Dave Lee Roth hints at Van Halen live return

From Plant Rock.

More than three years on from Van Halen’s last live show, David Lee Roth says the band’s return is just “around the corner.”

The singer and entrepreneur recently spoke to Vulture about his recently launched line of skin-care products aimed at stopping tattoos from fading, Ink The Original, when he touched upon Van Halen’s future.

Dropping by the magazine’s New York offices, Diamond Dave first cryptically hinted at Van Halen’s reunion when he told fans gathered to meet him: “When we come back through town in the summer time and do the original thing, maybe somewhere sporting, maybe with somebody famous, I’ll make sure we get you all tickets so you can see what we do for gainful employment. My mom still wonders.”

During the wide-ranging chat, David Lee Roth suggested Van Halen are lining up a stadium tour by saying “my rock band will be playing the same place that the Yankees play (the Yankee Stadium).”

Pushed for more information, Roth was a bit more reticent in his response, saying: “Yeah, but I can’t … If I say something on tape here and everybody goes, ‘Oh, this leaked…’ But, the band will be — I can’t say.”

Van Halen’s last show at the Hollywood Bowl © REX/Shutterstock

However, he did allude to who the “somebody famous” joining Van Halen at their summer show could be, adding: “Well, I don’t know how far this privacy actually goes. But the band is solvent.

“And I can say that I contacted colleagues about being part of the show — Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Jason Aldean, the Foo Fighters, Church, and Stapleton. And they all said that, if everything happens, they would certainly be involved.”

His final nod to Van Halen’s return came when he was asked to comment on a book by former manager Noel Monk called ‘Runnin’ With The Devil’.

“I’d really rather focus on some other stuff,” Roth said. “When Van Halen happens, I’m willing to answer all of these questions. And that’s around the corner by a hundred days.

“But what I’m doing now behind the scenes, it’s kind of a Wizard of Oz approach, and I enjoy it more than the spotlight. The spotlight has been wildly entertaining for 50, 60 years. But, this is a whole different composite of talents that I can follow into a future beyond singing “Runnin’ With the Devil” over and over.

“There’s a time-capsule element that goes along with my kind of music. You can’t keep serving it every year. We’re on a James Bond schedule, every three-and-a-half summers, so you don’t go, “Weren’t you just here?” and then we’d start selling fewer tickets. That happened with the third Pirates movie. Johnny Depp was scarred, emotionally. But classic rock is great. It funded everything we’re doing today.”

Van Halen’s last show took place at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California on 4th October 2015. UK fans have had to wait somewhat longer to see Van Halen; they last played here on 28th June 1995 at Sheffield’s Don Valley Stadium.

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