Led Zeppelin

Led Zeppelin was one of the giants of the 1970’s in hard rock.
They were also one of the greatest success stories that ever played
hard rock music. The group was one the more popular hard rock groups
that performed in the seventies, and even had some hits in the 1960’s.
The members of the group are Jimmy Page, born on April 9, 1944,
Robert Plant, born on August 24, 1948, John Paul Jones, born on
January 3, 1946, and John Bonham born on May 31, 1948. Jimmy Page
played guitar, Robert Plant was the vocalist, John Paul Jones played
bass guitar and the keyboard, and John Bonham beat the drums. The
group had the complete set up for a band right off the start. They
produced their first record in thirty hours to complete their deal
with the old Yardbirds. They toured Scandinavia for awhile also to
complete their obligations to the Yardbirds.

When they first came to the United States they supported Vanilla Fudge. They also played in clubs to start their American popularity.
After they played in the clubs they got their first headlining tour and toured again that. They were playing their fifth tour by the March
of 1970. Led Zeppelin the record was released by the Atlantic Records in 1969. Shortly after the record was released it was number eight and stayed in the top twenty for six weeks. When the Led Zeppelin II was
released, it was Atlantic Records’ fastest selling album at 100,000 copies a week.

They broke their own record in 1975 when “Physical
Graffiti” that sold 500 copies an hour. All of their albums have gone
platinum.
They were the first group to heavily tour the United States and
sporadically tour the rest of the world. This occurred because there
was a lack of interest in them Britain. Their success was due to their
manager Peter Grant. Peter was able to keep the group moving from
place to place and kept the people interested in them. Peter thought
that they would work every other year so they would stay in demand.
While they were working on their first movie featuring them. This
movie was of the group playing their music, which was called, “The
Song Remains Playing.”
A representative from their record company called and told Page
that the sales of their new album Houses of the Holy was spectacular.
The record company told Page that the group, Led Zeppelin, was the
biggest selling group in the world and was making the most money at
the time. After Page and Plant heard this they were having a moment of
triumph because their band was making it big. During this time of
popularity that the band was going through, there was a feature on
them in the L.A. Times. They were making music for the adolescence age
group and they were being looked up at as role models.
Led Zeppelin’s manager Peter Grant was an amazing and brilliant
person. Their road manager was also a great person for the band to
have because he promoted them as much as possible. By the summer of
1975, Led Zeppelin was the most popular band in the world. They were
filling football stadiums across the United States. They also filled
the Earl’s Court, which held 20,000 people for five days in London.
It was awesome an show that had an amazing light show, smoke, dry ice,
and laser beams. The concerts were focused on Jimmy Page and Robert
Plant because they were the main guys in the group. On stage they were
opposites and compliments: Plant a golden-ringleted Adonis marvelously
parodying the sexual superstar while singing in a voice of limitless
power.(www.wysiwyg://14/http://www.redrival.com/getled/history.html.)
Page was a dark, fragile guitarist of immense versatility and command
clothed in black velvet and rippling dragons.
The Presence(1976) and In Though the Out Door(1979) proved to be
the last Led Zeppelin albums that were produced. John Bonham was found
dead at the home of Jimmy Page on the 25 of September in 1980.
(www.http://www.led-zeppelin.com/news.html) After this tragic loss the
band announced that they could not play any longer. The album entitled
Coda was an unreleased set of recordings and out takes which was
released in 1982. In the same year, Robert Plant released his own
album, which was called, “Pictures at Eleven.”
Even in to the 1990’s the music that was produced in the early
days of Led Zeppelin is still being played and loved. The music that
they play is very persuasive and as popular as before. Even though
they broke up ten years ago you would not know they broke because of
the way that they are played on the radio. Zeppelin was played for
their fans and followers. For generations of kids, all they needed
were headphones and a decent copy of Led Zeppelin II to keep them
occupied.
Led Zeppelin had their down times but they also had their good
times. People have loved Led Zeppelin for years even today’s kids seem
to have picked up the ear for listening to the band. Twenty-two years
after their formation, the myth still surrounds the group Led
Zeppelin. Few people other then Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and John
Paul Jones remember what a truly difficult road Led Zeppelin traveled
in their time. Led Zeppelin in my mind is one of the best bands to
ever happen to the world.



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Queen

1968: Smile
In 1968, Brian May and Tim Staffell, both students at Imperial College, decided they wanted to form a group. Brian placed an advertisement on the college notice board for a "Ginger Baker type" drummer, and a young medical student called Roger Taylor auditioned and got the job. They called the group Smile. Smile were signed to Mercury Records in 1969, and had their first experience of a recording studio in Trident Studios that year. Tim Staffell was at Ealing College of Art with Freddie Bulsara, and introduced him to the band. Freddie soon became a keen fan. Sadly, in 1970 Smile decided to call it a day, as nothing seemed to be happening for them. Tim went off and joined a band called Humpy Bong, and Freddie left his band Wreckage and joined up with Brian and Roger - it had all begun.

1970: Queen's birth
Freddie changed his name by deed poll to Mercury, changed the band's name to Queen, and John Deacon was asked to audition as their bass player (they had had three temporary ones so far in their short history). In February 1971, John Deacon was taken on as the fourth member of Queen. The band rehearsed tirelessly and played several small gigs at Imperial College, where they rehearsed for close friends. Then they were offered the chance to test a new recording studio called De Lane Lea. In return for trying out the new equipment, they could also make free demo tapes. They did. No one was interested! They had signed a recording contract and publishing and management agreements with Trident in 1972, and during that year were paid just ?0 per week. Queen were given the 'down time' - or out of hours studio time - at Trident Studios, where they began work on their first album.

1973: a recording deal
In 1973, Trident and EMI signed a contract for a recording deal for Queen, and July of that year saw the release of Queen, their first album. The band were offered a big break - their first major tour as support band to Mott The Hoople. It began in Leeds in November 1973, and it was said by many people during that tour that 'Queen were more than a support act ....' Queen II was finally released in March 1974 - it should have been earlier, but there was a minor printing error on the sleeve that Queen insisted on having corrected! The band embarked on their first headlining tour of Britain, starting in Blackpool in March 1974. In April 1974, the band embarked on their first-ever USA tour as guests to Mott The Hoople. But in May of that year, whilst on tour, Brian collapsed with hepatitis, and the band had to cancel the rest of their dates.

1974: Sheer Heart Attack!
Work on their third album began without Brian and with a lot of help from Roy Thomas Baker. Brian finally felt well enough to go into the studios to record his guitar parts, although he was still ill and spend much time between takes in the studio bathroom being very sick! But eventually, the album was finished, and Sheer Heart Attack was released in November 1974. It was a huge hit both sides of the Atlantic as the world came to realise that Queen were certainly a force to be reckoned with!

1975: the big tour
In January 1975, Queen left for the USA on their very first headlining tour. Ticket sales were phenomenal, and demand was so high that they had to add more shows, doing two shows in one day at some venues, both shows being sold out. Quite a few shows on that tour had to be cancelled, as Freddie had developed a severe throat problem, but he soldiered on and performed as many as possible, although doctors had advised him against it. Also in January 1975, Queen engaged the services of a Music Business lawyer, Jim Beach, to negotiate them out of their Trident agreements, as Trident were no longer being as supportive as they should have been, and the band were unhappy with the situation. Their first Canadian gig was in Edmonton on April 2nd, where they were joined on stage by support act Kansas. April of 1975 saw Queen set to pay their first-ever visit to Japan.

1975: Japan mania
When they arrived at the airport, there were over three thousand fans there to greet them, as Sheer Heart Attack was Number One in Japan at the time. It was a scene reminiscent of Beatlemania in the Sixties, and the band were quite surprised at their 'pop star' welcome! In May 1975, Freddie was presented with an Ivor Novello Award by the Songwriters Guild for Killer Queen.

1975: Bohemian Rhapsody
Queen began work on their new album in June. Links with Trident were finally severed - to the band's great relief - in August, and by September Queen had signed with new management: enter John Reid. When the band decided to release Bohemian Rhapsody in 1975, everyone told them it was far too long and just would not be a hit at 5 minutes and 55 seconds. But Freddie gave a copy of the single to friend and London DJ Kenny Everett, informing him that it was for him personally, and that he must not play it on air. But of course he did - fourteen times in two days!! From then on, every major radio station played the song in full, and not edited versions as was first thought. It was a colossal hit, and really established Queen as th?band of the era. The video for the single, directed by Bruce Gowers using ideas from the band themselves, was considered to be the one that began the whole video craze - they just didn't know what they were starting! The single stayed at Number One for an amazing nine weeks!

1975: A Night At The Opera
The album was, at the time, one of the most expensive ever recorded, but when A Night At The Opera was released in November 1975, it was a massive hit, and gave them their first platinum album. Freddie had designed a Queen logo for the Queen I album, which was re-worked and used as the cover for A Night At The Opera. The now-famous 'crest' features the band's star signs - two fairies for Virgo, a crab for Cancer and two lions for the two Leos. The launch party for the album was held in the exclusive Opera Bar at the London Coliseum Theatre.

1976: touring
In January 1976, Freddie was presented with another Ivor Novello Award, for Bohemian Rhapsody. Also in January, the band set off on their third American tour, which took them all over America and continued until the end of March. They then flew direct to Japan, arriving yet again to a riotous reception. By this time, all four Queen albums were in the UK Top Twenty, which was an unheard-of feat. They undertook an extensive tour of Japan, and then flew on to Austria. Their tour 'Down Under' began at the Perth Entertainment Centre.

1976: another new album
They flew back to the UK to begin work on their next album, A Day At The Races, but recording was halted while the band took off on a short UK tour. On September 18th, 1976, Queen decided they wanted to say thanks to their dedicated fans, and so - in true extravagant style - they staged a huge free concert in London's Hyde Park. The crowds were estimated at between 150 and 200 thousand people - the largest audience Queen had played to up to that time, and to date still the highest-ever attendance record for a concert in Hyde Park.

1976: A Day At The Races
It was September, and the band were hard at work on their new album. A Day At The Races was released in December 1976. The band all attended a special horse race at Kempton Park to promote the album, and in 'A Day At The Races Stakes', a special race sponsored by EMI, they all backed the same horse without telling each other - and it won! Five days before its release, the advance orders for A Day At The Races were in excess of half a million - the highest orders EMI had ever received for any album.

1977: Roger's solo single
1977 had only been around for four days before Queen jetted off to America to rehearse for their forthcoming tour. They were on the road constantly through January, February and most of March in the USA and Canada. Roger decided, at the end of all that, to record a solo single, which he paid for out of his own pocket. I Wanna Testify was released in August. In May of 1977, Queen flew out of Stockholm to begin an extensive European tour. Their concert at Earls Court in London featured the famous 'Crown' lighting rig. It was 54 feet wide, 26 feet tall and weighed in at 5,000 pounds. It cost the band ?0,000.

