A Triumphant Homecoming
Van Halen took a quick break from hopping around the world in support of other bands with a homecoming headlining show at the Long Beach Arena. Happily celebrating their ability to sell out a 9,000 seat venue all by themselves, according to Van Halen Rising the group spent $20,000 in "special effects and equipment" to give the evening some added spark.
July 13, 1978: The Stones Stack the Deck
One rock star who decided not to succumb to Van Halen's might so easily was Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones, who surprised the band at their soundcheck prior to a July 13 New Orleans Superdome show together. In a savvy (if somewhat uncool) display of veteran gamesmanship, Jagger banned Eddie's custom made "bombshell" prop - which housed his guitar effects: "Well, we won't be needing it onstage ..."
July 23, 1978: Let's Call This One a Draw
Most of the 1978 tour tales from Van Halen Rising feature the group outshining their more established peers. But when faced with following AC/DC ("One of the most powerful live bands I've ever seen") at the Day on the Green, Eddie confessed to battling a case of nerves: "We have to follow these motherf–ers?" Luckily, Van Halen rose to the occasion. "I remember feeling that we held our own," Eddie remembers. "I was really happy. ... I didn't think anybody could follow them."
Aug. 12, 1978: Eddie Outguns the Nuge
Eddie Van Halen earned another notch on his belt when the group played a one-off show opening for guitar hero Ted Nugent. According to an in-attendance Henry Rollins, the crowd began chanting for the warm-up act during Nugent's set, prompting a frustrated Motor City Madmen to (allegedly) yell "F– Van Halen!"
Sept. 23, 1978: Van Halen 'Parachutes' Onto the Stage
Van Halen came up with a pretty amazing trick to steal the spotlight from headliners Boston and Black Sabbath in front of over 50,000 fans at Anaheim Stadium's Summerfest: Flying. Before the start of their set, the crowd saw four figures descend from the sky via parachutes, jump into a van and hit the stage still wearing their jumpsuits. Of course, as Van Halen Rising explains, the real band was actually hiding in the van for hours beforehand, "drinking, smoking, and pissing in a coffee can," then switching with their identically dressed stuntmen before the show.
Sept. 23, 1978: Van Halen Meets Their Future
The same night Michael Anthony, Eddie and Alex Van Halen "parachuted" from the skies, they also met their future second lead singer. As Sammy Hagar, who was performing earlier on the bill, told us in a 2015 interview, "[Eddie was] shaking my hand, ‘Oh, Sammy, man. I’m a big fan, you know, Montrose, we used to play ‘Make It Last’ and ‘Rock Candy’’ and all of this stuff." Seven years later, Hagar would take Roth's place and lead Van Halen to the top of the charts with four straight studio albums.
Ultimate Classic Rock
