Van Halen
If you ever wanted a quick reference to where your favorite hair metal band got their start, check out this Hair Metal History Map put together by Phil D.
Phil writes… “I spent dozens of hours putting it together and now, I’m trying to share it with those who would appreciate it! It is a work in progress and I would love any suggestions or input!”
Band choices were made based on the look, subject matter, attitude, lifestyle, time period, influence, affiliated bands, radio/TV play, and Phil’s memory.
Click on any band photo to see where they are from. You can also click the ‘Timeline’ tab that will show the hair metal movement origins in 1977 and where it grew across the U.S. and Europe through 1994.
Thanks for the great work Phil!
Launching a new month and Spring Break for me starts now, but the 80’s metal rolls on 24/7 on METAL SHOP.
Here’s a 2-minute readup on this mostly Fool-free Friday, April 1st.
There is nothing to contradict the earlier reports of Axl Rose guest singing for AC/DC on the remaining 10 scheduled tour dates, so we are accepting it as fact. This article lays out the evidence quite nicely.
For Axl’s other band, all signs point to a sneak-peek GUNS N’ ROSES warm-up show tonight at a Los Angeles club. The exact location is also unconfirmed, though several sources point to the Troubadour. This will be the first time Axl appears on stage with both Slash and Duff McKagan since 1993.
History tells us David Lee Roth quit VAN HALEN on April 1, 1985, but history is wrong. Roth left the band in 1985 and the idea of him springing this news on April Fools’ Day makes for a great story, but the truth is Eddie delivered the bad news in the pages of Rolling Stone in August, “The band as you know it is over,” he said. “Dave left to be a movie star. He even had the balls to ask if I’d write the score for him.” Eddie then made clear that he’d moved on. “I’m looking for a new lead singer … it’s weird that it’s over. Twelve years of my life putting up with his bulls–.”
AC/DC Guitarist Angus Young celebrated his 61st birthday yesterday (3/31). Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach turns 48 on Sunday (4/3).
Of course it’s “All Fools’ Day,” an Elizabethan smart-mouthed play on “All Saints’ Day” and if you’re a fool for classic metal, you may have bought this headline today, ‘Metallica to stage Master Of Puppets… on ice!’ courtesy of teamrock.com… hopefully only for a second. This April Fool’s prank was definitely better the headline posted on Loudwire ‘James Hetfield Quits Metallica to Join the Yeah Yeah Yeahs’
That’s a wrap. Updates during my Spring Vacation will have to come between beers, but rest assured, I’m on top of it 🙂 Upon my return, the IRON MAIDEN tour will be in my neighborhood… can’t wait! In the meantime, I’m enjoying this great footage from Wednesday night’s New York City stop – Click Here
Rock on kids!
Welcome to WTF Thursday. Rumors persist that Axl Rose will perform with AC/DC as a guest vocalist for their 10 remaining shows, but this sounds like a done deal with Malcolm Young’s son claiming ‘It’s True.’ Another source says Brian Johnson was “supposed to retire after the last tour.” Official word should be coming any day or minute now.
40 years ago this summer, KISS’ Gene Simmons discovered VAN HALEN and recorded several demos with them, including Eddie and Alex playing KISS’ “Christine Sixteen.” Those recordings have never seen the light of day. Simmons says “It’s a lot of cool stuff, but the band just doesn’t want it to come out — you know, the back and forth with [David Lee] Roth complicated matters.” While there is no official release, you can hear the demos online at this location – http://www.vhnd.com/2016/03/22/gene-simmons-talks-lost-seventies-van-halen-demos/
METALLICA’s “Master Of Puppets” is among the albums that have been selected for induction into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry, which annually selects 25 recordings that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” and are at least 10 years old. The selections for the 2015 registry bring the total number of recordings on the registry to 450, only a minuscule portion of the Library’s vast recorded-sound collection of more than 3 million items.
On considering the possible end of IRON MAIDEN when Bruce Dickinson was diagnosed with cancer, bassist Steve Harris said “At this stage of our career, I really don’t think we would have looked to another singer. We didn’t even consider it. There’s no point. We can’t really replace Bruce anyway, so we wouldn’t try at this stage in our career. I don’t think so. But, thank God we didn’t need to and he’s fine.” Harris went on to say “If Maiden ended tomorrow, it’s been amazing and I can live with that.”