1977: We Are The Champions, the video
In October 1977, the fan club members were asked for the first time to take part in one of the band's videos. We Are The Champions was filmed at the New London Theatre. After initial filming was finished, the band remained on stage and played an impromptu gig to say thanks to the fans who had turned up and worked so hard. October '77 also saw the band presented with a Britannia Award for the Top British Single: Bohemian Rhapsody, of course!

1977: News Of The World
Queen released News Of The World on October 28th, 1977. The cover was a drawing that Roger had discovered, by Science Fiction artist Kelly Freas. Roger asked him if he would mind adapting his illustration for the album cover, and Freas readily agreed.

1977: another tour
In November they were off to the USA again for rehearsals for the forthcoming tour. For the first time, their finances enabled them to charter a private plane for the tour - it made life on the road that much more comfortable. The tour began on 11th November - their second USA tour that year. They all arrived back in the UK just in time to spend Christmas with their families. That Christmas, We Will Rock You was knocked off the French Number One slot after 12 weeks ...... by We Are The Champions!

1978: a new management
In February 1978, Queen decided they should set up their own management structure. They parted company with John Reid more amicably than their split with Trident - this severance agreement was actually signed in the back of Freddie's Rolls Royce during a break in filming We Will Rock You in the back garden of Roger's house in Surrey! A short (by Queen standards!) tour of Europe began in April 1978 - again in Stockholm. In July, the band started work on their new album. They recorded it in Montreux and France - the first time they had ever recorded outside Great Britain.

1978: Bicycle Race
As publicity for the forthcoming single Bicycle Race, the band hired Wimbledon Stadium, and fifty naked girls had their own bicycle race. The original cover of the single featured the rear view of one of those naked girls, but due to public outcry in some countries, panties had to be drawn on! More touring in the USA and Canada began in October. November 10th saw the release of Jazz, the band's seventh album. The sleeve was packed to contain a fold-out poster of the naked bicycle race. The Americans banned it from the actual album sleeve, and inserted an application form instead so that fans could send away for their poster. The launch party for Jazz was held in New Orleans, and has since gone down in history!

1978: the party
The band hosted the party themselves in order to invite both EMI, their American record company, and Elektra, their USA representatives. It was the first time that both companies' executives had met, and they both ensured that ALL of their directors attended, each to try to outnumber the other! The party was a completely over-the-top affair, featuring mud wrestlers, midgets, topless waitresses, and a host of other weird and wonderful characters.

1979: buying a studio
The North American tour finished in late December, and the band flew back to the UK for Christmas, but they didn't get too much time to rest, as by January 1979 they were off to Europe yet again. The tour kicked off in Hamburg, and by March were ensconced in Mountain Studios in Montreux, working on their 'live' album. The band enjoyed the peace of Montreux and liked the studio there, so they decided to buy it (the studio, not the town!) When Freddie was asked by resident engineer David Richards why they had bought it and what they intended to do with it, Freddie quipped '...dump it in the lake, dear'!!

1979: Live Killers
The band flew out to Japan for yet more touring in April 1979. In June, they approached the All England Lawn Tennis Club and asked if they could use the Centre Court at Wimbledon (after the tournament, of course!) for a concert. Permission was refused. The band's first live album (and their only double album to date), Live Killers, was released in June 1979. It was an album released by very popular demand. Queen were approached to write the musical score for the science fiction film Flash Gordon. When the idea was first discussed with producer Dino de Laurentis, he simply asked '...but who are the queens?'!! The band agreed to work on the score, and started work during June in Munich.

1979: Crazy Tour
The end of 1979 found Queen embarking on 'The Crazy Tour'. It included such illustrious venues as Tiffany's in Purley, the Lewisham Odeon, Alexandra Palace, and finally, the Hammersmith Odeon. They were one of many bands who performed at the venue to raise money for the starving people of Kampuchea. During that Crazy Tour, the bands' tour manager, Gerry Stickells, collapsed backstage and had to be rushed to hospital. Gerry had been with Queen on every tour since 1976 (and has done very one since!)

1980: synths
At the start of 1980, the band were working hard on their new album, The Game - it was the first album to use the electronic wizardry of synthesisers. In June they were off to tour North America - again! Roger also started work on his first solo album in 1980. The Game was released in June of that year, and it went five times platinum in Canada alone! Another One Bites The Dust became the band's biggest-ever, worldwide-selling single to date. It became a huge 'crossover' hit in the USA, topping the charts in Rock, Soul and Disco. The band received a 'Dick Clarke' award as best band; a top Billboard award for 'Top Crossover Single'; and was nominated for various other awards including Grammys and Canadian 'Juno' awards.

1981: touring
On December 8th 1980, the soundtrack album for Flash Gordon was released. At the end of 1980, Queen had sold over 45,000,000 albums worldwide. In February 1981, after another Far East tour, the band flew to Rio de Janeiro for the start of their first tour of South America. Queen were the first rock band to undertake a stadium tour of South America, paving the way for many more bands to follow. The band's equipment had to be flown in a privately hired 'Flying Tiger' 747 cargo plane from Tokyo - the flight between Tokyo and Buenos Aires is the longest air route between capital cities in the world.

1981: more touring
Their first South American gig was Buenos Aires, on February 28th 1981. They then filled three more Argentinean World Cup soccer stadiums, playing five sold-out stadium gigs in just eight days. They then played two nights at the massive Morumbi Stadium in Sao Paolo. On the first night, 131,000 people attended, and Queen created rock & roll history as it was the largest paying audience for a single band anywhere in the world. During those two nights at the Morumbi Stadium, 251,000 people saw the Queen spectacle - that's a larger audience than most bands can expect in their whole career! Every single one of Queen's albums was in the Top Ten in Argentina during their tour - a first for any band.

1981: Roger's solo album
Whilst they were in Sao Paulo, the band celebrated the fact that the single, Love Of My Life, had been in the Sao Paulo singles chart for over 12 consecutive months. In April 1981, Roger released his first solo album, titled Fun In Space. Queen were back in South America - it was a return trip, being hailed as 'The Gluttons For Punishment Tour'! Unfortunately, their last two Venezuelan gigs in Caracas had to be cancelled, as the ex-President of the country had died. So the band moved on to play in Mexico, in Monterrey and Puebla - just outside Mexico City. Whilst there, the band's promoter, Jose Rota, was arrested and jailed. Jim Beach had to pay over $25,000 bail money to release him so the tour could continue!

1981: Hits, Flix and Pix
Greatest Hits, Greatest Flix and Greatest Pix were released simultaneously in October 1981. Greatest Hits - the album - entered the charts as soon as it was released, and has rarely been out of the British charts since! Greatest Flix - the video - was the first real collection of promo videos released commercially by any band. Greatest Pix - the book - was compiled by Jacques Lowe, who was President Kennedy's personal biographer during his term of office. It was Jacques' personal selection of the greatest Queen pictures of the previous decade.

1982: Hot Space
The band's twelfth album, Hot Space, was released on May 21st, 1982 whilst the band was in the middle of an extensive European tour. On June 5th that year, they played the huge open-air Milton Keynes Bowl. The whole show was filmed by Tyne Tees Television, under the direction of Gavin Taylor, to be shown on Channel Four's The Tube programme at a later date. In September 1982, the Japanese company, Mercury Records (nothing to do with Freddie!) released an album called Gettin' Smile. It was at first thought to be a bootleg, but after listening to the album, Roger and Brian declared it to be the REAL Smile, although neither of them recalled having recorded so much with that band! In December 1982, Queen made it into the Guinness Book of Records as Britain's highest-paid executives.

1983: solo recordings
In January 1983, Freddie began work on a solo album, and Roger began work on his second solo album. During the early part of the year, Brian had flown out to Los Angeles and gathered together a few close friends in the Record Plant studios there. Brian had some basic ideas to work on, but it was generally a lengthy jam session. However, Brian had no intention of wasting the talents of Edward Van Halen, Alan Gratzer, Phil Chen and Fred Mandel - and so kept the tapes rolling throughout the whole session. The result was the mini album Star Fleet Project, which was released in October 1983.

1983: USA recordings
The band went back into the studios in August 1983 to start work on their next album. Work commenced at the Record Plant in LA - the first time the band had recorded in America. After a number of months, recording switched from LA to Munich - a city that the band spent so much time in during that recording session that they almost thought of it as home!

1984: The Works
In February 1984, the band released their thirteenth album - The Works. Radio Ga Ga, taken from that album, became a worldwide hit, reaching Number One in nineteen different countries. The video for the single, directed by David Mallett, featured fan club members again. The handclapping chorus became a favourite with live audiences all over the world. Another single from The Works was I Want To Break Free, and that had an even more outrageous video also featuring members of the fan club. It featured the band dressed as the characters of a popular British television soap opera - Coronation Street. When asked why, Roger said he had become bored with serious epic videos, and thought it was about time they had some fun and proved they could still laugh at themselves. MTV in America refused to show the video.

1984: Strange Frontier
In June 1984, Roger released his second solo album, Strange Frontier. Also in June, a company called Guild Guitars launched a special copy of Brian's home-made Red Special guitar. It was called the BHM1, and Brian had been closely involved in all the aspects of its production. Sadly, about a year later, Brian and Guild had some discussions about the design of the instrument which resulted in Guild ceasing production.

1984: tour problems
In August, Queen flew out to Belgium to start The Works tour in that country. October saw them in Bophuthatswana, South Africa, and a series of gigs at the famous Sun City Superbowl. The gigs themselves were fraught with problems, as Freddie had serious voice complications resulting in cancellations. But the problems were mild compared to what the band returned to. Their visit caused much public outcry, although the band defended their actions, saying they were a non-political band and that they had gone out to play music for the people, and for no other reason.

1984: first full-length video
Queen's first-ever full-length video was released in September 1984. We Will Rock You was filmed during the band's 1981 Montreal concerts. During September, Queen had no fewer than nine albums in the UK Top 200.

1985: Rock In Rio
1985 was the year of 'Rock In Rio'. It was billed as the biggest rock festival to be held anywhere in the world, and Queen were headlining the event. (Remember that bit about 'not being a support act for long...'?) The whole festival was recorded for broadcast throughout South America, but Queen were the only band able to obtain the rights to release their performance on video. Live in Rio was released in May 1985.

1985: Spandau Ballet?
The band performed their first-ever concert in New Zealand on April 13th, 1985 in Auckland. The band were met outside their hotel on arrival by a group of chanting anti-apartheid demonstrators. Tony Hadley, singer with British band Spandau Ballet, flew over from Australia where his band was on tour to see the Queen show, and was honoured to be asked to join Queen on stage for their encore.

1985: Mr. Bad Guy
Freddie's first solo album, Mr. Bad Guy, was released on April 19th whilst the band was on tour in Australia. The gig in Melbourne had to be played with no lighting rig at all, as the whole computer system that controlled the lights had broken down. After an Australian tour peppered with problems - not least being the incessant rain - the band flew across to Japan. Their concert at the Tokyo Olympic swimming pool was filmed by NHK to be shown on network Japanese television.

