VIVIAN CAMPBELL: Why I Prefer VAN HALEN With DAVID LEE ROTH

May 22, 2019

In a recent interview with "Zach Martin's Big Fat American Rock Show!", DEF LEPPARD and LAST IN LINE guitarist Vivian Campbell was asked which version of VAN HALEN he prefers — the classic VAN HALEN with David Lee Roth on vocals, or the "Van Hagar" era with Sammy Hagar. He responded (hear audio below): "Dave Lee Roth, no doubt. That was part of the original character of the band. There was a humor in early VAN HALEN that came across in the music, and that was essentially Dave Lee Roth's input on that. He wasn't a tremendous vocalist, but he had a tremendous style and a unique character and personality, and that was as important to the early band as Eddie's guitar playing and Alex's drumming and Michael Anthony's bass playing."

He continued: "They were a great band — the original band. That's not to detract in any way from Sammy Hagar, who's a remarkable singer. And what they did with Sammy was different. I mean, it was good, but it was different. It was a little more mainstream, to my ears. It was also not just Sammy's influence that changed the sound of VAN HALEN. It was also around the same time that Eddie discovered the keyboards. [Laughs] Which is all well and good, but I prefer to listen to him as a guitarist. So those two elements definitely reshaped the sound of the later VAN HALEN. But I'm very much a fan of the early band."

Roth co-founded VAN HALEN in the 1970s and fronted the group until 1985, when Hagar took over and worked with the band for over a decade. Roth returned briefly in 1996, before Hagar came back and toured with VAN HALEN during 2004. In 2007, Roth rejoined VAN HALEN and has been with the band ever since.

Vivian and his DEF LEPPARD bandmates were finally inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in March — 14 years after the British rockers first became eligible.

DEF LEPPARD's second Las Vegas residency will take place this summer. The band will take over Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino for 12 explosive nights between August 14 and September 7.

Find more on Vivian campbell
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).