This sounds like an Onion article, but this headline was seen on a metal website yesterday – “MÖTLEY CRÜE Reunites As ‘Motley Crew’ To Avoid Retirement Contract”
Today in 1979, MOTÖRHEAD paved the way for thrash with their second album ‘Overkill’
Happy Birthday to Exodus singer Steve Souza. He turns 52 today.
The 80’s metal runs loud and proud on METAL SHOP 24/7. Thanks for listening!
‘How’s the lad?’ and welcome to the wearing-o’-something-green edition of ‘How’s it going there’ in 80’s metal.
It’s St. Patrick’s Day, so below is a video performance of ‘Whiskey In The Jar’. THIN LIZZY’s version came out in 1972 and METALLICA’s cover of Thin Lizzy’s version was released in 1998. Since neither came out in the 80’s, I flipped a coin and Thin Lizzy won, so “whack for my daddy-o, there’s whiskey in the jar-o” to light up your day.
Seems everyday there is something new in the AC/DC guest singer saga. Now comes word that vocalist, Rob Liotti, who was chosen by filmmakers to portray the late Bon Scott in a biopic, has apparently had contact with the band about replacing lead singer, Brian Johnson. Liotti says “yes, I will confirm that I have had contact with the band – both directly and through third parties close to the AC/DC camp, but that’s really all I can say.”
Last week, former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist KK Downing said he would only consider a return to Priest if they embarked on a “greatest metal tour” with other giants of the genre, IRON MAIDEN and BLACK SABBATH sharing the bill. Well, Priest frontman Rob Halford says he loves the idea, saying “I think that’s the dream of a lot of people, to imagine Maiden and Sabbath and Priest and Led Zeppelin. Can you imagine what that would be like at Wembley? Oh my God! It would just be mad. It would be like multiple nights. Forget about 50 shows that Michael Jackson didn’t do. It would be 100 shows at Wembley. So, yeah, it’s great to hear that there’s that passion still in KK’s voice for Priest.”
A petition has been launched to erect a statue of RONNIE JAMES DIO in his birthtown of Portsmouth, New York.
On this date in 1984, VAN HALEN’s ‘Jump’ peaked at No. 1 in the U.S. Over the years David Lee Roth has given various accounts of the meaning behind the lyrics, but most often says they are about a TV news story he saw where a man was about to kill himself by jumping off a building.
Happy Birthday to Bob Bohtelo listening to METAL SHOP in California.
That’s a wrap. Make a little time to party today or a lot 😉 and thanks for checking in here, made even better by your comments and updates! “Have a drink on me” Metal Dogs! And have a Sham-ROCKIN’ St. Patrick’s Day!
Hello 80’s metalheads, lurkers, and surfers! There is word again of a possible DOKKEN reunion, this time from former bassist, Jeff Pilson, who says “we’re actually working really hard to try and pull something together right now. It has to fall in spaces where there is time off [from my gig with Foreigner], so I don’t know for sure whether it’s gonna happen. So let’s just say we’re all friendly now, we’re all past all the decades-old crap, and we all talk and everything’s great. Now it really is just down to scheduling and trying to figure it out. Because, you know, you’ve gotta do it right, if you’re gonna do it. We all feel that way. Pilson continued; “We shared something very special together. I think we’re all at the point in life where we kind of appreciate it now. And if we ever get a chance to do some more with it, I think… It would be very interesting, because we’ve never been in a situation where there wasn’t animosity, so I don’t know. [Laughs] Maybe it won’t work. I don’t know. [Laughs]”
In case you missed it, Sammy Hagar (The Red Rocker) made some interesting claims in this Dan Rather interview clip released over the weekend, saying “I was really as big as VAN HALEN.” Click Here to watch the video.
Man, I love the rockumentaries coming out now on some of the 80’s metal and hard rocks bands and how they really capture the hunger of the early days. The QUIET RIOT one was really good and now TWISTED SISTER is out today. Check out a clip of ‘We Are Twisted F***ing Sister’ at this location – Click Here.
