From REUTERS

Van Halen singer back in band after 20 years

By Dean Goodman

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - After more than 20 years of bitter feuding, the principal founding members of Van Halen hugged each other on Monday during a news conference to announce a rebirth of one of America's premier rock bands.

Flamboyant singer David Lee Roth, 52, has returned to the fold for a 25-date North American arena trek that will kick off on September 27 in Charlotte, North Carolina. International dates and a new album are also in the planning stages.

Roth quit the band in 1985 for a disappointing solo career, and he spent the subsequent years sniping at his old bandmates and their replacement singer Sammy Hagar.

But as excited reporters cheered them on, the garrulous "Diamond Dave" embraced his old antagonist, guitarist Eddie Van Halen, during the gathering at the Four Seasons Hotel.

"My new brother," said Van Halen, also 52, as his 54-year-old brother, drummer Alex Van Halen looked on.

It is indeed a family affair, with Eddie's 16-year-old son, Wolfgang, replacing Michael Anthony on bass, to the chagrin of some fans hoping for a reunion of the classic lineup famed for such hits as "Runnin' With the Devil," "And the Cradle Will Rock" and "Panama."

Asked about Anthony's absence, Roth said: "This is not a reunion. This is a new band. ... Usually when a band comes back like us it's rockers with walkers, and this is everything but. Meet us in the future, not the past."

NEW ALBUM

Roth said Van Halen was "plotting and planning" a new album, his first with the band since 1983's blockbuster "1984."

"Saving the world is (U2 singer) Bono's job. We just want to save a hundred cities," Roth said. "Then we want to save Europe, then we want to save Japan, Australia and ... Hong Kong. Then we make an album. Lots of big dreams here, lots of ambition."

Added Eddie Van Halen: "We are a band and we're gonna continue."

The band has been on the rocks since 1996, when Hagar acrimoniously left. That year, Roth reunited with his old bandmates to record two songs for a hits album, and to present an award at the MTV Video Music Awards. He had assumed this would lead to a full-blown reunion, but later claimed he had been duped by Eddie Van Halen.

The band, instead, cast its lot with a new singer, Gary Cherone, the former vocalist with soft-rock band Extreme. His one album with the band, 1998's "Van Halen III" was a flop, and he left the following year.

The Van Halen soap opera entered a bizarre phase in 2002, when Roth and Hagar launched a co-headlining tour, despite Roth's description of his replacement as a "mediocre talent." Also that year, Eddie van Halen underwent cancer treatment, and the band was dropped by its longtime label, Warner Bros.

In 2004, Hagar and his old bandmates embarked on an unhappy reunion tour, with Anthony and Hagar claiming that Eddie Van Halen had alcohol problems. The guitarist, a recovering alcoholic, entered rehab earlier this year.

Observers are hoping for better things this time around.

"The real question is whether Eddie and Dave can peacefully co-exist," said Matt Blackett, associate editor at Guitar Player magazine. "For the sake of their die-hard fans let's hope so, because it was that pairing that created the band's most groundbreaking music. Eddie never played better than when he was with Dave."

+ + +

Been waiting for this since High School.

I bet fayner never thought he'd live to see this day.

Quote:

---

The Van Halen soap opera entered a bizarre phase in 2002, when Roth and Hagar launched a co-headlining tour, despite Roth's description of his replacement as a "mediocre talent." Also that year, Eddie van Halen underwent cancer treatment, and the band was dropped by its longtime label, Warner Bros.

---

Being way too young to see VH back in the day, I did see Diamond Dave and Sammy on this tour and Michael Anthony played with Sammy during his set. I figured it would be the closest I'd ever get to seeing VH at once.

Bizarre they'd STILL have fucking WOLFGANG fill in for him as that's just absolutely lame. THE KID IS 16, can he legally even play some of these venues? I'll see how much ticket prices are before I commit to seeing them, or if the reunion tour implodes al a GnR circa 2002.

The closest announced venue to me is Charlotte, which is the first show. I'll have to pass.

I listened to plenty of their music on the beach, on 8-tracks thru ridiculous car stereos played with "Realistic" brand power boosters and "Blaupunkt" amps. I'd rather not fuck with the memories.

Who cares. Van Halen died after 1984. Van Hagar was ok, but without Anthony, its not going to be the same.

By the way, nothing, and I mean nothing chills a tit to the proper serving temperature better than a wet bikini top.

I was a solid VH devotee and saw them on the FUCK Tour in '91, I think. This is all a longshot, I love Eddie, fucking Love the man, but he is so badly hamstrung by chemical demons I figure his skills must have eroded. Dave's were clearly worn out by the early '90's.
Monstar said Eddie sounded good at that party awhile back, but I just don't see this thing working out for any of a number of reasons. Wolfgang? Get the fuck outta here.

Micheal Anthony is gonna sit home, drink a bottle of Jack every night and laugh at the carnage.

Van Halen sucks live. I saw them in 83 at the US festival and they blew chunks.