1985: Live Aid
July 13th 1985, was a day that went down in history as the Live Aid Global Jukebox took the world by storm from London's vast Wembley Stadium and from Philadelphia in the USA. Queen were just one of a multitude of top bands who all performed a short, 20-minute set. The world was watching, and Queen were unanimously voted - by press and public alike - as the band that stole the show. That event was a turning point for Queen.

1985: One Vision
They had decided some time previously to take a break from each other, but that day brought them together with renewed vigour and enthusiasm. One Vision was the first release to come from that new inspiration.

1986: Highlander
Queen were approached by Russell Mulcahy to record the soundtrack to his first feature film - a fantasy tale about an immortal Scotsman - called Highlander. In an interview, Mulcahy stated that Queen had been the first band he had thought of for the score.

1986: A Kind Of Magic
In March 1986, John formed a new band, called The Immortals, to write and record some of the music for a forthcoming film called Biggles. They recorded just one track - No Turning Back - and the band folded. On June 2nd, Queen released their fourteenth album, the soundtrack to Highlander, entitled A Kind Of Magic. The album entered the UK chart at Number One and remained in the top five for thirteen consecutive weeks.

1986: Magic Tour
On June 7th, the Queen machine was in action again as the band embarked on their 'Magic Tour of Europe'. The first UK gig was Newcastle's St James Park football stadium. The band, and promoter Harvey Goldsmith, donated all the proceeds from that concert to the International Save The Children Fund. On July 11th, the 'Queen Tornado' - as Freddie had dubbed it - hit London and two sold-out shows at the vast Wembley Stadium. During the set, four enormous inflatables, modelled on the characters from the Kind of Magic album, were released from amongst the audience into the night. The following night's show was filmed by Tyne Tees Television, again directed by Gavin Taylor, to be shown on TV at a later date.

1986: Queen on the tele
When that concert was finally shown on television, it became the first-ever simulcast between Channel Four and the Independent Radio network in Britain. This feat has never since been repeated - possibly because, in order to achieve this, a satellite dish had to be delivered to every single independent radio station in the UK so that they could receive the sound by satellite whilst receiving the pictures by the normal land lines.

1986: the Budapest performance
On 27th July, Queen made history again (something of a habit with this band!) when they played the beautiful Nepstadion in Budapest, Hungary. It was the first time a major rock band had played a stadium date in the Eastern Bloc, and it was completely sold out well in advance. The concert was filmed by the Hungarian State Film Agency, MAFILM, in connection with Queen Films - they had to commandeer every 35mm camera in Hungary to film it!

1986: Knebworth
On August 9th, the band flew into Knebworth Park, Hertfordshire, in a specially repainted helicopter featuring the characters from the Kind of Magic album cover. It was the final date on the Magic Tour, and the biggest audience so far - estimated at well over 120,000 people. It caused one of the biggest traffic jams in history as everyone tried to arrive in plenty of time! Over one million people saw Queen on that European Magic Tour - in excess of 400,000 in the UK alone.

1986: CD releases
In November 1986, EMI Records released the entire Queen catalogue of albums on the Compact Disc format - the first time any band's complete collection had been made available simultaneously. In December, Queen's fifteenth album - and their second live album - was released. Entitled Live Magic, it entered the British chart at Number Three. On 13th December, the band's film Live In Budapest opened in Budapest at 9 a.m., and proceeded to play to nine sold-out houses in that one day. Seven completely full screenings were shown each day for a week.

1987: The Great Pretender
During 1986, in the UK alone, Queen sold a staggering 1,774,991 albums. On February 3rd, Freddie released a cover version of the great old Platters song, The Great Pretender. In the video to accompany the song, Freddie recreated many scenes from his own and Queen videos, and actor Peter Starker, Roger Taylor and Freddie all donned wigs, made up their faces, and became the female backing singers! It was an expensive video!

1987: the meeting
One of Freddie's all-time heroines was opera diva Montserrat Caballe, and in March 1987, he met with her in her home city of Barcelona. An astonishing partnership was forged with Montserrat agreed to record an album with Freddie. He penned a song about Barcelona for her, and the two began to write and record that album. Freddie and Montserrat appeared on stage together for the first time in May 1987 at the Ibiza '92 festival, held at the famous Ku Club on the holiday island. They performed Barcelona.

1987: the forming of The Cross
In August 1987, Roger advertised for, auditioned and chose musicians to form a new band, The Cross. He wanted a band he could write with and, more importantly, tour with during Queen's increasingly lengthy 'quiet' periods.

1987: Barcelona, the single
The single Barcelona was released in Spain in September 1987, and 10,000 copies were sold in just three hours. The Spanish Olympic Committee adopted the song as the theme for the Olympic Games being held in the city in 1992 - then decided against it, which caused much anger amongst the fans.

1987: The Magic Years
Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher are an Austrian director/producer team who followed Queen all over Europe during the Magic Tour, filming them on stage, back stage, resting, playing and generally 'touring'. They then searched the archives for footage of live shows, interviews or out-takes from videos. After that, they interviewed the band, their friends, their fans and other 'stars'. Finally, in November 1987, a trilogy of documentary-style videos was released, called The Magic Years. The trilogy received numerous awards, including the famous Silver Screen award in the USA (the biggest film and TV festival in the world) and the IMMC award at the Montreux Golden Rose TV festival. Also during 1987, Queen were presented with the prestigious Ivor Novello award for their 'Outstanding Contribution to British Music'.

1988: Shove It!
In January 1988, Queen went into the studios to start work on their next album. On January 25th, The Cross released their debut album called Shove It. The Cross also embarked on their first European tour, playing club and university dates throughout the UK, then clubs in Germany.

1988: solo releases
Freddie and Montserrat appeared together again on October 8th at the huge La Nit event staged in Barcelona, which was held to celebrate the arrival of the Olympic Flag from Seoul. Freddie and Montserrat closed the event, held in the presence of the King and Queen of Spain, with Barcelona, The Golden Boy and How Can I Go On - tracks taken from their forthcoming album.

1988: Barcelona, the album
Barcelona, the duet album from Freddie and Montserrat, was released on October 10th, 1988. The launch party was a typically extravagant affair held in the Crush Bar of the beautiful Covent Garden Opera House - a fitting venue!

1988: The Cross - live
On December 4th, The Cross played a one-off gig at London's Hammersmith Palais, at a party held exclusively for fan club members. Special guests on stage were Brian and John.

1989: The Miracle
Queen released their sixteenth album on May 22nd 1989, entitled The Miracle. It entered the UK chart at Number One and went on to become a massive worldwide success, reaching Number One in most European countries. To promote the release, the four members of the band gathered in a Radio One studio and allowed themselves to be interviewed by DJ Mike Reid - a scoop for him, as the band had not given a joint interview in many years.

1989: best of the 80's
As it was the end of a decade, there were numerous 'Best of the Eighties' style programmes on television, especially in the UK, and Queen were voted the 'Best Band of the Eighties' by the viewers of Independent Television and readers of its magazine TV Times. It was an accolade they were immensely pleased with, and they all appeared together on the show to collect it.

1989: Queen in the studios
In late November 1989, Queen were already back in studios working on the next album - they had felt so inspired by the huge success of The Miracle.

1990: awards
On February 18th, 1990, Queen were honoured yet again when they were recognised by the British Phonographic Industry (at last!), and presented with an award for their 'Outstanding Contribution to British Music'. They all collected the award, and went on to host a huge star-studded party at London's Groucho Club.

1990: The Cross' second album
The Cross released their second album on March 26th, called Mad: Bad: And Dangerous To Know, a title taken from a quote used to describe the eccentric Lord Byron! The Cross also undertook a short German tour.

1990: Macbeth
Brian, meanwhile, wrote and produced the haunting music for a version of Shakespeare's Macbeth, performed at London's Riverside Theatre.

1990: Hollywood Records
In November 1990, Queen signed a major new recording deal in North America with the Disney-financed Hollywood Records. Hollywood immediately began the task of pushing Queen back up the popularity ladder, and plans were laid to re-master and re-release the entire back catalogue on CD - up till then, the collection had not been available on CD in North America.

1990: live performances
On December 7th, The Cross played their only UK date for some time at London's Astoria Theatre, at yet another Queen fan club party. Brian joined them on stage for the encore.

1991: Innuendo as a single
On January 14th 1991, the band released the six-and-a-half-minute long epic Innuendo as a single. It was a massive success, giving the band their third UK Number One single and ensuring them the Number One slot throughout Europe. The album of the same name was released on February 4th, and crashed straight into the UK chart at Number One, hitting the high spot again throughout Europe - and it even charted top thirty in America.

1991: Blue Rock
In March 1991, The Cross went into studios to start work on their third album, and Brian flew out to Montreux in July to continue work on his long-awaited solo album. The Cross album was completed in July, and release was schedule for early September for a great third album, entitled Blue Rock. The album was only ever released in Germany, on Electrola records. Queen went into the studios in London to begin work on their next album in late April.

1991: the final video
On May 30th, 1991, Freddie filmed what was to become his final video for Queen - the haunting Days of Our Lives. A version featuring Disney animation was made for the USA.

1991: Seville Guitar Legends
Brian organised the Rock section of the Seville Guitar Legends festival, and amongst those chosen by Brian to perform their music were Nuno Bettencourt, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Joe Walsh - to name but a few. The concerts were performed live in October on the site of the Seville Expo '92 exhibition.

1991: the second Hits album
Greatest Hits Two was released in October 1991, a double album featuring 17 tracks. They also repeated their earlier success by releasing Greatest Flix II and Greatest Pix II - this time compiled by Richard Gray. A special box was also released called Box of Flix, featuring Flix One and Two plus four bonus tracks. Needless to say, both Hits II and Flix II were Number One!

1991: Freddie's farewell
On November 23rd, Freddie announced to the world that he had AIDS. Just the next day, his fight was over, and he died peacefully at his home surrounded by friends and family. The world was in shock. Freddie had kept his illness very private, and only those closest to him had been aware of just how close to the end he really was. Fans from all over the world sent flowers and cards, and many even travelled to London to be at Freddie's house. A quiet family cremation service was held three days after his death, conducted in the Zoroastrian faith that Freddie's parents followed so strictly.

1991: Driven By You
In April, Brian had been commissioned by a London advertising agency to write a piece of music for an advertising campaign for Ford cars. The resulting track, Driven by You, was so good (and proved so popular) that Brian released it as his first solo single on November 25th. It made the top ten in the UK charts.

1991: BoRhap, the sequel
As a tribute to Freddie, and to raise funds for the Terence Higgins Trust to continue the fight against AIDS - as Freddie's last wishes requested - Bohemian Rhapsody/These Are The Days of Our Lives was released as a double A-sided single. It entered the UK chart at Number One, where it remained for five weeks, raising over one million pounds for the AIDS charity.

1991: popular than ever
In December 1991, Queen had no fewer than 10 albums in the UK top 100.

