10 Van Halen Moments That Way Too Crazy For Rock n’ Roll

Originally from California, Van Halen quickly became one of the most well-known and significant rock bands of the late 20th century with their self-titled debut in 1978. They made heavy metal exciting and approachable by combining melodic shredding with pop tendencies. Their flawless songwriting and unmatched musicianship highlighted David Lee Roth’s captivating vocals, Eddie and Alex Van Halen’s creative guitar and percussion methods, and Michael Anthony’s harmonies and bass lines.

Songs like “Jump,” “Runnin’ with the Devil,” “Dance the Night Away,” and “Right Now,” among others, had a profound effect on history. But off-stage, their notorious feuds, personal scandals, and outrageous behavior solidified their status as rock’s most free-spirited band.

Eddie Van Halen brushes with death after the band’s breakthrough gig

The band Van Halen was founded in 1974 by brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen, who played live throughout Los Angeles for the next few years. When British hard rock band UFO asked them to open for a gig at the Golden West Ballroom in Norwalk, California, in 1976, it was a turning point. Although the performance went well, Eddie Van Halen’s night almost ended tragically.

A drug dealer gave Eddie what he thought was cocaine after their act. After a few minutes, he passed out and seemed to be having a seizure. After drummer Alex Van Halen hurried him to the hospital, it was discovered that Eddie had accidentally consumed the powerful psychedelic PCP. Doctors were able to save Eddie’s life by reviving him after his heart momentarily stopped beating. This near-fatal event turned into a terrifying beginning for one of the most illustrious bands in rock history.

Van Halen’s legendary hotel room destruction

Early in their career, Van Halen’s habit of destroying hotel rooms became a well-known aspect of their image as rock stars. The band wreaked havoc at the Madison Sheraton Hotel in Wisconsin during their first headline performance outside of California. They even taped fish to the ceilings, ruined furniture, and battled with fire extinguishers.

The band was in Scotland in 1978 when their first album became gold. They drank scotch and scribbled their emblem on hotel walls with shoe polish as a celebration. Singer David Lee Roth claims that local police ejected them from the property the following morning, claiming that a stolen pillow was the cause. The band’s wild image was reflected in their famous actions as much as in their music.

David Lee Roth led fans to break fire code rules

Eleven fans died in a stampede during The Who’s December 1979 performance at Cincinnati’s Riverfront Coliseum, one of the most tragic concert events ever. Authorities were on high alert to avoid another tragedy when Van Halen performed at the same location just months later. In the song “Light Up the Sky,” leader David Lee Roth yelled, “Light ’em up!” As the title implies. Some supporters took it literally, breaking the arena’s no-flame rule by lighting smokeables and sparking lighters.

Things immediately got out of hand. 100 guests were evicted by security, while 177 were taken into custody for narcotics possession. Roth was detained for allegedly inciting violations of the fire code. The incident solidified the night as a wild episode in Van Halen’s touring career, but Eddie was freed after paying a $5,000 bond.

David Lee Roth was too drunk to sing at the US Festival

Steve Wozniak, a co-founder of Apple, planned the US Festival in 1983 as a multi-day gathering to create a contemporary Woodstock. After months of exhausting traveling and heavy partying, Van Halen performed as the festival’s main act on “Heavy Metal Day,” which featured a different genre each day. Lead singer David Lee Roth was inebriated as he sat for an interview with MTV’s Mark Goodman before their performance. Goodman recounted in the book I Want My MTV that “he was drunk and coked up, laughing at every joke he made.”

Roth was obviously intoxicated, slurring words and losing lyrics when the band eventually took the stage after a three-hour delay. Roth was “practically falling down onstage,” according to Wozniak’s memoir iWoz: Computer Geek to Cult Icon, which made the performance memorable for all the wrong reasons.

Van Halen took revenge on their manager

If you’ve ever wondered what it could have been like to be a groupie in the 1970s, it might have been a close contact with a Van Halen member following a successful show. The band frequently pushed limits and was well-known for their outrageous behavior and passion for entertaining female fans. But one night in particular was caught on tape. The recording, which featured band members and fervent fans, was described as “graphic, X-rated, homemade pornography” in Unchained: The Eddie Van Halen Story.

Marshall Berle, their manager, eventually obtained the recording and played it for Warner Bros. executives. Documents. The band was incensed when they found out. Together with Noel Monk, another manager, the group broke into Berle’s office and took anything bearing Van Halen’s name, including apparel, RIAA gold discs, and memorabilia. It was a spectacular act of retaliation against a person they believed had violated their confidence.

