Van Halen: Definitive Manchester 1978

37 minutes of Van Halen scorching the stage in Manchester England 1978 opening for Black Sabbath (good luck following this band Ozz!). Nine songs from the self titled debut are played and the band does not fuck around. Roth mach 78 actually had a voice and is the ringleader while the rest of the band follows his lead as bassist/backing vocalist Michael Anthony and drummer Alex Van Halen are like a category 5 hurricane headed right your way.

Eddie Van Halen steals the show here (no shocker) as Ed makes it sound like the studio yet, live at a quicker speed due to the party treats being consumed I’m sure. The man is no pun on fire. What a treat it would have been to have caught these guys on that debut tour. Even squeezed in the 36 minute is a bass/drum solo and of course Eruption. The band even debuted D.O.A which would not come out til the following year (1979).

The sound of this  Manchester show is mint and it gives us the listener a chance to go back in time and hear what it was like to see a band headed for the top!

Gotta love bootlegs as look at those pictures from the 2003 tour below as well a pic taken from the “Hide Your Sheep Tour” back in ’83 used on the back cover.