Happy Birthday to QUEENSRŸCHE Guitarist Michael Wilton. He turns 54 today. Did you know he is also known as ‘The Whip,’ for how fast his fingers “whip” around the guitar fretboard? After original Queensrÿche guitarist Chris DeGarmo left the band in 1998, Wilton gradually began performing most of the songs that previously featured DeGarmo doing the main solo live, including “Silent Lucidity”, “The Mission”, “En Force”, “I Am I”, “Take Hold of the Flame”, “Best I Can”, “The Killing Words”, “Bridge”, “The Lady Wore Black” and “Anybody Listening?”, amongst others.
Happy Birthday to Andres Moreno listening to METAL SHOP in Bogotá, Colombia and Jacob Kulhanek listening in Houston, Texas.
Have a terrific Tuesday and never stop rockin’!
Hope it was a good weekend for you. Maybe you live near Dallas, Texas and got to see MEGADETH kick off off their North American ‘Dystopia’ Tour on Saturday. They opened with “Hangar 18” and the encore was “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due.” Dave Mustaine recently said about the setlist that people say, “You gotta do this, you gotta do that. I ain’t gotta do nothing. And listening to the fans, what they like, and listening to what I like. Between the two of us, one of us is going to be right. And I know that when it comes down to playing stuff that makes me feel good, I like playing the heavy stuff.”
Maybe you live near Aberdeen, Washington and got to see METAL CHURCH play their first show with singer Mike Howe in more than 20 years on Friday. Howe fronted the band from 1988 until 1994, and is featured on the new album, “XI”, which will be released on March 25. Check out fan footage – Click Here
Great read on DOKKEN this weekend and how their MTV success and the approval of Freddy Krueger couldn’t stop the most fractious band of the 80s from tearing itself apart. Despite the success the band had, singer Don Dokken and guitarist George Lynch had never much liked each other. In 1988, Dokken played on the ‘Monsters of Rock’ tour with Van Halen, Scorpions, Metallica and Kingdom Come. Don Dokken says they had to follow Metallica and “didn’t stand a chance. After Metallica went out and played ‘Master Of Puppets,’ we sounded like the fucking Partridge Family.” (Free registration required for full article).
OZZY OSBOURNE released his fourth solo album, “The Ultimate Sin” 30 years ago today after finishing a stint in rehab at the Betty Ford Clinic the year before. Ozzy considers it his worst album, calling it “The Ultimate Din” and guitarist Jake E. Lee would be unceremoniously terminated the following year after the Ultimate Sin tour ended. Of course, the fans didn’t experience this record the way Ozzy and his band did. While not his best, it stands up on it’s own and sounds better with time.
In 1989, a category for Heavy Metal was included at the Grammy Awards for the first time. Metallica performed on stage, but the award went to Jethro Tull. Fans (and even some audience members) were rightly outraged, though Tull’s record label tried to make light of the faux pas by placing a Billboard ad that read, “The flute is a heavy, metal instrument.” When Metallica later won a Grammy for 1991’s Metallica, they thanked Jethro Tull for not release a competing album.
Have a fantastic Monday and thanks for listening to METAL SHOP.
We lost some hair along the way, gained a couple of pounds, got no retirement plans because we didn’t plan on living this long, but we can still rock hard and if you look at it sideways we can still kick your ass like it ain’t no thing, so let’s toast the weekend about to start.
Happy Birthday to BLACK SABBATH Guitarist Tony Iommi. He turns 68 today. Did you know Iommi briefly played in Jethro Tull? Yes, for one performance, before returning to his bandmates (Ozzy, Geezer and Ward), who were known as ‘Earth’ back then before changing their name to Black Sabbath. Sabbath’s “The End” tour stops in Detroit, Michigan tonight.
I just don’t think TWISTED SISTER’s Dee Snider can help himself. Right or wrong, he doesn’t beat around the bush, this time saying he doesn’t ‘get’ how ‘murderer’ Vince Neil ‘didn’t do any serious jail time’ when his drunk-driving car crash killed HANOI ROCKS drummer Razzle in 1984. Snider continued: “And people are cool with that. They’re like, ‘Yeah, all right! Rock ‘n’ roll!!’ And the guy didn’t do any serious jail time. I’m, like, ‘Really? Really? He’s a murderer.’ I don’t get that at all.”