1992: award for Freddie
In February 1992, the annual BritAwards recognised Freddie with a special posthumous award for 'Outstanding Contribution to British Music', and - out of three Queen nominations - Days Of Our Lives won the Best Single of 1991 award. At that awards ceremony, Roger and Brian announced plans for a massive open-air concert at London's Wembley Stadium to celebrate Freddie's life and give him a send-off to remember.

1992: ticket sales
The tickets went on sale the next day, with no announcement of who was going to play apart from Brian, Roger and John, and all 72,000 tickets sold out in just six hours.

1992: Tribute Concert
On Easter Monday, April 20th 1992, many of the world's top stars joined Roger, John and Brian on stage at Wembley Stadium to pay an emotional tribute to Freddie. The stadium was packed to capacity, and it was televised live to over one billion people.

1992: more awards
In April 1992, Queen were awarded an Ivor Novello award for Best Single with 'Days Of Our Lives', and Brian also won an award for Driven By You for Best TV Commercial Music.

1992: Back To The Light
September 1992 saw the release of the long-awaited Brian May solo album, called Back To The Light. The album went into the UK charts at number 6 and achieved double gold status.

1992: Brian's tour
The Brian May Band was then formed. Having warmed up in Chile, Argentina and Brazil in November 1992. The Brian May Band embarked upon a World Tour, beginning in the USA and Europe as special guests to Guns N'Roses. They then went on to headline their own sell-out tour of North America, Japan and Europe, finishing in Portugal in December 1993.

1992: Mercury Phoenix Trust
In the summer of 1992 The Mercury Phoenix Trust was founded to distribute the money raised by the Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert for AIDS awareness. It is a registered charity.

1992: the results
Funds generated in the U.S.A. through Fox Television's prime time broadcast of the concert and the re-release of Bohemian Rhapsody as a single (a sum in excess of $1 million) were distributed to AIDS charities all over the United States. In the UK over ? million was donated to The Terence Higgins Trust from the re-release of Bohemian Rhapsody. In addition another ?.2 million has been distributed to date to over 100 different established charities and body Positive self-help groups in the UK, the rest of Europe and Africa.

1992: a Tribute on video
Prior to Christmas 1992, a double video of the Freddie Tribute Concert was released, with all proceeds being donated to the Mercury Phoenix Trust.

1992: The Great Pretender
The Freddie Mercury Album was released in November 1992 with the first single In My Defence on 30 November 1992. This single was followed by 'The Great Pretender' in January 1993 and Living On My Own in Spring 1993. This latter single won a posthumous Ivor Novello Award as the 1993 International Hit of the Year.

1993: Five Live
1993 saw the release of the George Michael / Lisa Stansfield / Queen mini album Five Alive. This mini album and the single Somebody To Love were released worldwide in aid of the Trust. They reached the top ten in 31 countries worldwide and the single reached number one in the UK on 22nd April.

1993: Live At The Brixton Academy
In February 1994 EMI released 'The Brian May Band Live At Brixton Academy' on album and video, the first live recordings of the band.

1994: Happiness?
In September 1994, Roger Taylor released his solo album Happiness?. This was preceded by the May 3rd release of a single, Nazis 1994, which addresses the issue of Europe's increasing rise of Neo-Nazism. The second single Foreign Sands was released throughout Europe at the end of September 1994. Roger Taylor's band toured the UK and Italy in November 1994 - January 1995.

1995: Made In Heaven!
After four years in the making, November 6, 1995 saw the worldwide release of Made In Heaven, Queen's twentieth and final album. Begun in April 1991, the album was the last work to be recorded by the band with Freddie Mercury, recording continuing through to the last months of Freddie's life.

1995: the dedication
The album, much of the finishing work undertaken by John, Brian and Roger after Freddie's death, carries a dedication to the 'immortal spirit of Freddie Mercury', in recognition of his request that the material be completed and be heard by the public.

1995: the songs
The finality of the album is underlined in two particular tracks, A Winter's Tale, the last song written by Freddie, and Mother Love a Brian and Freddie song which features the last vocal track Freddie laid down.

1995: Montreux
Much of the recording on Made In Heaven was carried out at Queen's studio in Montreux, Switzerland, the town where Freddie was also living at the time. This landmark point in the history of Queen is immortalised in the album sleeve - a landscape view across the lake which Freddie's home overlooked.

1995: personal album
To many, Made In Heaven represents not only Queen's most personal album, but also the band's finest.

1995: BFI project
Always recognised for their innovative music videos, Queen wanted to look at an entirely new way of presenting the tracks of the album in a visual form. This was achieved by joining forces with the British Film Institute in a unique venture to produce a series of short films based around each of the album tracks using the talent of new young directors working with the BFI. The first of these was Evolution, a film made by director Simon Pummell inspired by Heaven For Everyone. As well as being seen on television, the film is expected to be seen also on cinema screens. Under the BFI project, a further six-eight films are anticipated to be made.

1995: 20CD set
The release of the album also provided a fitting occasion to reflect on the highlights and achievements of Queen's 25 years. A week after its release, November 13, comes the release of Ultimate Queen, a deluxe box set of 20 Queen albums presented in a wall mounted presentation case. Available as a limited edition, Ultimate Queen contains the complete studio work of the group with the classic live albums Live Killers, Live Magic and Live At Wembley. Individually numbered, each case presents the album collection on high quality litho printed picture CDs accompanied by an embossed 12-page colour booklet.

1995: Champions Of The World
As a companion to the box set, Queen also released the definitive video documentary, Champions of the World. In two hours of film and music, the video contains a wealth of material not previously available. More than simply re-telling the band's history, Champions of the World also provides a rare insight into the lives of John, Brian, Freddie and Roger.

1995: Queen Phenomenon
The release of the album is also celebrated on television with two Channel 4 specials on Queen: a new one-hour documentary, The Queen Phenomenon, to air on December 4 at 10pm, and Queen At Wembley, a live recording of one of the highlights of the group's 1986 Magic Tour, to be screened on December 6 at 11:00pm.

1995: the website
On November 6 Queen fans worldwide were able for the first time to communicate with each other and connect with the band with the launch of the Queen web site on the internet. Considered one of the most advanced sites available, it incorporates seven locations offering audio samples, video clips, stills artwork, communication and information centres, as well as a shopping mall. The site address is: http://www.queenonline.com/

1995: the statue
On November 8 sculptor Irena Sedlecka commenced work on the full size version of the statue of Freddie Mercury to be unveiled in 1996.

1995: more broadcastings
December will see Queen back on the airwaves in a major way with a two hour documentary radio series being produced by Unique Broadcasting for broadcast on Radio One FM during the month.

1996: radio series
This will be followed in January by an even more extensive radio series of five hours to be broadcast across the Independent Radio Network.

1996: Freddie in a museum
November will also see Freddie's image on display at the Museum of the Moving Image on London's Southbank with the installation of a holographic movie created from his likeness; in essence, a 3-D image on film.

1997: Queen Rocks
1997 saw the release of Queen's third compilation album Queen Rocks. It became a big succes in many countries and featured a new song written by Brian and recorded by Roger, Brian and John.

1998: Another World
Another World saw the release in 1998. Brian's long awaited solo album. This became the last album with Cozy Powell; he died after a car accident just after the recordings had been completed. While On My Way Up got released in Europe, the UK had Business as a single. Business featured a special Cozy mix and a small message by Brian for Cozy. In August Why Don't We Try Again got released as a single in the UK, Holland released Another World as a single in September.

1998: Electric Fire
Right after this release Roger released his forth solo album Electric Fire. Two singles were taken from the album: Pressure On and Surrender. The latter got released in 1999 and featured a special Radio Mix. A short UK tour followed after this release.

1999: Hits three
The end of 1999 saw the release of Greatest Hits III and Greatest Flix III of Queen. A new mix was included on the compilation: Under Pressure, the Rah Mix and a unique live performance with Elton John and the three remaining Queen members.

2000: Furia
Brian released his own soundtrack album in August 2000 for the French movie Furia. It got later released in the UK, Japan and all over Europe.

2000: th?box set
The Solo Collection, a 10 CD and 2 DVD box set got released in October 2000 of Freddie. The box featured the three solo albums, two discs with single tracks, three CD's with rarities such as demos, unreleased takes and instrumental tracks. An interview and instrumental CD was also included plus 2 DVD's featuring all of Freddie's video clips plus a new documentary. A single was released in Holland and Italy to promote the box set.

2001: .....
2001 will hopefully see the first Queen rarities box set and perhaps some other surprising things, such as a live performance of Brian and Roger (and maybe even John) somewhere on the globe...

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Nirvana

Kurt Donald Cobain was born 20th February 1967 in Hoquaim 140 km’s west of Seattle.
His mother was a cocktail waitress and his Father was an Auto mechanic.
Kurt was always a happy child until his parents got divorced at the age of seven, he said that he never felt loved or secure from that day on. Also his parents traumatic split had a lot of impact to do with Nirvana’s songs. After his parents split he found himself going back and forth from different relatives. One time he was even homeless and lived under a bridge.

When Kurt was 11 him and his friend Krist Novoselic were inspired by the Sex pistols, most of their songs have similar sound and have the same musical and lyrical quality.
In high school Kurt wasn’t a very popular person because of his artistry and poor attitude, He even got beaten up by “jocks” he got even with them by spraying QUEER on there pick up trucks.
Kurt was in a number of bands before Nirvana came to be in 1986.
In 1988 Nirvana was in shows and had demo tapes going around. By 1989 Nirvana recorded their 1st album called Bleach.
In 1991 a British company called Geffen bought their contract. Two and a half years later their 1st CD was released they also released Nevermind.
Smells like teen spirit was the most popular song by Nirvana, Nevermind went on to sell 10 million copies and made 550 million American dollars. These meaning that Nirvana were overnight millionaires. Kurt was shocked and wasn’t ready for the life style.
In the early 90’s Kurt started to use heroin, he said he used it as a shield against the rigorous demands of touring and to stop the pain of stomach ulcers or an irritated bowel.
Kurt was distressed to find out what he wrote and what people thought it meant. He was appalled to find out that two men sung Polly as they raped a young girl when Polly was an anti rape song. He later appealed to fans on the Incesticide liner notes "If any of you don't like gays or women or blacks, please leave us the fuck alone."
In 1992 went to Hawaii and married Courtney Love who was already pregnant with his daughter, shortly after there daughter, Frances Bean Cobain was born.
In early 1993 In Utero was released and made its way up to the top spot of the charts, the music press called this Cobain’s most passionate work, it was a lot more open about personal things with Kurt to do with his marriage and his struggles in life.
In 1993 Nirvana made a film called unplugged this was to honour bands that had influenced them. Many people thought Kurt to be talentless and when he was to sing the intense vocals of “Where did u sleep last night” it shut a lot of people up and they thought differently.
Rumours had it that this was going to be there last, as Nirvana was splitting up.
Kurt had always been a gun fanatic and had a lot in his possession he also had a number confiscated off of him.
In 1993-94 Nirvana were going for a twenty-concert tour. But Kurt developed throat problems and their schedule was interrupted. While recovering from his throat problem he flew to Rome to meet his wife who was also preparing her own band (HOLE) for a tour. On March 4th Kurt was rushed to hospital in a coma what has been said to be an unsuccessful suicide attempt, he took 50 painkillers with champagne. It was officially called and accident and some of his close friends didn’t even know about it.
A couple of days later he went home to Seattle. Kurt was still very unhappy and in great distress as he was on a detox plan according to a file Kurt was only on the plan for a few days before he packed it in.
On the 5th of April Kurt Cobain went into a small room above the garage and ended it all. His body was found by an electrician who peered trough a window and 1st mistook it for a mannequin, until he noticed a patch of blood that had came out of Kurt’s ear. When police arrived at the scene they found Kurt with the shotgun still close to his chin and a suicide note wrote in red pen. It was written to his Boddah, his love and Frances Bean. Two days after his body was found 5000 people gathered in Seattle for a candle lit vigil. The crowd filled the air with profane chants, burnt there shirts and fought with police. They also listened to a tape read by Courtney Love as she read bits from his suicide note. Kurt Donald Cobain was only 27 and lives on in people’s hearts till this day.



