VOX POP has released their full, unedited 1988 video interview with Van Halen. This was filmed in the spring of ’88, as the band was starting to do press for their upcoming “Monsters Of Rock” stadium tour. The crazy thing is that they weren’t even finished recording OU812 yet! It was crunch time, as their album had to be out by the time the tour started in late May.
For the massive tour, they licensed the “Monsters of Rock” trademark from the European company that hosted the annual events at Castle Donington. Packaging a big festival the likes of which the United States hadn’t seen since the seventies, Van Halen would be headlining over Scorpions, Dokken, Kingdom Come, and newcomers Metallica. The Monsters of Rock tour was by far the biggest rock tour of the summer, though ultimately a modest moneymaker.
This uncut interview was never aired on TV in it’s entirety. Lots of great quotes from the guys in this one, who were clearly best friends at the time. Enjoy!