How far back does your worship go?

[Yount]

Well my age is against me. However, I was a fan of the radio hits as a kid and then I picked up Best Of Vol. 1 and loved the fold out section with the discography at the end of 1997. Started going back and checking out the back catalogue (Hagar too.) Weird I guess but not unusual to pick up new DLR fans around that time. Just missed the reunion blues but started getting into it like crazy in '98 with the release of III and the first Australian tour.

So when did you cross over into an obsessive DLR/VH fan?

[Etienne]

I remember listen to Van Halen I with my older brother 1978/79.

[Yount]

I remember listen to Van Halen I with my older brother 1978/79.

Cool!
Does he still like VH or did he move on to other muse?

I never grew out of VH (a sign of my immaturity/stubbornness or a good ear I dunno I'm too one-eyed to tell!)

I'm expecting the '82-'84 years to come up trumps here.

[Zing!]

Their monster band years of 82-84 were it for me. Introduced to the band in '82, became a lifelong fan in '83, and 1984 was just a great year to be a VH fan all around - total obsession at that point!

[Etienne]

Cool!
Does he still like VH or did he move on to other muse?

He still listens to them, sure. Apart from VH he is into 70s Classic Rock and earlier stuff like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones.

My brother can still remember how it was, when he was in a london record store, and first heard Van Halen I. It was something new, very wild and unheard till 1978. A new chapter of rock music.

[mh5150]

I was an 11 year old punk kid in 78' heard eruption from my brothers album and that is all she wrote. Seen VH live in 81' and haven't look back since. I have seen every tour since then. I was at the famous Largo Md. Show . I can remember always going to the Capital Centre and hearing DLR saying " Baltimore -Washington " .

[CROWBAR]

I was in Jr. High when VH debuted. Heard it the day it was released nationally and been a fan ever since. Seen them on the 1984 tour on the second night of a two night stand. Most excellent.

[Terry]

Same older cousin who got me into KISS in 1976 got me listening to Van Halen in 1979.

I really got into Van Halen in 1982, when I first started taking guitar lessons.

When I was 13, in 1983, my parents started letting me go to concerts. That whole year of 1983 wasn't really an active one for Van Halen aside from the US Festival, but I was listening to Van Halens records non-fucking-stop (trying to figure out how in the hell Eddie played like he did - remember, there was no youtube back then and guitar tabs weren't readily available...there wasn't even much in the way of EVH footage being played on tv). Couldn't WAIT to see the band live. Got to see 'em once on the 1984 tour, then Roth split.

It's perhaps difficult for people who were too young to be around when Roth was in the band the first time around...just how bad it sucked getting the news that Roth left the band...then one year later along comes Hagar and 'Why Can't This Be Love'. Me and my buds heard that shit and went 'fucking gayness' while preppies who were turned off by the band when Roth was in it were suddenly saying how much they liked Van Halen now that Roth was gone.

[Angel]

We had the best jukebox ever at the pizza joint we used to hang out at. That's where I first heard RWTD when it came out. (Actually, I think I may have heard Jamie's Cryin' first). .

My first concert was 79, and I've been a fanatic ever since. Saw them 5 times from 79-81. Then I moved to a city they were banned from, got knocked up and married, and was only able to follow the band on Much Music, radio, etc.

Cried when Dave left the band, turned the radio off the first time I heard Van Hagar, and have been turning it off ever since.

I remember saying that if they ever reunited, I'd pay $100 to see them, and would camp out in line for a week to get tix if necessary. (No internet then, and $100 ticket price was unheard of).

Flash forward to 07, Mom buys me a ticket for my bday, I pay for flight, hotel, meals, etc. Way more than that $100, but worth every penny.

Unfortunately, unless I win a fucking lottery, I won't be seeing them this tour. Being both a student and an artist means I have no fucking money to my name anymore.

[katina]

Well, in 1978 I was 15 years old, we had a Military Goverment and the Communist Guerrilla was very, very active. We didn´t have any concerts, scarce radio broadcasting and a rock magazine. Nobody heard about VH. To have access to new music you needed to travel abroad .
In 1978 I met a young man who bought VH1 in USA. He asked me to listen to a new band called Van Halen, we were alone and I was scared, but when I heard Runnin´with the Devil I was sure he was not a "guerrillero comunista" and not trying to recruit me.

While listening to the LP, I remember that I grabbed the LP trying to know who the lead singer was, and I read David Lee Roth, from the very beggining it was HV and DLR for me.
When Dave left the band, I followed him.

