There’s no way California band The Top 10 Pop Albums of 1984
Anthony recalls that during Van Halen’s stint on the 1984 Monsters of Rock tour in Europe — the last shows Roth would perform with the group until 2007 — “the tension level started to rise.” Roth, who is as famed for his verbosity as he is for his onstage charisma, sometimes alienated audience members with his antics. “He’d do something to piss off a male fan, and then he’d say, ‘Hey buddy, after the show I’m going to f— your girl,’ (laughs) and point right at them. And boy, sometimes some guys would get heated up for that … This is the guy that would do tours where he’d wear ass-less chaps, and I have to stand behind him while he’s looking that way. (laughs) Some nights you want to just laugh, and other nights you want to go, ‘Oh, I don’t want to stand near this.'”
Van Halen’s ‘1984’ At 30: Classic Track-By-Track Review
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Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Roth didn’t perform again with Van Halen until 2012.
An edited version of this story first appeared in the Nov. 1 issue of Billboard.