Van Halen should have played LIVE AID in 1985 to keep David Lee Roth in the band

[DLR 1973]

This is probably the biggest mistake Van Halen ever made; Not playing at Live Aid in 1985.

If there was one thing that would have kept Dave in Van Halen, this was it.



The greatest show on earth for the greatest showman on earth.

It would have silenced Dave's concerns that the band weren't doing enough at the time, and given them all something worth striving for.

And what a great act to do for charity.



Were Van Halen ever approached by Bob Geldof?

Did Eddie lift his phone off the receiver to hear some mad Irishman ranting about Africa?

After the immediate success of Crazy from the Heat, did Bob think of Dave as a possible solo act for the bill?

It is hard to believe that Van Halen passed on such a great opportunity.



This could have altered everything, kept Dave in the band, and the second half of the 80's could have been even better for Van Halen than the first half.

[Incomudro]

Oh, I don't know...

It certainly would have been a great show for VH.
But I don't know if anything could stopped what was happening within the band.

[rawkinrobbievh1]

that's an interesting hypothetical !

i would love to have seen that , and the multitude of video footage that would surely have been captured .

going back to that era however , makes me think that had VH performed at this event Dave's ego would have become even bigger .
i think the writing was on the wall for a long time , and the original split would've happened regardless ?

i'm not sure if Geldoff tried to add VH or Roth as a solo act ? i've never heard anything alone those lines .

in a roundabout way , i think that VH went their own ways for a reason (or several reasons) , and that makes me appreciate the 2012 events even more !!

cheers

[Simon Ribeiro]

...
But I don't know if anything could stopped what was happening within the band.

This for sure! Pretty sad, but true.

[unchainedguitars]

"The only people....that drink iced tea from Jack Daniels bottles....are starving children in Africa!"
-DLR, Live Aid

I dunno, this is one event i couldn't picture a band like VH doing.
Aside from their hedonistic approach to life, they also were very non-political.
I doubt Geldoff even considered them, to be honest.

[JONEZY]

If they weren't broken up by then, it was coming.
Would have been cool though. Lets say they played 3 songs, what would they have been?

[DLR 1973]

If they weren't broken up by then, it was coming.
Would have been cool though. Lets say they played 3 songs, what would they have been?

1. Hot For Teacher
2. Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love
3. Jump

or

1. Unchained
2. Jump
3. California Girls

[rawkinrobbievh1]

1. Hot For Teacher
2. Ain't Talkin' 'bout Love
3. Jump

or

1. Unchained
2. Jump
3. California Girls

i like the first 3 you listed .

a kickass tune from the dubut and 2 popular songs fron the 1984 album , which was riding high at the time ...
good call .

[VAiN]

Aside from their hedonistic approach to life, they also were very non-political.
I doubt Geldoff even considered them, to be honest.

I agree with this... VH wasn't trying to save the world.

[rawkinrobbievh1]

I agree with this... VH wasn't trying to save the world.

but they DID save the rock music world from disco , at the time !!

i hope Dave never uses his celeb status to preach like Bono/Bozo