[sadaist]

I had seen Unchained on the midnight on Friday 1/2 hour rock video show on a local channel and liked it. But it doesn't show the guys real personal, just on stage from afar pretty much. It was seeing Jump world premier on New years Eve I think and then the follow up Panama video soon after that totally had me hooked. I then started getting the 6 pack & realizing "hey, I've heard this song before!"

Before that I liked Jamies Cryin, Runnin With The Devil, etc...from hearing it in the pizza joints, arcades, and bowling alleys in the late 70's/early 80's. Just didn't realize who it was until 1984 came out and ruined me for other bands.

[sadaist]

When Dave left the band, I followed him.


Yep. Just like the wise men following the brightest shining star.

[rocking ron]

After hearing 'RUNNIN' WITH THE DEVIL" in late 1978 I knew my kind of music..........

A year later I got a cassette-tape with a 'live' show from VAN HALEN and also started buying bootleg LP's , first bootleg lp : LA the Forum 1981, amazing show........

Still collecting cd and dvd bootlegs from VH//DLR and have over 400 cd's and over 200 dvd's of both and will go on till they stop or till I die...

VH forever.............:amen:

[katina]

Yep. Just like the wise men following the brightest shining star.

Hahaha!!! I have a very funny story (at least for me) about following the brightest shining star!!! David of course.
And I was not very wise !! It happened beggining of 1980. I need some time to put it in english.

[DLR Bridge]

As an 11 year old, I remember seeing the Fair Warning album on the rack at the music section of a K-Mart. I vividly recall thinking, what the hell is going on here?! I was officially hooked by the Pretty Woman video, prior to it's banning of course. I was blown away by the whole blend of humor and kick ass music. My first avatar here was the hunchback goon from the video. I was heavy into Kiss from Alive II to the disappointing Unmasked. To me, VH grabbed the football out of their grip, then tackled them! Unfortunately, my concert going days began in 1986. Fucking sigh.

[vandeleur]

84 video juke boxes were the fashion , I was learning to play guitar maiden the damned etc and a guy a work said did i like van halen .. I was like van who ... He was like u play guitar and you ain't a fan so he put the panama video on the juke box ... Man I nearly shit .. I was like wtf is that a guitar and whose the crazy mother hugger singer , bought the single on the way home and the album at the weekend . Hook , line and sinker loved them straight away , missed them
At donnington and then the split happened . Hey I picked sides I went the path of the Dave and stood by it ever since ... Refused to listen to van Hagar listened to 5150 once and actually giggled it was like get the fuck out that ain't my band they turned THE shite to just shit . But fuck it the comeback kings of all time came thru , they guve me a break and gave me one last round .....

[sadaist]

As an 11 year old, I remember seeing the Fair Warning album on the rack at the music section of a K-Mart. I vividly recall thinking, what the hell is going on here?! I was officially hooked by the Pretty Woman video, prior to it's banning of course. I was blown away by the whole blend of humor and kick ass music. My first avatar here was the hunchback goon from the video. I was heavy into Kiss from Alive II to the disappointing Unmasked. To me, VH grabbed the football out of their grip, then tackled them! Unfortunately, my concert going days began in 1986. Fucking sigh.


It's funny how you can pretty much place when a person fell for VH by their age. You being 2 years older than me sounds just right. We all pretty much start to love music at that same age of 11-12. Sure I wish I found them in 1978 and was a few years older so I could have seen them live originally. But I can't control when I was born. Eat Em & Smile was the first time I ever laid eyes on David Lee Roth in person. And oh boy did that mofo deliver some bang for my $17 ticket.

5150 was my first time seeing Eddie. I know, I know. But Eddie was really good on that tour. Glad I saw it.

Shuffle EEAS Dave with 5150 Eddie? OMFG! I can hardly imagine the fireworks.

[guwapo_rocker]

I was introduced to Van Halen and other things by a young lady named Tracy back in 1979.

[moose]

My older kin
35 years ago
Still can visualize that moment on that day
My cousins looking at me and telling me to get ready

I've been hooked ever since

[rocking ron]

After the split in '85 I wasn't very happy I remember, but on the other way there still was VH and Dave with a brand new band so more good music to buy!!

Van Hagar wasn't bad but I was way more into Dave and am still disappointed he didn't make it across the sea in 1986 to tour in Europe!!

