Listen to Van Halen performing in a high school in 1975
A newly-unearthed soundboard recording documents an early gig for the legendary group.
Van Halen performing in 1978. Image: Gus Stewart / Getty
Audio recorded from the soundboard of a Van Halen show at a high school has surfaced. The 30-minute set took place in 1975, three years before the band released their eponymous debut album, at a school in Pasadena, California.
The recording is from the earliest era of Van Halen, while the core lineup of Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth went through various names, such as Mammoth and Genesis. Eddie Van Halen had just turned 20 a couple of weeks before the gig.
Their set consisted of a number of covers by artists such as The Rolling Stones, Edgar Winter and ZZ Top, as well as an early version of the band’s song Fools. At the time, this song was titled I Live With Fools, and it would take five years before this track appeared on the band’s 1980 record Women and Children First.
Listen to the recording below.
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