Van Halen opened for Bon Jovi in Europe in 1995?

[ErHaO]

I still think it's so weird how big Bon Jovi is in the rest of the world.   

In the US, he has maybe 4 or 5 hits tops.   

Runaway
You Give Love a Bad Name
Livin on a Prayer
Wanted Dead or Alive
Bad Medicine

And 3 of those are off *ONE ALBUM*.   

I know a few others because I have the older albums...but they are seriously a footnote in the hair metal scheme of things in the states.   Ya, maybe in the top 10 hair metal bands.....you might put them at the bottom of the top 5 if you were biased.   

It's my Life wasn't a massive hit in the US? That is maybe the best known Bon Jovi track over here and one much later in their career. It is why my generation also grew up with Bon Jovi. I always thought that was their biggest hit (and on YouTube it has hundreds of millions of views more than any of their other tracks). And on streaming services Spotify and Deezer it is currently #2 and #4 respectively. Is that all due to non-US folks?





Anyways, in relation to this thread, I think Van Halen used to be absolutely massive but didn't really retain their audience/mindshare into the modern age or even further into the 90's? Many bands of the 80's (or before) still are mentioned/used a lot, but over here Van Halen isn't really one of them. I know of them because they made an "appearance" in South Park and later found out it is actually a band with Dutch roots, with the band name literally being a Dutch surname.

[KevShmev]

Wasn't Alex sporting a very rock'n'roll neck brace for a fair amount of time in the '90's?  I seem to recall that.  I feel back for him personally, since that might be a lot of pain, but it looked ridiculous.

I know he did on the Balance tour.  Even though many have said that they looked like a band not having as much on that tour, I couldn't tell. Then again, they played the song 5150, so I was pretty euphoric from that point on the rest of the night.

[jammindude]

I still think it's so weird how big Bon Jovi is in the rest of the world.   

In the US, he has maybe 4 or 5 hits tops.   

Runaway
You Give Love a Bad Name
Livin on a Prayer
Wanted Dead or Alive
Bad Medicine

And 3 of those are off *ONE ALBUM*.   

I know a few others because I have the older albums...but they are seriously a footnote in the hair metal scheme of things in the states.   Ya, maybe in the top 10 hair metal bands.....you might put them at the bottom of the top 5 if you were biased.   

It's my Life wasn't a massive hit in the US? That is maybe the best known Bon Jovi track over here and one much later in their career. It is why my generation also grew up with Bon Jovi. I always thought that was their biggest hit (and on YouTube it has hundreds of millions of views more than any of their other tracks). And on streaming services Spotify and Deezer it is currently #2 and #4 respectively. Is that all due to non-US folks?

To tell you the truth, the only Bon Jovi song I hear anywhere any more seems to be Livin on a Prayer.   And I don't think that was as popular as You Give Love a Bad Name when SWW was first released. 

I just played It's My Life and it does sound familiar.  My wife says she knows it.   Maybe it's a girl thing.  LOL

[KevShmev]

jammindude, have you heard Stairway to Heaven?  Or Don't Stop Believin'?  Or Hotel California?

I ask because, at this rate, it is hard to know what music they play on whatever island you are managing to get internet access.

[King Postwhore]

 

[Adami]

I don't listen to the radio and I hear It's My Life like 200 times a day.

[cramx3]

I still think it's so weird how big Bon Jovi is in the rest of the world.   

In the US, he has maybe 4 or 5 hits tops.   

Runaway
You Give Love a Bad Name
Livin on a Prayer
Wanted Dead or Alive
Bad Medicine

And 3 of those are off *ONE ALBUM*.   

I know a few others because I have the older albums...but they are seriously a footnote in the hair metal scheme of things in the states.   Ya, maybe in the top 10 hair metal bands.....you might put them at the bottom of the top 5 if you were biased.   

It's my Life wasn't a massive hit in the US? That is maybe the best known Bon Jovi track over here and one much later in their career. It is why my generation also grew up with Bon Jovi. I always thought that was their biggest hit (and on YouTube it has hundreds of millions of views more than any of their other tracks). And on streaming services Spotify and Deezer it is currently #2 and #4 respectively. Is that all due to non-US folks?