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Deep Purple

This composition of the Solid Deep Purple
1. Roger Glover (Bass)
2. Richie Blackmore (guitar)
3. Jon Lord (Keyboard)
4. Ian Gillan (Vocal)
5. Ian Piace (Drum)
Formed in Hertford in 1968, Deep Purple were originally called Roundabout. The original line-up featured Ritchie Blackmore, Rod Evans, Nick Simper, Jon Lord and Ian Paice.
The band’s debut album, ‘Shades of Deep Purple’, didn’t catch the attention of the UK, but in American they landed a top five hit with ‘Hush’.
The albums ‘The Book of Taliesyn’ and ‘Deep Purple’ followed but, as the band’s ambitions were growing, their American label folded. Evans and Simper left the band and Ian Gillan and Roger Glover took their places, marking the first of many line-up changes.


‘Deep Purple in Rock’ heralded the beginning of the group's commercially successful period. After the success of 'In Rock' and 'Fireball' the band decided on a European location to record their next album. They chose The Casino in Montreux in Switzerland only to see it burn down the night before recording was to begin. Out of the ashes of the Casino however was to come their most memorable song and their most successful album ever. With smoke literally wafting over the water of lake Geneva the band took up residence in the Grand Hotel and in the swiftly converted corridors and cupboards of the deserted Hotel recorded the album that was to become their tour de force. The multi-platinum ‘Machine Head’, reached the U.S. Top Five in 1972.

Gillian and Glover later left the band while David Coverdale and Glenn Hughes were recruited for 1974's ‘Burn’. After finishing 1974's Stormbringer, Blackmore left the band to form Rainbow.

Deep Purple broke-up in 1976 and it wasn’t until 1984 that the classic line-up of Blackmore, Gillan, Lord, Glover and Paice reunited for the platinum selling ‘Perfect Strangers’ album. Throughout the 90s the band continued in one form or another and the release of several archival releases and box-set collections have helped keep their fan base happy.

ALBUM
Shades of Deep Purple - 1968
The Book of Taliesyn - 1969
Deep Purple - 1969
Deep Purple in Rock - 1970
Fireball - 1971
Machine Head - 1972
Who Do We Think We Are - 1973
Burn - 1974
Stormbringer - 1974
Come Taste the Band - 1975
Mk IIb Perfect Strangers - 1984
The House of Blue Light – 1987
Slaves & Masters - 1990
The Battle Rages on - 1993
Purpendicular - 1996
Abandon - 1998
Bananas – 2003

Live Albums
Inglewood - Live at the Forum
Concerto for Group & Orchestra
Kneel & Pray
Deep Purple in Concert
Space Vol. 1 & 2
Live in Denmark
Gemini Suite Live
Scandinavian Nights (Stockholm) = Live & Rare
Made in Japan = Live in Japan
Live in Japan
California Jamming = Live at the California Jam
Just Might Take Your Life
Perks & Tit
Live in London
Made in Europe
Live in Paris 1975
Last Concert in Japan
This Time Around
King Biscuit Flower Hour = On the Wings of a Russian Foxbat
In the Absence of Pink (Knebworth '85)
Nobody's Perfect
Live & Rare - The Bootleg Collection 1984-2000 (12CD Box)
Live at the Olympia '96
Total Abandon - Live in Australia
Live at the Royal Albert Hall
Live At The Rotterdam Ahoy
The Soundboard Series (12CD Box)

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Joe Satriani

For me Joe Satriani is one of the legendary guitarist, who often use hair shaven, hhh
Storming onto the music scene nearly a decade ago, Joe Satriani has been widely recognized as the archetypal post-modern hero.
Since his emergence in 1986 with a self-released, self-titled debut album, Joe has become the most recognizable guitar voice of his time, earning his place alongside the great masters of rock guitar. As an instrumental artist in a pop-dominated field, Satriani's accomplishments are even more remarkable: He is perhaps the most successful rock instrumentalist in recent history, selling millions of records and consistently packing concert halls - yet always preserving a strong musical vision, as well as the respect of fellow musicians and forward-thinking music fans worldwide.


