VAN HALEN

Van Halen is an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California in 1972. Van Halen’s classic line-up was the 1974- 1985 quartet of guitarist Eddie Van Halen (born January 26, 1955 in Amsterdam, Netherlands), Eddie's brother and drummer Alex Van Halen (born May 8, 1953 in Amsterdam), vocalist David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954 in Bloomington, Indiana) and bassist Michael Anthony (born June 20, 1954 in Chicago, Illinois). Roth was replaced by Sammy Hagar from 1986-1996 and then again from 2003–2009. Anthony was sacked in 2006 and replaced by Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen (born March 16, 1991 in Santa Monica). Van Halen have sold over 80 million records worldwide, with their biggest success being 1984’s 1984 album and key song Jump which was a Billboard Chart Number 1. Van Halen’s other key influence on music comes from their contract rider demanding a bowl of M&Ms with the brown ones removed. However this wasn’t them being difficult - it was a gauge of testing whether venues had fully read their demands. Iconic guitarist Eddie Van Halen died on October 6, 2020, passing away from throat cancer aged 65. Image: Andre Csillag/Shutterstock