Vivian Campbell was asked if he and Ronnie James DIO ever got to mend fences prior to the singer’s 2010 death. He responded: “No. I never got to talk to Ronnie again afterwards, unfortunately. Actually, we only talked to each other through the press, which is never, ever, ever a good idea. We were both guilty of saying really stupid and hurtful things. I’d like to think that we would have made up. I think if Ronnie and I had bumped into each other on the street, I think after a couple of minutes, we might have agreed to go to the pub for a pint and we could have probably worked things out.”
From one split-up to another, Sammy Hagar explained yesterday that he reached out to Eddie Van Halen on Twitter last month on Eddie’s birthday because of the recent deaths of David Bowie and Glenn Frey, saying “It just makes you stop and think that, you know, with my relationship with Eddie Van Halen and stuff that’s always been in the toilet, it makes you say, ‘I don’t want to be buried with any regrets or bad vibes like that.’ It makes you want to be just friends with everybody and say, ‘Hey, look, forget it.’ Even if you don’t want to be in a band together, just let’s be friends. No more enemies for me. You don’t want to go to your grave with enemies. So that’s what it’s done for me. It woke me up and said, ‘no more enemies.’ And before I die, I won’t have any, if I have my way.”
Speaking of Sammy Hagar, it was yesterday in 1977 when he was booed off the stage while opening for KISS. Hagar responded to the crowd with “F— you,” and then proceeded to drop his pants and pull out his wang before smashing his ’61 Stratocaster guitar to pieces and walking offstage. Check out the whole story – Click Here
On this date in 1980, AC/DC singer Bon Scott died after a night of heavy drinking. Left to sleep it off in a friend’s car, he was found dead in the car the next morning. The official coroner’s report labeled his demise as “death by misadventure” and “acute alcohol poisoning. He was 33 years old. R.I.P.
Today in 1982, Ozzy Osbourne was arrested in San Antonio, Texas for urinating on the Alamo. He was wearing a dress at the time of his arrest (his wife Sharon had hid all his clothes so he couldn’t go outside). Ozzy apparently thought he was relieving himself on a pile of rubble and was subsequently banned from ever playing in San Antonio, Texas again, (the ban was lifted in 1992).
On this date in 1992, GUNS N’ ROSES played the first of three nights at the Tokyo Dome in Tokyo, Japan as part of the ‘Use Your Illusion’ Tour and today in 1995, MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee married Baywatch actress Pamela Anderson, who was wearing a white bikini, on a beach in Cancun, Mexico. They married only four days after meeting and had videotaped their sexual activities while on vacation, which was later stolen and released on the Internet. The couple divorced in 1998.
Tomorrow (Feb. 20, 2003), marks 13 years since the Station Nightclub Fire in West Warwick, Rhode Island. GREAT WHITE was performing that night, where 99 people died in the fire sparked by pyrotechnics.
Former WHITESNAKE and DIO guitarist Doug Aldrich is celebrating a birthday today. He turns 52.
Happy Birthday to Jessica McNear listening to METAL SHOP in Tennessee and Siva Prasad listening in India.
Don’t forget METAL SHOP is on 24/7…. that means weekends too, so listen on the website, find us on TuneIn, or download the app to listen on your phone. Great thing to have. If you like more Hair in your metal, you can also check out our sister station HAIR BAND RADIO.
Here we go Monday Monday and Happy Birthday to former OZZY OSBOURNE and RATT Guitarist Jake E. Lee, who turns 59 today. Here is some wild 80’s metal history for you… Did you know Ronnie James Dio invited Lee to join his new solo band DIO in 1982 before Vivian Campbell got the job? Lee had accepted, though his time in Dio’s band was short-lived. According to drummer Vinny Appice, there were rehearsals with Lee and Dio and recordings of those rehearsals still exist. Lee claims to have written the main riff to “Don’t Talk to Strangers” (which would later appear on the Holy Diver album) and that Dio wanted him to play “simple block chords that wouldn’t trample on his vocals”.
When Ozzy sought a permanent replacement for the deceased Randy Rhoads, he came to Los Angeles to audition lead guitarists. Bassist Dana Strum, who had recommended Rhoads to Osbourne in 1979, this time recommended Lee for the job. Osbourne was torn between Lee and DOKKEN guitarist George Lynch. Though Osbourne is said to have initially chosen Lynch, he soon changed his mind and Lee became his full-time guitarist for the next five years.
