David Lee Roth basically thinks there was Van Halen — and then. . . everything else. Metal Wani transcribed some of “Diamond Dave’s” recent chat on Las Vegas’ KKLZ, where he said, “Hair bands were the imitations of Van Halen. It is true. And spandex (was) what they came up with as something visual. I started off in leather with the same haircut that Bono and (Bruce) Springsteen and guys in Metallica had. It’s a famous haircut. If I had that haircut today, it’d have its own Instagram.”
He went on to explain, “Van Halen was a ’70s band — we started off in 1972, and our first two albums were in the ’70s. We sold our first 10 million records before the ’70s were over. We spawned a whole lot of imitators who resorted to gimmickry and trade crap. It’s easier to imitate a haircut and a kind of pants and to exhibit bad behavior as a way of. . . I’m probably on your station 14 times a day unless it’s Halloween or New Year’s.”
SIDE NOTES
- David Lee Roth canceled his entire Las Vegas residency, which was due to run through the end of January.
- The stand, which was to signal the Van Halen frontman’s live swansong, was set to play Las Vegas’ House of Blues on New Year’s Eve (December 31st), followed by 2022 performances on January 1st, 5th, 7th, 8th, 14th, 15th, 21st, and 22nd.
CHECK IT OUT: Van Halen on June 12th, 1981 performing “So This Is Love” live in Oakland, California: