Hard rock legends Van Halen have lived a million lifetimes during their careers as hair-metal icons. Since 1974 they've released album after album, gone through line-up changes, and switched up their hairstyles.
But one night that will always go down in glam metal history is January 18, 1984. 1984 was a huge theme for Van Halen. It was the name of their sixth studio album which was released on January 9th, 1984. It was also the last album VH made together with all four original members of the band - David Lee Roth left in 1985 and didn't join again 'til 2012. And it was the year they set off on the tour in support of the release.
The album landed a spot on every album charting list you could imagine - it reached number two on the Billboard 200. It's also in Rolling Stone's top 100 albums of the 80s. On the heels of the release, VH embarked on a massive world tour in support of the album, a tour that was just as epic (if not more) as the album itself.
The tour kicked off on this day, 39 years ago, and opening night, at Jacksonville Memorial Coliseum in Jackonsville, Florida, was one for the books. Immediately two songs in, VH live debuted 1984's "Hot For Teacher" - an MTV favorite. The 21-song set was filled with many more surprises, including a performance of "On Fire" off their debut self-titled, which hadn't been performed since 1981.
Another deeper cut came eight songs in, when they resurrected "House of Pain," a song that ended up on 1984, but had previously been performed back in 1978. Other live debuts off 1984 included: "I'll Wait," "Girl Gone Bad," "1984," "Jump," and a live debut of the timeless party anthem "Panama."
They didn't leave the crowd hanging, they performed a two-song encore which included "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" and a cover of Roy Rogers' "Happy Trails." They did a couple of other covers too, "Oh, Pretty Woman" by Roy Orbison and "You Really Got Me" by The Kinks, both choices that really showed off VH's pristine taste in rock music.
See the full setlist below:
Watch a video of VH, in all their glory, performing "Panama" from the same tour:
These days, VH still love performing that Kinks cover, as it's their most performed song to date. "Panama" is clocked at number 6, and 1984 is their 4th most performed album.
[Ed. note: This article was originally published in 2019]
