Van Halen plans reunion tour
2007-08-14 09:38
Los Angeles - Rock band Van Halen has
reunited with the group's original singer David Lee Roth for
their first tour together in more than 20 years, they
announced on Monday.
The 25-date trek begins on September 27 in Charlotte, North
Carolina, and wraps up on December 11 in the Canadian city of
Calgary.
Key stops include Chicago (October 16, 18), New York City
(Nove,ber 13) and their native Los Angeles (November 20).
But it will not exactly be a reunion of the classic line-up
famed for such hits as Panama and Runnin' with the Devil,
because bassist Michael Anthony has been replaced by lead
guitarist Eddie Van Halen's 16-year-old son, Wolfgang.
Roth and Van Halen were supposed to hit the road earlier
this year for a reunion tour, but plans fell through when Eddie
Van Halen entered rehab in March for undisclosed issues.
Hopes of attaining solo stardom
His
illness also scuttled a potential reunion at the group's Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame induction later that month.
Roth, now 52, quit Van Halen in 1985, during the band's
heyday, in hopes of attaining solo stardom. Those dreams
crashed and Van Halen continued successfully with Sammy Hagar
on vocals.
The band's luck ran out a decade later when Hagar and Van
Halen acrimoniously parted ways, and a new album with a third
singer tanked.
Since then, both Roth and Hagar have briefly
aligned with Van Halen, and the two singers even toured
together, despite Roth's barely concealed enmity for Hagar.
- Reuters