Van Halen Newcastle City Hall 26th June 1979
Van Halen were just about the hottest new rock’n’roll act on the planet. I’d seen them once before when they supported Sabbath on their 1978 UK tour and they blew Sabbath off the stage. This time they were back to play two nights at the City Hall. I went along on the first night (note the typo in their name on the ticket 🙂 ). Van Halen had the perfect recipe for hard rock. In David Lee Roth they had the ultimate flamboyant rock god singer, mane of blonde hair, shirt open to his waist, tight skinny jeans and energy, craziness, and jumping around like you have never seen. Oh and the guy could sing too. Eddie Van Halen was the slickest cool showman guitar player, with a the fastest finger tapping technique you’d ever seen. These two guys were 110% showmen with massive egos, both sparring for the audience’s attention; you could just see why conflict between them would surface in later years. Eddie’s brother Alex Van Halen was hidden behind a massive drum kit pounding away, and bass player Michael Anthony was far from the silent type, providing back vocals and dancing while keeping solid rhythm. 
This tour was around the time of the release of their second album and their set contained classic Halen tracks: “Runnin’ with the Devil”, Eddie’s guitar solo “Eruption” and the band’s first US hit single, “Dance the Night Away.” They also did great covers of the Kink’s “You Really Got Me” and “You’re No Good”. These guys were LOUD, fast, crazy, straight in your face, triumphant and a whole lot of fun. We came out of the City Hall with our ears ringing and smiles right across our faces.
Setlist: Light Up the Sky; Somebody Get Me a Doctor; Runnin’ With the Devil; Dance the Night Away; Beautiful Girls; On Fire; You’re No Good; Jamie’s Cryin’; Feel Your Love Tonight; Outta Love Again; Ice Cream Man; Ain’t Talkin’ ’bout Love; Eddie Guitar Solo (Eruption and Spanish Fly); You Really Got Me; Bottoms Up!; Atomic Punk
21 Dec
Van Halen Newcastle City Hall 26th June 1979
Posted December 21, 2014 by vintagerock in Van Halen. Tagged: classic rock, concert, concerts, gig, gigs, heavy metal, heavy rock, music, pop, rock, rock n roll. 5 Comments
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Posted by Gaz on December 21, 2014 at 11:31 am
I was at the same concert and didnt remember the typo I wonder whatever happended to Val
Posted by vintagerock on December 21, 2014 at 12:43 pm
Hi Gaz Maybe Val married Van? Cheers Peter
Posted by heavymetalblunder on December 21, 2014 at 1:33 pm
Bloody hell. It’s safe to say I’m mega jealous. This sounds like it was awesome.
Posted by vintagerock on December 21, 2014 at 2:54 pm
The programme says “This is only the beginning….” and I guess they were right 🙂 Cheers Peter
Posted by Nige on May 21, 2015 at 9:47 am
Going to see them at the Hollywood Bowl in October (if the tour last to the end that is), I can’t freakin’ wait… 🙂
And yes, Val…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_Bertinelli