Satriani's gift is creating highly evolved instrumental music, using the structure of popular standard songs that allows listeners to latch onto tuneful melodies before being dazzled by his acclaimed musicianship. His hallmarks are a warm, bluesy tone and delicate phrasing, combined with the bursts of superhuman technical facility which upped the ante well beyond the standards set by generations of great rock musicians before him.
Elsewhere on the album, Satriani revisits the familiar sound that demanded the attention of millions of pop fans: "A Train of Angles" creates the joyous pop mood heard in such classic Satriani radio hits as "Summer Song." On new tunes like "Raspberry Jam Delta-V," the melodies escalate into passages so stunning, it's difficult to believe they were performed with just two hands on a single instrument.
Joe Satriani was born in Westbury, New York, and began playing guitar at age 14. By 1971, he was teaching guitar to others, one of his students being Steve Vai. In 1974, Joe studied with two modern jazz masters, guitarist Billy Bauer and pianist/composer Lennie Tristano; four years later, he moved to Berkeley, California, where he began a 10-year guitar teaching career with students including David Bryson (Counting Crows), Kirk Hammett (Metallica), Larry LaLonde (Primus), and Charlie Hunter, among others. In 1984, Joe released a self-titled five-song EP on his own Rubina label, and the following year completed his first full-length album Not Of This Earth, which was financed on a credit card and released in 1986 on Relativity Records.
In October 1987, Relativity released Satriani's second album Surfing With The Alien. The record became a global phenomenon, going platinum with sales of over a million copies in the U.S. alone and landing Satriani's face on the covers of such magazines as Guitar Player, Musician, Guitar World, and dozens of other international publications. Surfing With The Alien was a landmark release which showcased the guitarist's stunning array of composing, playing , and producing talents. Consequently and deservedly, it became the most successful instrumental rock record since Jeff Beck's Wired.
Each subsequent Satriani release - including Flying In A Blue Dream, The Extremist, Time Machine and the recent Joe Satriani, which was produced by the legendary Glyn Johns - has drawn great commercial and critical attention. The same seems certain to be the case with Crystal Planet, and it's not just Joe's fans who have been moved by his unique tone and feel: Players from all walks of musical life have been attracted to Satriani's work.
After sitting in with Joe's band at New York's Bottom Line, Mick Jagger recruited Joe in 1988 as lead guitarist for the singer's very first tour apart from the Rolling Stones. Deep Purple tapped into Satriani's mastery when he assumed lead guitar position in the band for its 1994 tours of Europe and Japan. In 1996, the G3 Tour - featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson - played 24 dates to some 90,000 fans across North America, a tour documented on the G3 Live In Concert album and home video (both Epic). In 1997, Joe united with jazz guitar great Pat Martino to record two tracks, "Ellipsis" and "Never and After," for Martino's acclaimed all-star collection All Sides Now (Blue Note); and enlisted in a second G3 summer tour, this one co-starring Steve Vai, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Robert Fripp.
With its cunning marriage of well-structured songs, challenging sonic surprises, moody moments and breathtaking guitar playing, Crystal Planet has all the marks of a great Joe Satriani disc. After a decade of ground breaking work, this is one musician still willing to push the edge of conventional rock beyond what's come before.
July 15, 1956Born in Westbury New York
1970 First picks up the Guitar
1971 Teaches guitar for next three years at home in Westbury, Long Island (NY). Steve Vai is one of his first students.
September 1972 High School Music teacher Bill Wescott introduces Joe to pitch axis theory.
1974 Self taught for the last four years, Joe takes lessons for three weeks with Billy Bauer in Glen Cove, NY. The same year studies with Lennie Tristano in Queens, NY, for two months.
1978 Begins a 10-year stint teaching at Second Hand Guitars in Berkeley, CA; students include David Bryson (Counting Crows), Kirk Hammett, Charlie Hunter, Larry LaLonde, Alex Skolnick, and others.
1979 Forms pop band The Squares in San Francisco with Jeff Campitelli on drums and Andy Milton bass.
1984 Releases five-song, EP Joe Satriani on the independent label he names after his wife, Rubina. The album contains guitars exclusively.
1985 Completes the tracks for Not Of This Earth, financing the recording on a credit card; introduced to Relativity Records by Steve Vai.
September 1986 Tours with pop-rocker Greg Kihn to make ends meet while awaiting a deal-decision from Relativity.
November 1986 Fifteen months after it's recorded, "Not Of This Earth" is released by Relativity
December 1986 Signed to Relativity Records, Joe is already putting together demos for songs that will appear on Surfing With The Alien.
October 1987Surfing With The Alien is released (quickly goes gold and platinum)
February 1988 On the strength of Surfing's reception, Relativity does a second pressing of Not Of This Earth (the initial stock had sold out); because the original artwork is lost, a new cover adorns the second run.
February-March, September-October 1988 Interrupts own tour twice to go on road with Mick Jagger.
June 11, 1988 During the Surfing tour three live tracks are recorded for the Dreaming #11 EP (one studio cut - "The Crush of Love," originally recorded for a Guitar Player Flexi-disk-completes the package)
November 1988 Dreaming #11 is released (goes gold and fetches Joe's second Grammy nomination)
October 1989 Flying In a Blue Dream is released (Joe receives third Grammy Nomination and album sells over 750,000 units), and includes Joe's vocals an six of its 18 tracks.
July 1992Following two intense years of writing and recording, The Extremist is released (immediately goes gold, debuts at 24 on Billboard and gets yet another Grammy nomination); it spawns the hit "Summer Song," which is later used in a Sony Walkman Commercial.
October 1993 The double-CD Time Machine is released: Disc One contains studio out-takes and foreign releases spanning Joe's career, plus four of the five tracks from the original Joe Satriani EP and three new cuts; Disc Two contains 14 live tracks.
October 1994 Time Machine certified gold, and Joe begins his seventh album.
October 11, 1995 Joe Satriani releases his seventh album, self titled "Joe Satriani", produced by Glyn Johns. "(You're) My World" was nominated for a Grammy.
October 1996 The G3 Tour, featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Eric Johnson, played 24 dates to 90,000 fans in North America.
May 1997 G3 featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and Adrian Legg, tours Europe.
June 1997 G3 Live In Concert CD and video released.
June 15, 1997 G3 featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, and Robert Fripp, begins U.S. tour.
November 1997G3 US Tour with Joe, Steve Vai, Kenny Wayne Shepherd and Robert Fripp ends
November 1997"Merry Axemas" released, featuring Joe's version of "Silent Night".
February 1998"Ceremony" is released as the first single in the US from the "Crystal Planet" album.
March 1998Joe's 8th album "Crystal Planet" is released. The album is produced by Mike Fraser {G3, Metallica, AC/DC}.
March 1998"Summer Song" from the "G3 LIVE" album is nominated for a GRAMMY.
March 1998CRYSTAL PLANET US TOUR begins. A series of SOLD OUT showcase events featuring a 1 hour segment of CRYSTAL PLANET songs, followed by an hour's worth of classic Satriani hits. Four of these events were NETCASTS from San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta and Chicago.
May 1998G3 European Tour begins featuring Joe, with Jeff and Stu, Michael Schenker and Ule Jon Roth, with special appearances by Brian May in London and Patrick Rondat in France.
July 1998Joe, Jeff and Stu begin the 3rd leg of the CRYSTAL PLANET US TOUR .
July 1998"Train of Angels" released in the US.
June 1999"Surfing With The Alien" is remastered and repackaged and will be released in late July 1999! No specific date has been set yet. It will be available in your usual traditional record stores as well as through online stores such as CDNow, Amazon, Sony Store, etc. For example, CDNow and Amazon are both already taking advance orders for the 24K Gold Disc.
July 1999"Surfing With The Alien" Remastered and repackaged releases July 27 1999.
March 2000"ENGINE OF CREATION" Release in March 14, 2000.
April 2000Joe, Eric, Stu and Jeff Begin the ENGINE OF CREATION US TOUR.
June 2001 G3 featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, and John Petrucci, US Tour.
June 2001 Joe Satriani - Live in Sanfrancisco A double-live CD recorded live at the historic Fillmore in San Francisco, CA in December 2000.(release date jun 19, 2001)
June 2002 Joe Satriani - Strange Beautiful Music release Jun 25, 2002.The guitar virtuoso's eighth studio album is one of the most elaborate recordings Satriani has done to date. The intricacies and the layering of the guitars and bass bring Satriani's famous riff-saturated jams to soaring heights. Strange Beautiful Music includes appearances by Robert Fripp, Matt Bissonette, and Jeff Campitelli.
June 2002 Strange Beautiful Tour - The European shows in July and US Oct-Dec were "evening with Joe" shows, and the Aug/Sep U.S. dates were co-headlining dates with Dream Theater.
October 2003G3'03 featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Yngwie Malmsteen, US Tour.
November 2003The Satch Tapes - DVD release date Nov 18, 2003 (original VHS release date 1993)
November 2003The Electric Joe Satriani - An Anthology release Nov 18, 2003This double CD features fully remastered versions of Satch's greatest tunes, along with personal liner notes by Joe for each song. Also of note is the inclusion of "Slick" (previously unreleased) and "The Eight Steps" (previously only available in Japan). The tracks included on this release were directly influenced by votes from Joe's online fan club.
January 2004Peavey and Joe Satriani create the new JSX™ guitar amplifier (The JSX will be available in April 2004 from Authorized Peavey Dealers)
February 2004G3 Live CD: Rockin' in the free world - A double-live CD recorded live at Denver in Colorado Oct 2004. (Release Feb 24, 2004)G3 Live DVD: Live in Denver - DVD release date Feb 24, 2004
April 2004Joe Satriani release his 9th album "Is There Love In Space" Apr 13, 2004.Featuring Joe's own vocals on two of the tracks ("Lifestyle" and "I Like the Rain"), Joe -- as always -- continues to push the boundaries of guitar-playing on Is There Love In Space?
April 2004JSX Joe Satriani Signature Peavey Amp (Release April 2004)
April - June 2004Is There Love In Space? Promo in-store
June - July 20042004 G3 featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and Robert Fripp, Europe Tour.
August - September 2004Joe Satriani with Deep Purple and Thin Lizzy, US Tour.
October 2004 2004 Oct 6, An Evening With Joe Satriani tour in US. Joe's lineup for these shows included Jeff Campitelli on drums, Matt Bissonette on Bass, and Galen Henson on rhythm guitar.
November 2004November - December 2004 ' G3 In south America with Steve Vai and Robert Fripp. Joe's lineup for these shows included Jeff Campitelli on drums, Matt Bissonette on Bass, and Galen Henson on rhythm guitar.
March - April 2005 An Evening With Joe Down Under and in US. A long-awaited return to Australia and New Zealand, the makeup dates for Joe's bout with pneumonia at the end of 2004 as well as some added shows, including Anaheim that was taped for the webcast.
October 2005G3 Live In Tokyo DVD and CD - Release date: Oct, 25 2005.On May 8, 2005 at the International Forum in Tokyo, Japan, the trio of Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and John Petrucci put on their G3 show-a nearly 3-hour show put on for a sold-out crowd of awestruck fans. Having achieved tremendous success and critical praise in their own careers, this tour marked the second time the three influential guitarists have joined forced on the same stage (the first tour with these three happened back in 2001). Continuing with the same successful formula as in years past, fans were treated to individual sets by each guitarists with his own band before joining Satriani and his band on stage for an all-star jam session! The G3 Live In Tokyo DVD is every guitar fan's dream and also features behind-the-scenes at the G3 soundcheck, 5.1 sound, bios and more.
January 2006New Joe Satriani Signature Collection Straps & Picks From Planet Waves - January 19, 2006Planet Waves is proud to announce the introduction of the Joe Satriani Signature Collection of guitar straps and picks.Aside from being one of the worlds best guitarists, with 13 Grammy nominations and ten million albums sold, Joe Satriani is an avid artist who has kept sketchbooks for years, and his guitars are instantly recognizable with their famous artwork. The JS Series of guitar straps and picks feature some of Satrianis own sketches and artwork inspired by his guitars. [ more detail ]
Mar 2006Joe Satriani release his 10th studio album "Super Colossal" Mar 14, 2006.Co-Produced by Joe Satriani and Mike Fraser (AC/DC), Super Colossal features Satch performing on all of the guitar and bass parts. Live drums were cut on four tracks by session giant Simon Phillips, the rest were played by Joe's longtime collaborator, Jeff Campitelli. The 13 tracks on the album range from the title track's thundering, foot-stomp beat and intricately textured lead line, to the spiritual intensity of "A Love Eternal" and the raucous, party-down exhilaration of "Crowd Chant."This year marks Satriani's 20-year anniversary as a solo artist! His first album, Not Of This Earth, was released in 1986On the same day of Super Colossal's release, Satriani begins a west coast trek, making special in-store appearances. Soon after, he will launch a full U.S. tour beginning April 1st in Denver, CO.
April - May 2006Joe Satriani Super Colossal US Tour - Joe Satriani w/ very special guest Eric Johnson New bassist Dave LaRue (Dixie Dregs, Steve Morse Band, John Petrucci, Vinnie Moore and Planet X) will be joining Joe on upcoming "Super Colossal Tour".June - July 2006Super Colossal European Tour with Johnny A supporting.
October 20062006 G3 featuring Joe Satriani, John Petrucci and Eric Johnson Latin America tour.
October 2006SATRIANI LIVE! A double-live DVD & CD, Release Oct 31, 2006 - Recorded live at the Grove in Anaheim, CA May 3 2006. The DVD release includes a treasure trove of bonus footage
December 20062006 G3 featuring Joe Satriani, Steve Vai and John Petrucci tour Down Under.
March - April 20072007 G3 featuring Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert US tour.
June - July 20072007 European Summer Festivals
August 2007On August 7, 2007 Epic/Legacy Recordings re-release "Surfing With the Alien" to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its release. This will be a 2 disc set that includes a remastered album and a DVD of previously never-before-seen live show filmed at the Montreux Jazz Festival in 1988
April 2008On April 1, 2008, Joe Satriani release his 13th solo album, Professor Satchafunkilus and the Musterion of Rock (Sony/BMG). Following the album’s release, Satriani will embark on a worldwide tour, kicking off April 30th in Lisbon, Portugal, before hitting the European market, Australia, South America and finally returning to the U.S. in the fall of 2008.Professor Satchafunkilus was produced through the creative envisioning of Satriani and John Cuniberti; guiding the musical talents of longtime drummer/percussionist Jeff Campitelli and reknowned bassist Matt Bissonette. A special addition to the album’s artist list is Joe’s own son, ZZ Satriani, playing the tenor sax. ( dikutip dari foreverjoe.com )


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Van Halen

Van Halen is an American rock band formed in the early-1970s and discovered by KISS bassist and co-founder Gene Simmons. The band's first studio album, Van Halen, released in 1978 is widely regarded as a milestone in rock music. With this first release, the band established itself as a leader in the emerging and commercially successful U.S. heavy metal music genre of the 1980s. In particular, the band's guitarist, Eddie Van Halen, quickly gained widespread notoriety for his technical prowess and musical sensibility. Almost overnight, he was touted as one of the most innovative and influential American rock and roll guitarists.[1]. The band has also established itself as one of the major live acts of that era, opening up for Journey, Montrose, and later Black Sabbath in 1978. According to Ozzy Osbourne, bringing Van Halen along on the tour was not the best idea because Van Halen simply outplayed them. It also became very popular for the antics, stage presence and larger-than-life persona of its lead singer, David Lee Roth, who was frequently called "Van Halen" by new fans.

From 1978 to 1998 the band released 11 studio albums (all of which broke the Top 20 spot of the Billboard 200 music charts[2]). The band has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide[3] and has received several Grammy nominations[4]. Van Halen is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records with the most number one hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock List[5]. According to the Recording Industry Association of America Van Halen is #19 on the list of Top Selling Artists of all time (having sold more than 56 million albums in the U.S.)[6]. Van Halen is one of five rock groups in the world that have had 2 albums sell more than 10 million albums in the U.S. (the others being: Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, The Eagles and Def Leppard).
In addition to being recognized for their artistic contributions, commercial success and popularity, the band is known for drama surrounding the lead singer spot. Although the core instrumentalists and backing vocals have remained constant (Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen and Michael Anthony), the band has recorded studio albums with three different lead vocalists: David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone. Each vocalist has departed (at least once) under cloudy circumstances. Following their 2004 concert tour the band is currently on hiatus; once again they have a vacancy in the lead singer position and an uncertain future.

