This is cool: Van Halen playing a high school in April 1975

November 13, 2020 Alan Cross 1 Comment

Long before Van Halen was signed to a record deal–Gene Simmons of KISS is the guy who discovered them, by the way–they were playing backyard parties, strip clubs, and schools around their hometown of Pasadena.

This bootleg of a gig at Pasadena High School is from April 1975, a few months after they changed their name from Mammoth. They burned through a bunch of covers (ZZ Top, Deep Purple, Johnny Winter) as well as “Fools” (titled here as “I Live with Fools”) which would later show up on Women and Children First, the band’s third album.

A cool bit of history, this.

Alan Cross

is an internationally known broadcaster, interviewer, writer, consultant, blogger and speaker. In his 40+ years in the music business, Alan has interviewed the biggest names in rock, from David Bowie and U2 to Pearl Jam and the Foo Fighters. He’s also known as a musicologist and documentarian through programs like The Ongoing History of New Music.

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