Gladly he came twice in 1988 and returned succesfully in 1991. In 1994 his show was cancelled overhere and he came back in 1999 to do 2 'warm-up' gigs and

I've seen all these shows ofcourse!!

Have seen Van Hagar in 1993 and 1995 as opening act for BON JOVI, can you believe this???

[Nitro Express]

I got Van Halen II as a birthday present. We went off to see a movie after I opened my gifts and when we came back my older sisters were listening to it laughing and singing along to You're No Good. They thought it was a funny song and loved Roth's screams.

Then Someone Get Me a Doctor came on and I was hooked.

[FORD]

The minute I heard "Runnin With The Devil" on the radio in February 1978. That car horn came on and I'm like "what the fuck is this? One of those Emergency Broadcast System tests??". Then the bass..... guitar.....drums....Diamond Dave....and finally the harmonies on the chorus. Fucking perfect.

Of course if anybody had told me then that I would be sitting here writing about this 34 years later, I would have laughed in their face. Probably because my Baptist church had me convinced that it was all over by 2000 anyway and Reagan becoming president two years later only made that seem more likely. So Van Halen became part of the soundtrack for a life that I never expected to last as long as it has, at least not at the time.

But in the end, I guess I'm OK with the fact that God delayed Armegeddon long enough for us to finally get a 7th album from these guys.

[sadaist]

The minute I heard "Runnin With The Devil" on the radio in February 1978. That car horn came on and I'm like "what the fuck is this? One of those Emergency Broadcast System tests??". Then the bass..... guitar.....drums....Diamond Dave....and finally the harmonies on the chorus. Fucking perfect.

Of course if anybody had told me then that I would be sitting here writing about this 34 years later, I would have laughed in their face. Probably because my Baptist church had me convinced that it was all over by 2000 anyway and Reagan becoming president two years later only made that seem more likely. So Van Halen became part of the soundtrack for a life that I never expected to last as long as it has, at least not at the time.

But in the end, I guess I'm OK with the fact that God delayed Armegeddon long enough for us to finally get a 7th album from these guys.

LOL! 34 years later. DAMN! Longest wait line ever!

Aint Talkin Bout Love was the song that blew me away....but not until I bought VH I in 1984 on vinyl & played intro a gazillion times over. (It's my ringtone now)

[ALMOSTsaved]

The summer of 1981. I was 10 years old and in full on KISS / AC/DC worship. I lived in a neighborhood full of kids and my family was packing up to move across town where it was essentially known as "the sticks." An older friend of mine felt bad that I was moving and handed me Van Halen and Van Halen II on vinyl and told me I'd dig the band as I was enthralled with rock guitar.

VH II was the first album I listened to in it's entirety and was so hooked I neglected the debut album for a month or so. When I finally heard it I officially had a new favorite band. I immediately bought the "Fair Warning" cassette and the band came into town of September 5, 1981 and my mother took me (and the friend who introduced me to VH) to my first Van Halen show.

The following year on July 24, 1982, my Uncle took me and the same friend to see the "Diver Down" tour. I'd received the tickets on my 12th birthday (July 1st) and freaked the fuck out. My Uncle was like an older brother and the second we walked in the door of the coliseum he said, "See you guys later..." We were on our own and it was amazing. The opening band After The Fire was booed mercilessly off the stage. I'd won a guitar on a VH promo contest where they play a one second clip of ten songs and mash them together. I won the contest on the second day it was running. I got backstage after the show and the band's tour manager told us that Dave and Eddie were not getting along....I didn't believe it then. :)

My third time seeing Van Halen on January 28, 1984 was with a group of friends and my Uncle. Was my first time seeing the band really up close. We ran for our seats (was GA seating)....and landed the front row on the side right next to Ed's riser. To this day I wish I'd brought a camera.

So yeah I'm going on 31 years of worship...

[BITEYOASS]

It started when I was four years old, back in 1984. Hell, for a few years I thought Dave's solo band was Van Halen. :biggrin:

[DLR Bridge]

5150 was my first time seeing Eddie. I know, I know. But Eddie was really good on that tour. Glad I saw it.

Yep. Same here. Didn't see Dave until '88 at the Hartford Civic Center. Met Pete Angelos. Only my gang recognized him sans Picasso Bros. attire.

[Green Manalishi]

Discovered them in '78 on the radio and social talk amongst burnouts . Finally saw them live in '81 for the first time .
Still have the =VH= seared in my mind and emblazoned on my forehead . Completely hated the Sammy years , still do .
Dave or the grave .

