Van Halen Lip Sync "Mean Street" Italian TV

[ALMOSTsaved]

Saw this over at the News Desk. Cool shit.

[DLR Bridge]

And yet another bizarrely shot video that, for the most part, excludes visual of the bands guitarist of notoriety during the solo. Anyone know what the drug of choice was in early 80's Europe? Still, great to see.

[katina]

Bravo Dave !!!

[private parts]

That was a precursor to the "Jump" video.

[TJMKID]

Excellent quality --- most likely from the U-Matic videotape technology used for TV studio recordings in 1980-81.

Just imagine how good the 16mm master film reels from the 3 nights at '81 Oakland probably look compared to this ?!?

Release the fucking footage, EVH, you creepy hoarder!

[VHscraps]

Hey, great stuff.

I only wish me and my amateur guitar wannabee pals had seen that at the time. We used to sit around wondering just what the hell was going on at the start of Mean Street. Think this is the only clip I've seen of it being 'performed'.

I also find it odd that the band did a bunch of these TV things in Europe for Fair Warning, but never any actual tour dates ...

[TJMKID]

I also find it odd that the band did a bunch of these TV things in Europe for Fair Warning, but never any actual tour dates

I never understood that myself. TV appearances were only done to push album sales, apparently.

1980 Invasion Tour was well-received in Europe, but the band skips Europe altogether in '81, '82, and only does a handful of dates in late '84.

Was their Euro market already drying up by 1981?

[VHscraps]

I never understood that myself. TV appearances were only done to push album sales, apparently.

1980 Invasion Tour was well-received in Europe, but the band skips Europe altogether in '81, '82, and only does a handful of dates in late '84.

Was their Euro market already drying up by 1981?

Maybe they had given up on it? It's odd, given the revival of hard rock at the time in the UK especially.

Could be that they just toured so long in the US there was no room for anything else - by 1982 look at the Hide Your Sheep tour. It's a long, long tour, but only gets out of the US for a few dates in South America in early '83. I think they toured seven months solid in the US.

[TJMKID]

Maybe they had given up on it? It's odd, given the revival of hard rock at the time in the UK especially.

Could be that they just toured so long in the US there was no room for anything else - by 1982 look at the Hide Your Sheep tour. It's a long, long tour, but only gets out of the US for a few dates in South America in early '83. I think they toured seven months solid in the US.

Definitely strange --- considering that other hard rock bands like Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Whitesnake, AC/DC were enjoying rising popularity in UK and Europe in the early 80's.

I agree with you that exhaustion was the culprit for skipping UK and Europe from '81 to '84. 1984 was peculiar because the band reached worldwide fame with that monster album and they could've easily sold out venues in UK and Europe but they were already selling out multiple nights in cities across America and they were probably burnt toast by the time they made it to the Castle Donington festival in mid-Aug. '84.

If band tensions weren't at a breaking point --- I bet they would've taken a short vacation and then ferociously toured UK/Europe for 2-3 months to support the 1984 album. Hard to pass up those big piles of cash.

[loucap81]

Definitely strange --- considering that other hard rock bands like Def Leppard, Judas Priest, Whitesnake, AC/DC were enjoying rising popularity in UK and Europe in the early 80's.

And what do they all have in common--none of them are USA bands.

How many USA bands have ever had a strong, dependable European base? I'm not asking rhetorically, I really can't think of many besides Metallica, one of the few truly global USA bands there ever was.

Does Aerosmith do well in Europe?

[VHscraps]

And what do they all have in common--none of them are USA bands.

How many USA bands have ever had a strong, dependable European base? I'm not asking rhetorically, I really can't think of many besides Metallica, one of the few truly global USA bands there ever was.

Does Aerosmith do well in Europe?

Aerosmith didn't sell squat in the UK until they reformed with Joe Perry in the 80s. All my friends were metalheads / rock fans of one sort or another, and Aerosmith were virtual unknowns to them - really. Only people like me, who bought US magazines like Creem and Circus, knew they were a big deal and went out and bought their albums.

Van Halen have done moderately okay in the UK, considering that they barely had a presence here. If you look at the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) certifications they have more awards than bands like Judas Priest, and maybe a few other US bands of that time who spent more time touring the UK (e.g., KISS).

Even DLR as a solo act outstrips KISS and Priest in the UK.

[VHscraps]

And what do they all have in common--none of them are USA bands.

How many USA bands have ever had a strong, dependable European base? I'm not asking rhetorically, I really can't think of many besides Metallica, one of the few truly global USA bands there ever was.

That's a good question Lou. Even in terms of mainstream rock, when I was a teenager in the late 70s nobody blinked an eye at Springsteen in the UK, but after Born in the USA he became huge, and carried his back catalogue over into that new audience.

Look up who you think are the top US bands on the BPI certifications - these are the UK equivalent of the RIAA. You'll be surprised what you find:

http://www.bpi.co.uk/certifiedawards/search.aspx/

[TJMKID]

And what do they all have in common--none of them are USA bands.

How many USA bands have ever had a strong, dependable European base? I'm not asking rhetorically, I really can't think of many besides Metallica, one of the few truly global USA bands there ever was.

Well there is Bon Jovi --- although I'm scratching my head over how they got so popular in Europe.

I've never seen the official attendance numbers for the '80 Invasion Tour Euro dates, but I assume they were good.

Just strikes me as odd that a young & hungry band like VH would pass on UK/Europe at the height of their popularity to focus solely on North America (and a small foray into South America).

Perhaps the promoters in Europe weren't offering enough cash back then?

[VHscraps]

Bon Jovi ... yeah, they've sold a lot of records in the UK. A lot of albums platinum and several times platinum.

But, still not huge HUGE in the UK - look at Oasis. Albums selling 17x platinum etc.

[TJMKID]

Bon Jovi ... yeah, they've sold a lot of records in the UK. A lot of albums platinum and several times platinum.

But, still not huge HUGE in the UK - look at Oasis. Albums selling 17x platinum etc.

I've always wondered how music can do well across language barriers. Can people really love the music only and easily ignore the lyrics?

Personally, I never bought a foreign-language music CD. If I can't get into the lyrics, I lose interest fast. Although I will admit to somewhat liking those "Rock Me Amadeus" and "99 Luft Balloons" songs when I was a kid -- heavy rotation on MTV and Top 40 radio back in the day. I guess German sounds cool when put to music.

I know a lot of European countries teach English in schools so kids become rather fluent by the time they graduate. I don't think this is the case in Japan or China. However, American acts still become very popular in Asian countries. Do they spend a lot of time translating the lyrics, or do they not really care?