Van Halen is an
American
hard rock
band formed in
Pasadena
,
California
in 1972. They enjoyed success from the release of their
self titled debut album
in 1978. As of 2007 Van Halen has sold more than 80 million albums worldwide.
The Van Halen brothers first started playing music together when Alex took up the guitar and Eddie the drums. However, after some time with this set up, the two switched places. In 1972 the Van Halen brothers formed a band called "Mammoth" which featured Eddie as lead vocalist/guitarist, Alex Van Halen on drums and Mark Stone on bass. They initially rented a sound system from
David Lee Roth
but decided to save money by letting him join as lead vocalist even though he had previously auditioned unsuccessfully for this. Mammoth discovered in 1974 that their name was already being used and changed the band's name to "Van Halen". They started playing backyard parties and on a flatbed truck at Hamilton Park, slowly building a following. Over the next 10 years, artistic and personal tensions among the musicians grew more and more heated until finally exploding. On April 1, 1985, Roth left Van Halen
Rumors of a David Lee Roth reunion emerged and on January 3, 2006. On September 8, 2006, Howard Stern's Eddie Van Halen live interview broke the band's long silence. Eddie said he was willing to reunite with Roth. News from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame slipped out on January 8, 2007, confirming that Van Halen (the Van Halen brothers, Michael Anthony, Sammy Hagar, and Roth) would be inducted. Billboard announced on January 24, 2007, that Van Halen would reunite with David Lee Roth for a US tour. This was confirmed shortly after on the official Van Halen website. With the band's
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
induction on March 12, 2007 and after years of speculation, Van Halen began a North American reunion
tour
with David Lee Roth in late 2007.
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