[NIN1211]

Their monster band years of 82-84 were it for me. Introduced to the band in '82, became a lifelong fan in '83, and 1984 was just a great year to be a VH fan all around - total obsession at that point!
Roger That!

[NIN1211]

Actually I was sneaking through my older brothers bedroom, age 10 or so, looking through his albums. He was 17, so he was cool...ya know. I actually grabbed a Black Sabbath album, there was some creepy bitch in a coffin in the centerfold, and thought "shit this must be cool." Although he mistakenly put VH1 in the Sabbath album (perhaps the Warner label is very similar) and I remember hearing Eruption and almost shitting myself. For a week I was the biggest Black Halen fan in town. I didn't realize it was VH for a week or so later. Nonetheless my brother was pissed that I was playing his albums and he rubbed his armpits in my face. Fair trade off....he inadvertently got me into VH

[SNIPER]

I was living just down the hill from Sunset Blvd in West L.A. in the Pico and Robertson area. I was only 7 when the first album came out. Little did I know the greatness that was going on just a few short miles up the hill from me at the time. ...I first saw the So This Is Love Video in 83. A budy at that time had also turned me on to VH 1. then 1984 after that. BLAM!! The rest is history. No other band was as good as VH. They stood out WAY above the rest. Everything about VH was just special to me and it still is.

[Momshell]

I didn't get turned on to VH until hearing them on my own on my tiny little alarm clock radio in 1984. I so wish I had a cool sibling, uncle, or something, but no such luck. Was listening to pop until hearing Jump on that little radio. Then I started putting 2 and 2 together - the guy singing that song is the same guy I've been seeing in all the magazines? Didn't take much more that that. Went to the record store with my grandparents soon after and bought the entire 6-pack in one shot. Never looked back after that. Didn't get to see them live til 2007, which sucked. Tried Spammy live, which was not good. Saw Dave live lots, which was very good, but was not VH. Actually saw Dave live a couple of times in 2006 - once at Nokia Theater in NYC and once at Foxwoods. Both were general admission, which meant my poor hubby had to stand on line with me for about 8 hours - but we were front row. Dave took my hand during Unchained in NYC and lifted his shirt for me a couple of times. At Foxwoods there was no security in front of the stage, so we were actually able to rest our elbows on the stage! I think I may have been slightly inappropriate with my hands at that show ;)
It really is amazing when I think about hearing Jump that first time - 28 years ago - and I remember it vividly!!

[Momshell]

Didn't get to see them live til 2007, which sucked.

Just realized how that sounded - the show did not suck, the wait sucked!!

[Light Em' Up!]

I grew up on metal, however, while I got hit with the "popular" songs like "Jump" and "Panama", I never bought an album or anything. I was probably more familiar with all the Sammy songs. In 2007, I met my soon to be husband, "Sniper", and I guess when you are engaged to the biggest Van Halen fan in the world, you are bound to get educated. We took a road trip to Jackpot, Nevada, and he played EVERY Van Halen album for the drive there and back. Needless to say, the second I heard "Light Up the Sky", I was sold. In 2008, "Sniper" took me on the best date EVER! Front row, VIP package/tickets to see Dave and the boys in Reno, Nevada. I was absolutely blown away! Since then, I have been a Roth-Van Halen die hard. I try to keep up on all the news, buy WAY too much stuff for "Sniper" and I from the VH store, etc...then in March, I made the big step of joining the Army. I guess you can say, the rest is history.

[loucap81]

I was born in 1981. The first rock music I really heard was grunge/alternative in 1991 or so. I didn't know what classic rock really was other than the Beatles. I used to only listen to "alternative" music and whatever was on MTV. There used to be a great independently-owned radio station in Philly called WDRE, which branded themselves as "modern rock." They played the more mainstream stuff that was current at the time like all the Seattle bands, they played a lot of "retro alternative" from the late '70s to the late '80s, and then they played many obscure bands just starting out. I think it was one of the greatest radio stations that ever existed and I listened to them religiously. But they didn't play anything prior to the late '70s and only a handful of those bands at that so I still had a pretty narrow perspective of music.

