Van Halen News Desk
News Archive
April 1998

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One Week To Go!

April 03, 1998 - In less than one week, Van Halen will kick off their 1998 world tour in Wellington, New Zealand! Fans are invited to submit reviews and set lists from the shows they attend. A special form will be created in the next few days to facilitate this.

Tickets for five of the US Tour Dates went on sale today. Click here to purchase tickets from Ticketmaster Online.

In chart news, Van Halen III dropped from #4 to #13 this week on the Billboard album chart, but Without You is #1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart for the seventh week in a row!


EVH Interview

Tim Smith & Steve Bedwell

April 09, 1998 - Thanks to Melbourne's MMM, we present to you the latest interview with Eddie Van Halen, recorded live from Wellington, New Zealand this morning on the Timbo and Bedders breakfast show. You will need RealPlayer 5.0 to listen to the interview.

Download Real Player 5.0

Van Halen In Australia

Van Halen - Live in Wellington, NZ - April 10, 1998.  Photo by Pat Kenny

April 14, 1998 - In a few hours (at the time of writing) Van Halen will hit the stage for the first time ever in Australia! The band arrived in Melbourne on Sunday and had a few days off to recover from the two New Zealand shows last Friday and Saturday. Tonights show is in Launceston, Tasmania at the Silverdome.

The band will return to Melbourne for the rest of the week for media commitments and a little more rest. An autograph signing will take place at the Hard Rock Cafe on Thursday for the fans who bought the album on the day of its release from the Melbourne HMV store. On Friday the band will play before their biggest audience of the down-under leg - 15,000 fans will pack into Melbourne Park, the home of the Australian Open tennis.

Don't forget to check out the reviews of the Wellington and Auckland shows on our 1998 Tour page! Thanks to those who have already submitted reviews. If you're in Australia and wish to review a show, click here.


Tour Update!

April 20, 1998 - We hope you're all watching the Tour page and checking out the great reviews submitted by fans so far on the tour! Thanks to everyone who has written reviews so far.

Melbourne Park on Friday night was very special. The first ever show for me, the guy behind this VHND crap. ;) My review is with the others on the page. The Reader's Digest version of the show, for me, would read: THE BEST DAMN SHOW YOU WILL EVER SEE IN YOUR LIFE!

Last night in Canberra I lived a lifelong dream by being front row, on the rail, dead in front of Edward at a general admission gig. My ribs are bruised, my Peavey 5150 hat fell off a few times, but I would do it all over again in a nanosecond. Being in this spot you could complain that the mix was uneven, but only because Ed's guitar is so damn loud because you're hearing it straight out of his amp instead of the PA!!! Sorry if I'm gloating! ;)


Hello Sydney!

Van Halen - Live in Sydney, AU - April 20, 1998.  Photo by Greg

April 20, 1998 - Van Halen fans are in for a treat on May 1 when the MTV special airs!!! I just got back from the show (the temporary VHND office is 10 minutes walk from the Sydney Entertainment Centre) and tonight was yet another great night!

Set list: exactly the same as Canberra.

Watch out for Gary's performance on Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love! The guy's a madman!!! He rolled all the way down the steps in the crowd on Ed's side! This had everyone cheering!!!!!!!!!

April Snippets
Live in Sydney

Apr 01, 1998 - We've just received confirmation that Van Halen's Sydney show on April 20 will be shown on MTV's revamped "Live from the 10 spot" on May 1. Set your videos!

MTV Press Release

Hagar To Tour Australia

Apr 02, 1998 - Sammy Hagar has confirmed he will tour Australia in May. The Red Rocker will follow the footsteps of Van Halen who are touring Australia and New Zealand for the first time ever this month. For more details, check out the Tour section of Sammy's Web Site.

EVH Interview

Apr 07, 1998 - EVH will be interviewed on Melbourne, Australia's MMM radio station tomorrow morning (Thursday April 9) between 9 and 10am.

2nd Single

Apr 14, 1998 - The second single from the new album will be Fire In The Hole. It will begin airing on radio sometime after April 16. Strong rumours suggest the song will be included in an upcoming movie soundtrack, with the video including parts of the movie. More details will follow soon! (That's all we can say, ok? :)

First Pics!

Apr 15, 1998 - Thanks to Pat Kenny's Van Halen Australasian Tour site, we now have some cool photos from the first two shows of the world tour, taken in New Zealand last week.

Tour photos and fan reviews are located on our 1998 World Tour page.

Sammy's Oz Tour

Apr 20, 1998 - After the Van Halen show at Melbourne Park on Friday some people were handing out flyers promoting the Sammy Hagar show in Melbourne on May 22. They read as follows:

Q: Where was Sammy Hagar?

A: See him live at The Palace Friday May 22nd 1998.

If you're a fan of Sam, get down to Ticketmaster and buy your tickets soon, or you may be disappointed (and I'm not talking about a sellout, if you know what I mean).

July 4

Apr 26, 1998 - As rumoured on our Tour Page, Van Halen will be returning to the USA for a special home coming gig on July 4 at the Blockbuster Pavilion in Devore, CA. Click here to get your tickets when they go on sale!


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