Van Halen - Origins
The Van Halen family emigrated from Nijmegen, Netherlands to Pasadena, California in the 1960s. Eddie and Alex's father, Jan Van Halen, was an accomplished saxophonist and clarinetist (his work was featured on the song "Big Bad Bill (Is Sweet William Now)" from the album Diver Down (1982)). Jan encouraged his sons' love of music. Alex (the older of the Van Halen brothers) and Eddie were both trained as classical pianists during their childhoods. As they grew older, Alex took flamenco guitar lessons and Eddie bought a drum set. According to folklore, while Eddie was out delivering papers to pay for his drums, Alex would practice on them. After hearing his brother play the drum solo from the song "Wipe Out", Eddie abandoned the drums for guitar.

During elementary and middle school, Eddie and Alex formed several different bands at different times, with names like "The Trojan Rubber Company," "The Broken Combs," and "The Space Brothers." [7] By the time the brothers were in their teens the band had evolved into a power trio named Mammoth (the original lineup included Eddie on guitar and lead vocals, Alex on drums, and Mark Stone on bass). In 1974, Mark Stone was replaced by Michael Anthony, who was then fronting his own band called Snake. With no dedicated lead singer, Eddie and Michael took turns singing lead[8].
David Lee Roth, a local entrepreneur, and lead singer of a rival Los Angeles band, had begun renting out his public address system to Mammoth in 1973. Eddie and Alex grew tired of paying the "PA Tax" to "Diamond Dave," and in 1974 brought him into the band as their lead singer. Upon discovering that another band in the L.A. area was also named Mammoth, at Roth's suggestion, they changed their name to Van Halen (passing on the name 'Rat Salade'). Roth stated in his autobiography, "I felt that the name Van Halen was like the name Santana, it had power to it."[9]
The band became a staple act on California's Sunset Strip during the mid-1970s, consistently playing at well known clubs such as the Whisky A Go-Go. In 1976, Gene Simmons of the rock band KISS saw one of Van Halen's shows and subsequently financed their first demo tape (this bootlegged demo commonly circulates under the title Zero and features unfinished and alternative lyrics to many of Van Halen's early songs). Despite having a fairly polished demo tape, Van Halen was unable to secure a record deal[10], and Simmons subsequently released his rights to the band. The band continued to play club gigs, eventually connecting with Marshall Berle (nephew of the famous comedian Milton Berle). One night after playing to an empty house at the famed Starwood Club in Los Angeles, Berle, then the band's manager, introduced them to producer Ted Templeman[11] and Warner Bros. executive Mo Ostin. Van Halen soon signed their first record contract[12]. Templeman (who had previously produced hits for The Doobie Brothers) would go on to produce Van Halen's first six albums.

Van Halen - 1978-1985 with David Lee Roth
With Ted Templeman at the helm, the band moved into the studio and quickly recorded their first album. Simply titled Van Halen, the album was released to immediate commercial success, reaching #19 on the Billboard pop music charts. All of the tracks were laid down very quickly (about three weeks), with little over-dubbing or double tracking. Minor mistakes were left on the record and a very simple musical set-up was used to give the record an almost-live feel. After adding vocals, the album was essentially ready to be mixed. Despite the simple studio set-up, Van Halen featured innovations in musical technique, production, and arrangement.
The first album, one of rock's most commercially successful debuts[13], is widely regarded as one of the most influential rock albums ever produced[14]. While it included world famous pieces such as Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love, Eruption and Runnin' With the Devil, the album also portrayed a Kinks Cover of You Really Got me and a John Brim cover of Ice Cream Man. The band toured for nearly a year on the basis of Van Halen, establishing their reputation as a talented and exciting live band. The early chemistry of the band was based upon the interplay of Eddie Van Halen's technical wizardry and David Lee Roth's flamboyant antics (a contrast that would later erupt into full-blown conflict). They returned to the studio in 1979 for Van Halen II, similar in style to their debut. This album yielded the band's first hit single, the poppy "Dance the Night Away".
Over the next four years, the band alternated album releases and touring to increasing commercial and critical acclaim. By 1980, Van Halen was perhaps the world's most successful and influential hard rock band (a legacy the band sustained throughout their career; in 2000, VH1 cited Van Halen as #7 on their list, 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock). In 1981, during the recording of their fourth album, Fair Warning, tensions began to rise within the band. Eddie Van Halen's desire to experiment with more serious songs and complex structures was at odds with Roth's pop instincts and increasingly cartoonish, irony-laden persona. Although Roth (and producer Templeman) acquiesced to Eddie's wishes, Fair Warning was a relative sales disappointment, yielding no hit singles. The following album, Diver Down, featured a hit cover of Roy Orbison's classic rock and roll song "Oh, Pretty Woman". After a successful tour to support Diver Down, Van Halen became the highest paid music group for a single appearance, earning a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records for their inebriated, $1 million, 90-minute set at the US Festival in 1983. (This record was eventually eclipsed in the 1990s.)
Van Halen's next album, 1984 (released December 1983) was their commercial, and many claim, artistic pinnacle. It was also a breaking point for the original line-up. Keyboards, previously heard only rarely, were now fully integrated into the band's sound. The album's lead single, "Jump", featured a bouncy synthesizer hook and anthemic lyrics by Roth. "Jump" became the band's first and only #1 pop hit and resulted in the band's first Grammy nomination. The album 1984 was praised by critics and fans alike, peaking at #2 on the Billboard charts behind the popular Thriller by Michael Jackson (Eddie Van Halen played the guitar solo on the hit song "Beat It," from that album). In the midst of their greatest commercial success and tour, the artistic and personal tensions between the musicians reached a breaking point. Roth exited the band on April 1, 1985.

Van Halen - 1985-1996 with Sammy Hagar
In search of a new front man, the band was introduced to singer/guitarist/song-writer Sammy Hagar. Hagar (who sang lead vocals for the band Montrose in the early '70s) was at that time a solo artist coming off a very successful year (his 1984 album "VOA" had yielded the hit single I Can't Drive 55 that peaked at #26 on the pop charts). Late in 1985 Hagar agreed to join the band and a new era began for Van Halen.
The album 5150, released in the spring of 1986, was an immediate smash hit, and driven by the keyboard-dominated singles "Why Can't This Be Love," "Dreams," and "Love Walks In," became the band's first release to reach #1 on the Billboard album charts. Filled out with diverse songs ranging from the near thrash of "Get Up," and party rock of "Summer Nights" and "Good Enough," to the more introspective "Best Of Both Worlds" and an EVH guitar tour de force on the title track, 5150 is generally considered the strongest album of the "Hagar era."
The next 10 years with Sammy Hagar were marked by two somewhat opposing trends: expansion of the band's commercial success amid increasing fan resentment over Roth's departure. Hagar's style enabled Van Halen to become accessible to a wider audience, with lyrics that were more conventional and refined. Eddie's keyboard work brought a wider variety of sonic textures within each song, and the production was altered toward the pop side. The result was markedly different from the hard charging, rollicking riffs of the group's earlier work, and Eddie's trademark guitar sound was now rarely heard without many digital effects. Die-hard "old Van Halen" fans referred derisively to the new "Van Hagar" sound as "soft" or "fluffy" compared with the raucous, raw sound of the Roth era.
During Hagar's tenure, the band established a musical formula that proved commercially successful in the United States. All four studio albums produced during this period reached #1 on the Billboard pop music charts. Also during this time, 17 singles breached the top 12 of the mainstream rock tracks chart. In addition, Van Halen was nominated for two Grammy Awards, winning the 1991 Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal award for the album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. Van Halen continued to enjoy tremendous popular success throughout the mid-90's, while many of their hair metal contemporaries (such as Warrant and Poison) fell from favor, overtaken by anti-establishment "Grunge Music".
During the recording of their contribution to the film Twister, escalating tension between Hagar and the Van Halen brothers boiled over publicly as Hagar departed on Father's Day, 1996. Hagar claimed that he was fired; Eddie Van Halen claimed that Hagar quit. The media storm surrounding the dramatic exit of Hagar helped him to immediately restart his solo career. However, the publicity wasn't helpful for Van Halen, only serving to shine a bright light on the vacant lead singer spot. The commercial success that Van Halen reached with Sammy Hagar set high expectations - and fans everywhere were watching and waiting for the band's next move.


Van Halen - 1997-1999 with Gary Cherone
Soon after Hagar's departure, David Lee Roth entered the studio with the Van Halen brothers, Michael Anthony, and producer Glen Ballard. Two songs from those sessions were added to the band's Greatest Hits album (with the Roth single Me Wise Magic reaching #1 on the mainstream rock chart; the album The Best of Van Halen, Vol. 1 was #1 on the pop charts). However, Eddie and Alex were still auditioning other singers — among them unknown singer Mitch Malloy. Malloy would reveal years later that, during this time, Eddie had hired him for the job. By September, however, David Lee Roth and the rest of the band were asked to present an award at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. On September 4, 1996, the four original members of Van Halen made their first public appearance together in over eleven years, presenting an award at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. This appearance was greeted with a standing ovation, and fueled hopeful speculation for a reunion tour. However, old wounds were reopened; while doing backstage interviews with the media, Roth told Eddie not to talk about personal issues such as Eddie's hip replacement. According to Eddie, Roth was very rude and self-centered, causing the relationship between both of them to sour once again. Mitch Malloy would reveal years later that immediately after the awards, he told Eddie that he did not want to be the lead singer of Van Halen because the public appearance with Dave made it impossible for any other singer to be successful with the group. Several weeks after the awards show, the public and media became aware that Roth would not be reuniting with the band. At this time, Roth released a media statement where he apologized to the media and the fans, stating that he was an unwitting participant in a publicity stunt perpetrated by the Van Halens and Ray Daniels (their manager) in order to sell more copies of the greatest hits album. The next day, Eddie and Alex Van Halen released a media statement, stressing that they were completely honest with Roth and never led him to believe that he was guaranteed to be the next lead singer.
Continuing their search, Van Halen recruited Gary Cherone, the frontman of the defunct Boston-based band Extreme. The result of their collaboration was the experimental Van Halen 3. Many songs were longer and more ethereal (Once), more thought-provoking (How Many Say I with Eddie on vocals), or were just plain different (From Afar, Josephina). These changes both alienated many existing Van Halen fans who were followers of Roth's and Hagar's hard rock sound and also failed to attract a new audience. Sales were lackluster compared to previous albums. The VH3 album peaked at #4 on the charts (it was Gold certified), and produced a #1 Mainstream Rock Track hit, Without You. However, no tracks from the album ever appeared on the pop music charts. In 1999, Cherone split amicably with Van Halen after the VH3 tour. In 2002, Warner Bros. dropped Van Halen (still without a lead singer) from the label, after having released all of their albums since 1978.