WDRE went off the air in Feb. 1997; they changed ownership and became a rap station. I didn't know it yet but this was also right around the time music would begin an unthinkably steep decline. So I turned to WMMR and WYSP, the two rock stations that played current music but also mixed in a healthy dose of classic rock. At that point my eyes were opened and all the great bands were exposed to me, and it was all new music to my ears. Van Halen were one of the bands that struck me and I bought all the classic albums as well as the first three Van Hagar ones. But I was more drawn to the hits, the radio songs, and not so much the deep cuts. I used to hate WACF and Fair Warning (moreso WACF) as my taste in music hadn't gotten sophisticated yet. When the Gary era was going on I was tempted to see them (basically to see Eddie) but decided against it just because the songs I had heard off that album were so awful.

Then something happened in my freshman year of college around 2000 where I started to take my interest in VH to another level. Napster helped too as I discovered all these bootlegs and full concerts and that's really what did it for me. WACF and FW finally "clicked" for me, and I began to realize that the Hagar era wasn't very good. You have to understand that not having grown up with the DLR era, the draw of VH was simply Eddie to me. I didn't understand just how much DLR brought to the band, and how the Hagar years were just generic, boring fad music. It's the same way with other generic bands like Foreigner that I used to think were pretty good but later realized how lame they actually were. What's sad to me are the people older than me, and who even saw the real VH, and still dismiss DLR's talents. It's a shame. I hope the Links isn't representative of what most VH fans believe.

So anyway that's how it happened, I took to them completely on my own, well after their heyday. Also I have no older siblings and my dad wasn't really into VH, so thank God for the classic, radio-friendly songs that got me interested to explore them further. I tried getting into DLR solo (thanks to this website) but I'm sorry, those songs just don't do it for me other than DLR Band, which was the closest he ever got to sounding like VH without singing for VH. I'll never be a person that supports him no matter what (e.g. the ill-fated radio show). I know he has more interests than hard rock music but I don't share those interests. But classic Van Halen...I can't imagine my life without that music in it. There is no music that hits my soul harder.

[Nitro Express]

I thought Ace Frehley was a guitar god until I heard EVH. Then it was goodbye Ace. LOL! You have to remember I was young and disco and soft rock was ruling the airwaves. There wasn't much hard rock on the radio. You had Ted Nugent, KiSS and a few southern rock bands and they hardly got any air play. Then VH rolled in.

[JenniferM]

First heard Van Halen I on the school bus in early 1979. I was hooked immediately. I entered in a bike-a-thon thing to raise money for downs syndrome and if you got over $35 in sponsors, you got a free album at Caldors. Of course, I grabbed VH I! I had it bad after listening to it all the way through. I bought II, WACF, and FW when they came out with my allowance money. My Dad got re-married in 1981 and I ended up having to share my room with a step-sister I HATED. We were also living with my grandparents at the time, and my grandpa was a hardcore alcoholic who would come home and verbally abuse everyone. If it weren't for a record player, headphones, and Van Halen posters all over my half of the room, I wouldn't have made it through this period of my life without serious mental issues. I don't say this lightly, either. I spent a lot of hours with the headphones on trying to block out my life. Van Halen was one of the best things to happen to me. I could slip on those headphones and let the riffs and lyrics take me away!! So, I guess my love of Van halen is a really personal thing. It truly saved me!

[mug]

My buddy found vh 1 at kmart in 1978. He said listen to this and WOW! I was fucking in love. Seen them live aug,79. And that was it. Every tour since.

[Catfish]

Tough poll. I'm a DLR fan first and a VH fan second.

Regardless, it's tough to forge a lifelong 'worship' of anything that included Sammy Haggar for so many years.

[Catfish]

Though I always enjoyed VH as a small child, my love of VH really started with DLR in 1986. I couldn't get enough of the Yankee Rose video on MTV. We gathered around the TV every afternoon for the Top 5 at 3 that summer to see it, and those chicks' boobs hanging out. So, I guess my worship of VH began, technically, during the Sammy Years, LOL.

[Sensible Shoes]

So when did you cross over into an obsessive DLR/VH fan?

I don't know what you mean. Obsessive fan?

[Yount]

I don't know what you mean. Obsessive fan?

You know, go through the garbage, binoculars in tinted cars, accidentally bumping into him at the corner store dropping a folder with lyrics you have written.

[Sensible Shoes]

There are no obsessive fans here. :biggrin:

[fifth element]

I remember listen to Van Halen I with my older brother 1978/79.
I can remember listening to themin those years, as well, but it took a friend (you know who you are) to come along and show me how TRULY stupendous the music of VH is.

