How far back does your worship go?

[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.

[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.