Van Halen took over a radio station

Van Halen visited Seattle as part of their unrelenting traveling schedule in the 1980s when their celebrity was at its peak. They stopped by KISW, a rock radio station that frequently aired their songs, while they were there. They brought with them a big celebration, complete with exotic dancers, a cake, bottles of champagne, and a sizable stash of narcotics, all in a typical Van Halen manner. KISW DJ Beau Phillips recalls, “It was just an entourage of people following them in.” “Suddenly, clothes were flying off, women were grinding, and the music got louder.”

For three hours, the band occupied the studio and transformed the radio station into their party headquarters. Phillips was concerned that the FCC may step in as David Lee Roth became increasingly offensive while speaking with listeners over the phone. Cake, meanwhile, was all over the floor, adding to the confusion. It was Van Halen’s takeover of a broadcast.

Van Halen kept two fans drunk for an entire weekend

An MTV contest in 1984 offered a “Lost Weekend with Van Halen” as the reward. Kurt Jefferis, 20, and his friend Tom Winnick, 19, who won, received more than they had anticipated. After being transported to Detroit, the two stayed at the Hotel Pontchartrain, which was filled with adult material and Van Halen memorabilia. After that, the two went to the band’s Cobo Arena dressing rooms, where they met Eddie Van Halen and had drinks from Valerie Bertinelli, his wife. Jefferis was dragged onstage for a cake dunk, champagne sprays, and whiskey shots after enjoying the show from excellent seats. The real celebration, complete with steaks, lobster, copious amounts of wine, marijuana, and cocaine, started backstage. Even though day two was slowed down by David Lee Roth’s illness, the men still had a great time until the weekend ended with a food fight.

Van Halen fought backstage at the MTV Video Music Awards

Van Halen made an unexpected appearance at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. However, it was founding frontman David Lee Roth rather than Sammy Hagar, the band’s longtime lead singer who was on stage. When Hagar refused to record new songs for the Twister soundtrack, Roth filled in for a while. Roth abruptly took over as the band’s spokesperson during the performance, deviating from the script and upsetting Eddie Van Halen. Roth made the audacious decision to remove Michael Anthony from the microphone so he could make spontaneous jokes, including one that poked fun at MTV. Roth kept clowning about during Beck’s prize acceptance while the band tried to retake control. A reunion was implied by the event, but it never happened. Later, Eddie Van Halen expressed his annoyance, saying that Roth’s actions were embarrassing and that backstage tensions erupted when he and Eddie argued about the band’s meager plans for Roth. It nearly turned into a physical altercation.

Van Halen parted ways with Michael Anthony

As founding bassist Michael Anthony was gradually pushed out of Van Halen during the late 1990s, conflicts within the band became apparent. His participation in the 2004 reunion tour almost didn’t materialize, and he made very little contribution to the 1998 album Van Halen III. “It was really not Ed’s intention for me to be involved,” Anthony clarified in an interview. Despite the agreement, he ultimately accepted a smaller financial part than the other members of the band.

Anthony thinks that his side ventures and those of former lead vocalist Sammy Hagar were the source of the conflict. Eddie and Alex Van Halen were annoyed by Hagar’s nightclub and tequila company, both named Cabo Wabo, while Anthony’s own business, Mad Anthony’s Hot Sauce, too became a source of conflict. Eddie formally dismissed Anthony in 2006 and replaced him with Wolfgang, his 15-year-old son. Eddie even attempted to have Anthony’s name removed from composition credits and profits.

Eddie Van Halen had an onstage meltdown

The joyous reunion that Sammy Hagar’s 2004 return to Van Halen was supposed to be swiftly devolved into a nightmare. Hagar returned for a high-profile tour after departing the band in 1996, but it was not a pleasant experience. Hagar called the tour “some of the most miserable, backstabbing, dark crap” he had ever been a part of because of ongoing friction with guitarist Eddie Van Halen. After 40 gigs, he almost quit due to the tense atmosphere, but he continued to perform to avoid legal issues. After a poor performance in Tucson, Arizona, the tour came to an end. Clearly drunk, Eddie Van Halen abruptly stopped playing in the middle of the song, smashed his guitar, and cried out, “You don’t understand!” This dramatic moment signaled the tumultuous and tragic end of a volatile period in the band’s existence.