[katina]

So, I guess my love of Van halen is a really personal thing. It truly saved me!
You were very wise.:band:

[TwoFoolsAMinute]

I bought 1984 sometime between Crazy From The Heat and Eat Em and Smile after I heard it at a party. It was love at first listen. that was pretty much the moment I went from listening to Jr. High pop to grown up rock. By the time EEAS came out, I had four VH tapes and bought EEAS without having heard anything from it. So that pretty much makes it during the Samm years, but I will not click on that button.

[ashstralia]

as yount knows, the only cvh we ever saw on oz tv in the eighties was panama, jump, and boom! all over. the hagar shite.

but late one night mtv played goin crazy- i was like 'yeah; that's the stuff'. so although i already owned the 6 pack in 86, then i was a rothfan.

soundtrack to my youth? yep!

ps- great to see you lou!

[SNIPER]

I have the Yankee Rose 45 still. Anybody else?

[ashstralia]

nah sniper; got eeas and skyscraper original lp's though

[SNIPER]

I wish I kept my LP's ..I had those too back in the day.

[gbranton]

I wish I kept my LP's ..I had those too back in the day.

I still have all the LPs, including my copy of "Women and Children First" with the DLR poster inside. I have been thinking of having that Helmut Newton shot framed.

I have a few odd books as well. Maybe I will get around to posting a couple of pics one day.

[SilvioDante]

I remember a friend of mine playing Women and Children First for me around '82. Intrigued enough to get Diver Down. Right about that time my uncle was getting rid of all his 8-tracks (yes, I said 8-tracks) and gave me VH2. It was all over after that. Being a guitar player all I thought was "I wanna do THAT! I wanna play THAT!"

Of course I never did...

[vh rides again]

34 years ago I rode an inner tube across the Mississippi river from moline Illinois to credit island in davenport Iowa .
I was with 3 friends and we all snuck onto the island and hid in the woods over night and then walked into the concert untouched.

I didn't even know who vanhalen was and a lot of people there didn't .

I still remember how in awe everyone was over Eddie vanhalen, he ripped everyone a new asshole that day.

I got the worst sunburn of my life that day.

It was called the credit island jam.

I watched David lee Roth bend over backwards till his hair touched the stage

Ever since then, no other band mattered .

Those were the days.


Roth And Roll

[Yount]

So that pretty much makes it during the Samm years, but I will not click on that button.

Why not? This is not a poll to shame people. I just wanna know the time period people got into Van Halen music. I think you should feel extra proud of yourself for getting into VH during the Sammy years because you would have been going against "popular opinion."
Good to see one for the club days!

[JenniferM]

I had that poster tacked to the ceiling above my bed as a teenager. I had over 250 posters and pictures that covered my entire wall space and ceiling. Then, they were put in storage when I moved to Tennessee back in '87 and the roof leaked and ruined every one of them. I cried for days.......






I still have all the LPs, including my copy of "Women and Children First" with the DLR poster inside. I have been thinking of having that Helmut Newton shot framed.

I have a few odd books as well. Maybe I will get around to posting a couple of pics one day.

[JenniferM]

Funny how music can impact your life so damn much!
Kids don't have that anymore...too much crap out there. No really big up-and-coming "rock stars" anymore. It's kind of sad that there is nobody relevant enough to impact the lives of people like back then.




You were very wise.:band:

[katina]

Funny how music can impact your life so damn much!

Totally agree.:)

[TwoFoolsAMinute]

Why not? This is not a poll to shame people. I just wanna know the time period people got into Van Halen music. I think you should feel extra proud of yourself for getting into VH during the Sammy years because you would have been going against "popular opinion."
Good to see one for the club days!
Ok...I clicked the samm years...I just don't want that to imply that I liked the Hagar albums...because although they had some moments, they were a far inferior product. I guess it actually happened in 1985, so it really falls in between. I remember I was into VH before hearing the first single from 5150. I copletely dismissed the new VH until I was told it was Sammy Hagar at the helm. I had liked Hagar's solo stuff okay. So, I gave it a chance. I admit listening to 5150 quite a bit, but it didn't stand up to the earlier stuff. OU812 went down like a turd sandwich, though. I never gave two shits for anything after that except for I kinda started to dig "Don't Tell Me What Love Can Do", but not enough to buy the record or see the show. One of my best friends was and is a lover of the sam era and does not like DLR (but likes the old albums..just not DLR as a person) So, I had a LOT of exposure to VHagar and opportunity to see them live. I just couldn't do it. It's not that VHagar was horrible, or that I didn't want to see Edward. It's that it was such a waste that the perfect rock band had turned into a mediocre rock band and it could still be the perfect rock band. If Dave had died or something, it might be a different story, but I just could not pay for an inferior product.