To tell you the truth, the only Bon Jovi song I hear anywhere any more seems to be Livin on a Prayer.   And I don't think that was as popular as You Give Love a Bad Name when SWW was first released. 

I just played It's My Life and it does sound familiar.  My wife says she knows it.   Maybe it's a girl thing.  LOL

It is a girl thing, to an extent.  I mean, yea there's a lot more really popular BJ songs than you named so I'll kind of agree with the others have said, but there is some truth to the female thing.  That's really why BJ is so popular, because he has a huge female following unlike many rock bands.  He still has some popular music among that base that was released in the 90s and 00s, such as Always (my sister loved this song growing up) and Who Says You Can't Go Home (my gf knew that song and I didn't when they played it last year). 

[King Postwhore]

You calling me a girl since I knew that song?

[cramx3]

[TAC]

A fucking butt ass ugly girl.

[King Postwhore]

OH IT'S ON MOTHER $%^&@#!!!

A fucking butt ass ugly girl.

did you look that up in your 1964 Playboy mag?


You old bastard?


BTW, there is 2 versions of that song.  There's a duet version with Jennifer Nettles.

[TAC]

Actually, it's easy to prove that Kingshmegland is a guy.

The proof is Power Windows...




































..as in no female has EVER HEARD OF Power Windows.

[King Postwhore]

My wife owned the cassette.





I married her.

[Stadler]

I have a mom, an ex-wife, a wife, a mom-in-law, two daughters and a daughter-in-law.  The only time ANY of them have ever mentioned "Power Windows" was when I brought home my pickup truck and both daughters said "it doesn't have power windows.  I don't want to crank a window up and down all day long."   

[TAC]

My wife owned the cassette.

She probably forgot to check the box saying she did not want the Columbia House record of the month.

[Elite]

I don't listen to the radio and I hear It's My Life like 200 times a day.

why would you do that to yourself? 

[bosk1]

Wasn't Alex sporting a very rock'n'roll neck brace for a fair amount of time in the '90's?  I seem to recall that.  I feel back for him personally, since that might be a lot of pain, but it looked ridiculous.

I know he did on the Balance tour.  Even though many have said that they looked like a band not having as much on that tour, I couldn't tell. Then again, they played the song 5150, so I was pretty euphoric from that point on the rest of the night.

I saw Van Halen in '95 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, and I was honestly bored to tears.  It was frustrating how phoned in everything felt and sounded.  I had been really looking forward to that show and felt let down.  Sammy was the only one on stage who exhibited ANY energy.

[ZirconBlue]

I don't listen to the radio and I hear It's My Life like 200 times a day.

why would you do that to yourself? 

Because it's a great song?

[Adami]

I don't listen to the radio and I hear It's My Life like 200 times a day.

why would you do that to yourself? 

Cause it's now or never.














....I ain't gonna live forever.

[King Postwhore]

It's Adami's Life....

[Kwyjibo]

Wasn't Alex sporting a very rock'n'roll neck brace for a fair amount of time in the '90's?  I seem to recall that.  I feel back for him personally, since that might be a lot of pain, but it looked ridiculous.

I know he did on the Balance tour.  Even though many have said that they looked like a band not having as much on that tour, I couldn't tell. Then again, they played the song 5150, so I was pretty euphoric from that point on the rest of the night.

I saw Van Halen in '95 at the Target Center in Minneapolis, and I was honestly bored to tears.  It was frustrating how phoned in everything felt and sounded.  I had been really looking forward to that show and felt let down.  Sammy was the only one on stage who exhibited ANY energy.

I saw them on the Balance tour in Germany and they kicked major ass. But maybe I'm biased because it was my first VH concert and the joy of seeing one of the greatest guitar players may have clouded my perception. 

And I think that Alex didn't wear his neck brace, but maybe I just forgot.

and re: VH opening for BJ. Van Halen just never were that big in Germany (or Europe?) than Bon Jovi was. I saw Van Halen a second time, this time with Gary Cherone, on a big festival and they were playing early afternoon, where the newcomers and the not so well known bands played. Would I have liked them to play later on with a longer set? Sure! But that's not for me to decide.