Previously unseen home-movie footage of Van Halen can now be viewed on YouTube - featuring the band on stage at New York’s Madison Square Garden in 1978, and backstage fooling around with Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath!
The exact source of this material remains the subject of debate among Van Halen fans, but there is so much for them to enjoy in the various clips.
Back in 2023, an unknown source posted footage of Van Halen’s performance at the 1984 Monsters Of Rock festival at Donington Park.
A new clip titled Van Halen UK 84 B Roll has additional footage from backstage at Donington, including a conversation in the band’s trailer between Eddie Van Halen and Slade guitarist Dave Hill.
Another clip titled Van Halen NYC 78 features the band’s first ever performance at New York’s Madison Square Garden, on 27 August 1978, when they opened for Black Sabbath.
We see the band soundchecking, warming up in their dressing room and relaxing in their hotel before the show, where singer David Lee Roth is seen enjoying a smoke as he jokingly comments: “As you can see, the atmosphere is tense. The air is ripe with anticipation.”
The New York performance footage includes the songs On Fire, Runnin’ With The Devil and Feel Your Love Tonight.
A clip titled Van Halen Uniondale 78 is from the night after the Madison Square Garden show, 28 August, at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York.
Backstage scenes feature Ozzy Osbourne and Sabbath drummer Bill Ward involved in a long-running joke about Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, both announcing to camera, “My name is Michael Anthony” before spitting beer on the floor.
The live footage from Uniondale 78 includes the songs I’m the One, Atomic Punk and You Really Got Me
And there are many more clips from the same source, featuring shows in the US and Japan and outtakes from video shoots.
Enjoy it while you can!
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