So, when EEAS came out, it was another perfect band...although time has found it a little hit and miss. Then I saw DLR host Friday Night Videos and that was it. He was brilliant, philosophical, comic, and the perfect rock star. I've really never been disappointed in anything DLR has done except his strained vocals on DLR Band and the strange direction of Diamond Dave. I could still appreciate most of the Diamond Dave album. DLR Band was a harder sell. Musically it was amazing, but DLR was embarassing. But, A Different Kind of Truth really helped me appreciate what Dave was doing on the DLR Band album. ADKOT made DLR Band better. Those two albums compliment each other very well. I love that DLR's solo career was all over the place. The same people who complain that every AC/DC song sounds the same dismiss DLR because he is such a genre bender. There's DLR for every mood. (there's Van Hagar for every mood too as long as the only moods you have are crying like a girl, food sex, or...well that's it.) He's an amazing lyricist that has only gotten better over time. CVH is the pinnacle of what rock music can be in the studio. Live, I think Van Halen leaves a little to be desired. I'm spoiled by the internet, but I've heard so many bands who can improvise and turn on a dime to give the audience something special. VH does what it does very well,but there are very few surprises and DLR seems to have cut out a lot of the audience interaction that made him great. But, I have to say VH in 2012 certainly does not disappoint. I couldn't be happier that there's a new album and that it truly is good. The worship goes on.

[chefcraig]

I have the Yankee Rose 45 still. Anybody else?

Yep, along with the picture sleeve it came in. Pretty sure I have the one for "Jump" as well, but sadly, not the "Panama" one.

EDIT: Hell, I just checked on Ebay, and I didn't even know there was on for "I'll Wait." Some CVH fan I am. :doh:

EBAY DDL SINGLE (http://www.ebay.com/itm/VAN-HALEN-PANAMA-DROP-DEAD-LEGS-7-45-PICTURE-SLEEVE-/200703591377)

[JenniferM]

8726

Try not to laugh too hard everyone. This was me in 1984 (I was 16). My collection was about half complete at this time. Diggin' the flannel shirt, right? Double click on the photo.




I had that poster tacked to the ceiling above my bed as a teenager. I had over 250 posters and pictures that covered my entire wall space and ceiling. Then, they were put in storage when I moved to Tennessee back in '87 and the roof leaked and ruined every one of them. I cried for days.......

[vh rides again]

8726

Try not to laugh too hard everyone. This was me in 1984 (I was 16). My collection was about half complete at this time. Diggin' the flannel shirt, right? Double click on the photo.

Good picture :)


Roth And Roll

[JenniferM]

You know it!



Good picture :)


Roth And Roll

[katina]

8726

Try not to laugh too hard everyone. This was me in 1984 (I was 16). My collection was about half complete at this time. Diggin' the flannel shirt, right? Double click on the photo.

:thumb: Thank you for sharing.

[JenniferM]

:winkglasses:If I couldn't share it here with you freaks, where else could I?



:thumb: Thank you for sharing.

[Hardrock69]

Damn Jenn, you had quite the collection there! Did you make it to the Nashville show? Or you live closet to Memphis or Knoxville?

[DONNIEP]

For me, it had to be about 1980. I was 10 and I remember hearing Van Halen on AM 61 Big Ways here in Charlotte. Don't remember the song at this point but that was my station - back when AM still ruled. And I went over to my next-door-neighbor's house and asked my buddy Tony if he knew who Van Halen was. Tony's brother Kevin had the ultimate rock record collection and we would listen to Kevin's records every day 'cause the motherfucker was never at home - and that was cool as long as we put them back. So we go to the V's in his collection and pull out the first Van Halen record and put it on the stereo and holy fucking shit!!! I remember being blown the fuck away by the whole record...I found my calling. And from that point on everybody I knew absolutely knew that I was a Van Halen fan!!! And still to this day, even if you've never met me, all you gotta do is get behind me in traffic and see that big goddamn VH logo on the back of my SUV and you know...Van Fuckin' Halen bitches!!!!! :gulp:

[sadsy]

Was late '78 and my brother's friend used to sneak a cassette recorder into every show he went to. After their support slot on the Sabbath tour they came back and did a headliner at the Rainbow in London and he'd managed to record it and if I remember he'd tagged a London radio station ad on the front of the show , sounded like a movie ad with one of those extreme deep-voiced guys advertising the VH show saying something like "It won't be no boy scouts garden party ! ". Then heard some of the show although the sound quality wasn't great. Then bought VH1 and was hooked from there , collected as many live tapes as I could and still have a great collection of early singles i.e. demo's and Japanese picture sleeve singles. Still have my original "Dance The Night Away" picture disc single. Then I saw them at the Rainbow in '79 !