Van Halen - 2000-2004 Four years of silence
1996 marked the end of an era for Van Halen as a band. A greatest hits album had been released, their lead singer of over a decade had departed, and confusion swirled about the artistic direction and future marketability of the band. Although rumors were plenty, and accusations and hostility pervaded the news, there was little new information about the band. The Inside (the once-official VH mag) dissolved after turning unofficial from lack of news.
Comedian David Letterman succinctly expressed the frustration of millions of Van Halen fans. During the delivery of his Top Ten list on October 21, 1996, he sarcastically implied that then Presidential Candidate Bob Dole could gain the popular support of the American People if he would use his diplomatic skills to just convince the members of Van Halen to stop fighting so they could "start crankin' out some more bitchin' tunes".
From 2000 to early 2004, no albums were released and no official information was provided to fans about the future of the band. However, information about individual members, past and present, trickled in. Some highlights:
In 1999 Eddie Van Halen reluctantly had hip replacement surgery (when the pain became unbearable). He also underwent cancer treatment soon after (at the Mayo Clinic) and announced his complete recovery on the official website in May 2002. On October 15, 2001, Eddie and his wife of 21-years, actress Valerie Bertinelli, separated. The couple filed for divorce on December 8, 2005. Eddie keeps out of the public eye but appears at the LAPD golf tournament.
Alex Van Halen continued to work with his brother on new material at their 5150 recording studio (with Eddie singing?).
Since his departure in 1996, David Lee Roth produced a number of albums and toured with his DLR band (his most recent release being an album of covers called Diamond Dave (2003)). In 2003, Roth brought a court action against Van Halen, their management, and record company claiming he was left out of 1996 royalty renegotiations. On July 4, 2004, Roth performed with the Boston Pops at Boston's annual Pops Goes the Fourth celebration. As of 2005, he has become a certified EMT, and as of October 2005, has agreed to become Howard Stern's future replacement on morning talk radio.
Sammy Hagar has remained active musically. Since his departure from Van Halen, he has released five albums. He also created his own merchandising brand Cabo Wabo, which lends its name to his popular line of tequila, as well as his franchise of cantinas located in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and Lake Tahoe, Nevada. In addition, he reunited with the original members of his '70s band Montrose in 2003 and 2005 for a handful of performances. Hagar also maintains a good relationship with Michael Anthony and the two often play together.
Michael Anthony stays busy outside of Van Halen with various product merchandising projects (such as his signature Yamaha bass) and has a website. He is involved with the annual music industry NAMM Show.
Anthony also releases a statement on his official website denying rumours he has been sacked by Van Halen.
Since his departure from Van Halen, Gary Cherone recorded an album and performed locally with his new band Tribe of Judah.
In the summer of 2002, David Lee Roth and Sammy Hagar teamed up for the Song For Song, the Heavyweight Champs of Rock and Roll tour (known tongue-in-cheek as the 'Sans-Halen' or 'Sam & Dave' Tour). It succeeded beyond expectations, drawing large crowds to outdoor auditoriums. In an interview, Roth contrasted his personality with Hagar's, saying, "he's the kind of guy you go out with to split a bottle with a friend. I'm the kind of guy you go out with if you want to split your friend with a bottle." During that tour, Michael Anthony guested with Hagar's solo band, The Waboritas, but never played with Roth. Hagar released a live album (Hallelujah), which featured Mike (a few songs) and Gary (one song), and a documentary DVD, "Long Road to Cabo", chronicling his tour with David Lee Roth.
Van Halen - 2004-2005 Reunion with Sammy Hagar
In late March 2004, Van Halen and Sammy Hagar announced that Hagar would reunite with the band for a Greatest Hits album release and a summer concert tour.
In July 2004, Van Halen released their second Greatest Hits compilation, featuring three new songs with Hagar: "It's About Time", "Up For Breakfast", and "Learning to See." Again, public reaction to the new songs was mixed. The track list had changed since its unveiling, and now Hagar and Roth songs alternated instead of one disc for each singer; a disappointing strategy for fans who prefer one singer over the other (often strongly). No VH3 songs made it onto the disc. Nevertheless, Van Halen's second Greatest Hits record would be certified platinum in August 2004.
The summer tour grossed 55 million dollars, and Pollstar listed Van Halen in the top 10 grossing tours of 2004. Most of the concerts received positive feedback from professional reviewers. However, serious problems surfaced. Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony would subsequently admit that Eddie Van Halen had problems with alcohol during the tour that affected everyone involved. Hagar stated that he was "done with Van Halen" and wished that everyone would have "taken it more seriously." It was also revealed in Rolling Stone magazine that promoters had lost money on the tour. Many fans complained that tickets were overpriced (sometimes exceeding $200), and only a few shows were actually sold out. Reports of Eddie being drunk and playing sloppy circulated which is also evident on many of the bootlegs of the tour.

After the tour ended, Van Halen once again disappeared. Hagar returned to his solo band The Waboritas, and Anthony appeared with him on tour occasionally. Eddie's collaboration with Peavey ended (for his signature 5150 guitar amplifier series, replaced with the 6505 amp, and Eddie is now endorsing Charvel, which is reissuing the EVH classic guitar models). As for 2005, no announcements had been made about the future of the band.
In August 2005, Van Halen sued the Baltimore Orioles, claiming that the Orioles reneged on a deal to bring the band to Oriole Park at Camden Yards on September 2, 2004, which would have been the first concert at the otherwise baseball-only facility.
On October 7, 2005, newsletter Popbitch reported that Van Halen would be seeking a new lead singer via a reality TV show similar to INXS's Rock Star: INXS. Several other news sources picked up this story but it turned out to be false. [15]

Van Halen - Dec 2005 - Present Hiatus Again....
December 22, 2005 Michael Anthony reveals during a radio interview with Mark & Brian that band are yet again on hiatus and hasn't spoken to the Van Halen brothers for some time. He won't be drawn on any detailed questions regarding Eddie's below par performances on the 2004 tour or what the guitarist plans are for the future.
January 3, 2006 David Lee Roth reveals during an interview with the Pittsburgh Tribune that he spoke to Alex Van Halen the previous week and and a reunion with Van Halen is "inevitable". [16] Roth also states in another interview with Cleveland Plain Dealer that he has also spoken to Eddie Van Halen recently though he says "Eddie's off in his own world."
List of artists who reached number one on the Hot 100 (US), Music history of the United States, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll, Timeline of trends in music, Timeline of heavy metal, 100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock, Learn more about the music genres Hard Rock and Heavy Metal
Van Halen - Influence on culture music and business
The David Lee Roth era remains Van Halen's most critically successful period, having influenced nearly all rock musicians who followed. The band's top selling albums to date are their 1978 debut and 1984. Both albums have reached diamond status, having sold over 10 million copies each, and are both regarded as milestones in rock and roll music, ushering in artistic innovations that were widely emulated throughout the 1980s (The Van Halen track "Runnin' with the Devil" and 1984's "Jump" are listed as two of the top 500 most influential songs in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame). The band's second and third productions, Van Halen II and Women and Children First, each reached #6 on the charts. After this, every subsequent Van Halen album would breach the top 5 spot on the pop charts.
The Van Halen track "Eruption" introduced the rock and roll world to a new soloing technique called tapping, a technique utilizing both left and right hands on the guitar neck (Tapping also exists and did for a long time in its more traditional one handed form, involving just hammer ons and pull offs). Other musicians had developed two-hand playing techniques during the 1950s, and Steve Hackett of Genesis used tapping extensively in the early 1970s, but Van Halen's technique was something else — a percussive, highly amplified barrage of notes and effects. Nothing like it had ever been heard on record. "Eruption" immediately propelled Eddie Van Halen to immense heights of popularity among guitar players worldwide (articles about Eddie Van Halen's style and technique remain a staple of guitar magazines). According to folklore, before the release of the first album, Eddie would hide his technique from imitators by playing his solos with his back to the audience. Eddie also introduced a never before seen technique in the instrumental "Cathedral". This technique involved Eddie hammering notes on the fretboard with his left hand while simultaneously rolling the volume knob off and on with his right hand. He did two takes, and the volume knob froze completely at the end of the second take due to the heat generated from rolling it on and off at such a great speed. Van Halen also introduced the guitar world to the band's signature "Brown Sound," a nickname given to, among other things, the sonic result of Eddie's guitar/amp combination and technique. With Templeman's warm production, Van Halen produced a distinctive tone sought by other musicians.
As the band began to make music videos for MTV, the telegenic Roth became the visual focus, often to the chagrin of the other band members. Music videos for the singles Jump, Panama, and Hot For Teacher, were wildly popular and became part of the standard rotation on the then fledgling MTV.
The second incarnation of Van Halen also saw broadened use of the Van Halen brand, as they expanded their reach into other media, with high-production films, live concert footage, and even their own cantina in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. If David Lee Roth's innovative, over-the-top style turned Van Halen from a member of the hard rock pack to its leader; Hagar's more conservative 'working man' persona turned Van Halen into a franchise and an icon.
The hit single and award-winning video Right Now (F.U.C.K., 1991) was used to promote the ill-fated soft-drink Crystal Pepsi. The band's Roth-era remake of The Kinks You Really Got Me was used in a Nissan commercial.
Van Halen pioneered the way for the modern "Rock and Roll Show" with their extensive use of the concert technical contract rider. Although contract riders had existed before, Van Halen's use of them to specify the band's "wish list" (stage, production, transportation, personal requirements, etc.) was new and established a standard practice that is now used routinely throughout the music industry. As one of the first major bands with a full stage show to appear in many smaller cities, Van Halen had an extensive set of technical and logistical requirements including power availability and stage construction details that a venue had to comply with. Many venues in these markets had not previously dealt with such a large-scale show, and were not equipped to handle Van Halen's massive stage and light show, sometimes resulting in damage to the band's equipment and the venue, once nearly killing a roadie setting up the instruments. The band's demands were not limited to technical issues: their now infamous contract rider specified that, among other personal needs, a bowl of M&M candies, with all of the brown ones removed, was to be available in the band's dressing room. According to David Lee Roth (from his autobiography, Crazy from the Heat), this was not due to an antipathy for brown chocolate candy, but rather this requirement was listed with the technical portion of the contract in order to check up on whether venue management was honoring the demands correctly. On arrival, if brown M&M's were found in the dressing room, then every line of the contract had to be double-checked, to ensure safety. Some shows were cancelled because of a venue's inability to handle the band's stage or equipment safely.
Influential American punk trio The Minutemen recorded a 40-second cover version of "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" for their landmark double album Double Nickels on the Dime (only the third verse, a guitar solo and the "hey, hey, hey!" outro were used) - an irony considering that, according to Roth, the song originated as an affectionate parody of punk rock when it was first written.
Rapper Tone Loc used uncredited samples from Van Halen's "Jamie's Cryin'" extensively on his hit "Wild Thing," but was not sued by the band; in Alex Van Halen's words, "It was 1987, who knew?" 2 Live Crew later sampled the riff of "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" for their song "The Fuck Shop" on their infamous 1989 album As Nasty As They Wanna Be; Van Halen sued the band for copyright infringement; the suit was settled out of court.
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