LITA FORD is releasing a tell-all-book next week and opens up about her wild life on the ’80s music scene, including dalliances with Jon Bon Jovi, Eddie Van Halen and BLACK SABBATH guitar legend Tony Iommi. Her relationship with Iommi allegedly began with a failed attempt at sex as he was “too high” on cocaine. “He was impotent from his constant drug use, and he was very embarrassed. I felt bad for him and didn’t really know what to do. Eventually, I got him off.” Ford also alleges the relationship with Iommi was abusive. You can read more at this location – Click Here
Well, it’s time to put the fun back in funeral my friends and celebrate a bunch of dead presidents. Maybe you have the day off for President’s Day in the U.S. If you do, “Cheers!” If not, “Cheers!” to you too.
Welcome to a Wednesday Metal Rats.
Just one day after Alice Cooper weighed in on the GUNS N’ ROSES reunion wondering why founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin wasn’t a part of it, there is a rumor he will participate in a limited role. Cooper said yesterday, “I don’t know about drums, but certainly Izzy is viable. You’d think if Slash and Axl are working together — and Duff is one of those guys that gets along with everybody — then at least Izzy would be one of the guys who would be a shoo-in. And maybe he is, I don’t know.”
Blabbermouth is reporting that Izzy Stradlin will participate “for sure” in what has been described as a “limited” capacity. Stradlin seems like he will at least perform with the group at its two early April shows in Las Vegas. There was “still discussion” about original drummer Steven Adler participating in the reunion at some level, while the name of his replacement, Matt Sorum, did not come up in the conversation.
Happy Posthumous Birthday to METALLICA Bassist Cliff Burton. He would have been 54 today. In his teenage years, Burton had an interest in rock, classical and eventually heavy metal. He began playing the bass at age 13, after the death of his brother. His parents quoted him as saying, “I’m going to be the best bassist for my brother.” He practiced up to six hours per day (even after he joined Metallica). Cliff died in 1986. R.I.P.
On this date in 1978, VAN HALEN released their debut album. Eventually, it would become regarded by fans and critics as one of rock and roll’s greatest debut albums. However, its initial critical reception was mostly negative, with one music critic writing, “This music belongs on an aircraft carrier” and a Rolling Stone critic who predicted, “In three years, Van Halen is going to be fat and self-indulgent and disgusting … follow[ing] Deep Purple and Led Zeppelin right into the toilet. In the meantime, they are likely to be a big deal.”
In other Van Halen news, former singer Sammy Hagar was asked what he would do if the group called him to come back. He responded, “no comment,” but also said, “We’ll see what happens when it happens — if it happens.” Oh boy.
Today in 1978, JUDAS PRIEST released “Stained Class.” It gained notoriety for its dark lyrics and themes, as well as a 1990 civil action trial where the band were accused of backmasking that led to the suicide attempts of two teenagers.
Also on this date in 1987, DOKKEN released the single “Dream Warriors,” written by guitarist George Lynch and bassist Jeff Pilson for the movie “A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors.”
Finaly, the heavy metal community was virtually celebrating in the streets on Feb. 10, 1999, when it learned that British legends IRON MAIDEN would be welcoming fan-favored vocalist Bruce Dickinson back into the fold after a six-year absence, and guitarist Adrian Smith after a decade.
That was a good day indeed and it’s always a great day for 80’s metal and hard rock. Rock on brothers and sisters and thanks for listening to METAL SHOP!
Van Halen rocked Jimmy Kimmel Live in Hollywood, California on Monday, March 30, 2015 to promote their upcoming tour and live album ‘Tokyo Dome.’
After kicking off with Panama, about 2 minutes into the song, singer David Lee Roth smashed his nose with the microphone so hard I think it may have broke. Blood gushed out of his nose so much that he had to stop the show.
After getting cleaned up and a band aid on Roth’s nose, the show continued and Van Halen kicked ass through a set that included: ‘Ain;t Talkin Bout Love,’ ‘Unchained,’ and Eddie Van Halen shredding through ‘Eruption’ before launching into ‘You Really Got Me.’
Since this is a TV show for Jimmy Kimmel, no cameras are allowed but I was able to get some photos with my cell phone… Enjoy -Ralph