[JenniferM]

Actually, I live about 30 miles northeast of Chattanooga. Went to the Atlanta show and headin' to the Knoxville show!!





Damn Jenn, you had quite the collection there! Did you make it to the Nashville show? Or you live closet to Memphis or Knoxville?

[Hardrock69]

Cool!

My worship started Sept. 29, 1978 when I saw them open for Black Sabbath in Seattle.

Interesting....the new poster advertising Black Sabbath's upcoming gig at O2 Arena in Birmingham is the same design as that tour, Never Say Die:

http://i49.tinypic.com/141qlw4.jpg

[Floridaman1985]

I got into VH when I was 14 (late 1999). My mom told me a story of requesting Jump on the radio the day I was born and that compelled me to purchase the original "Best of" disk and 1984 a few weeks later. Needless to say, I was hooked on VH. I became a true DLR fan after reading his book during the summer of 2000.

[Angel]

Damn, some of you make me feel old. In 1999, my son was 15...

[Yount]

I got into VH when I was 14 (late 1999). My mom told me a story of requesting Jump on the radio the day I was born and that compelled me to purchase the original "Best of" disk and 1984 a few weeks later. Needless to say, I was hooked on VH. I became a true DLR fan after reading his book during the summer of 2000.

Hey man that's pretty similar to myself. Reading that book in the winter of 2000, it was simply amazing stuff. I stumbled upon it in a bookstore, amidst the boring and cliched covers and quotes shone this blue and yellow masterpiece.
"At a time when so-called 'idols' can only muster a few unintelligible words... Crazy From The Heat leaves you lamenting a time when star meant 'stellar.' "

[Sweet Irony]

8726

Try not to laugh too hard everyone. This was me in 1984 (I was 16). My collection was about half complete at this time. Diggin' the flannel shirt, right? Double click on the photo.

Now THAT is impressive!! Love it!

[Zing!]

8726

Try not to laugh too hard everyone. This was me in 1984 (I was 16). My collection was about half complete at this time. Diggin' the flannel shirt, right? Double click on the photo.

You need to post that pic in the VH/DLR Grab bag thread!

[NIN1211]

You need to post that pic in the VH/DLR Grab bag thread!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6NZk2J_lA0&feature=related

11 years old and hearing this...

[JenniferM]

I wasn't obsessed or nuffin'........



Now THAT is impressive!! Love it!

[JenniferM]

Okie dokie!



You need to post that pic in the VH/DLR Grab bag thread!

[PSYCHOVHFAN]

I first heard them in 1978, Eddie's playing knocked me out and Dave's screams were so beautifully primal. I was hooked. I hung in there when Dave left because of Eddie. I have always gotten center right seats to focus on Ed's playing, as far back as 1981 and did so again on Saturday night in Tacoma. I was floor 1, row 3, seat 12 and the show was stellar. The pace was spot on with Dave in excellent form, plenty of interaction with the crowd and he moved well. Edward was as good as I have ever seen him, maybe better than ever. And how cool is it that he is clean.

[Coyote]

So when did you cross over into an obsessive DLR/VH fan?

1996.
A bright-eyed 13 year old Coyote was hanging out at his sisters apartment, going through her then-boyfriends record collection (vinyls), armed with a 90-minute blank cassette.
Coming across an album with a smoking baby on the cover, I asked the guy "Who's this? Is it good?" to which he answered "I think you'll like that".
And he was right. After a while that blank tape was 1/3 full.
Also saw the HFT video around that time.

Going through the records again, came across another interesting looking album, this time it had a Technicolor jungle dude on the cover.
Same questions, same answer. And the tape was 2/3 full. (The rest of it was filled with Ratt and other various hard rock)

Later on, I had them all on CD's. Even the Van Hagar-crap AND that one with Cherone, but I was young and hungry for knowledge...
Missed out on the VHIII Helsinki gig in '98, though.

[vanshipman]

I go back to the very beginning. When VH I came out I was flabbergasted, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. Eruption just stunned me and then the rest of the album just won me over. From then on life was simply waiting for the next VH record. And now with the new album and tour it's good to have them back.