If Dave didn't leave in'85 would VH still be popular

**off** · 10.17.00, 08:58 PM

VH was on top from 1978-1984 but would their success have continued long after that?.
When Dave left VH they had to reinvent themselves and their music with Sammy and since Music trends change this could have been a blessing for VH
Would the public have eventually got sick of Dave and phased VH out?

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**hain23x** · 10.17.00, 09:33 PM

Van Halen 1 doesn't sound like 1984 does it??

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**Brett** · 10.17.00, 09:51 PM

If they would actually release a good album, the might still be popular. Sammy or Dave, they were just fine with Sam.

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**bizzatch** · 10.18.00, 12:14 AM

It's a really great question, and one we'll never know. However, I think Van Halen has the advantage of being one of those bands that "captured a generation". sorta like Rolling Stones, Beatles e.c.t Van Halen was basically the best thing to come out of the 80's, and although i'd say U2 is up there to, no one caught people's attention and were as original as VH with Dave. I say they may have had a dud or two album wise...but they'd still be raking in the cash on tour...

The only thing is..I think Dave would have had to change with the times more. Like..it almost seems fitting that we might get a reunion so dave can just act the way he did in "85....I mean...dave's cool...but he hasn't changed much, and I don't know if that would fly nowadays...

**FORD** · 10.18.00, 08:00 AM

Bands like ZZ Top and Ac/Dc lose popularity because they keep putting out the same album over and over again. Van HALEN expanded musically from 1978 - 1984 more than Ac/Dc has in 30 years.

Had Van HALEN stayed together after 1985, I don't believe they would have done the Van Hagar ballads to that extent. But Dave had his pop tunes on his solo records as well, so it wouldn't neccessarily all be Fair Warning clones.

The reason Van HALEN is still played daily on the radio, 16 years after their last album, is because they are among the true originals who set the standards for all the others to follow. Beatles. Stones. Who. Zeppelin. Floyd. Sabbath.Queen. Van HALEN.

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**BrokenCombs** · 10.18.00, 08:11 AM

Agree 100% on that FORD!

**Deputy Van Halen** · 10.18.00, 08:24 AM

i personally believe van halen would be a lot bigger today if they had never broken up with dave... i think they would be getting the respect of led zepplin and others... in my humble opinion, van halen has lost respect with all the singer changes... if they had never broken up with dave (and because they are a band who doesnt put out the same album over and over), they would be really, really big...

**dropdeadlegs** · 10.18.00, 10:26 AM

I think they'd still be popular to their core fans. To the masses I don't know and I don't really care. Like I always say, I'd rather be moderately successful over 20 or 25 years than to be phenominally successful over 2 or 3.

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**scherb** · 10.19.00, 07:31 PM

I agree with Bizzatch and Ford in that I feel that VH with Dave captured a generation.
I think if Dave had never left the band their career would have followed the path of a band like the Rolling Stones.
I have always considered VH as one of the top bands of all-time but I think they lost some credibility due to the lead singer transitions.
The one constant is that their talent and influence can never be challenged. Trends and fads aside I think that VH to many is an institution. (somtimes an unstable one)
But had Dave never left it would have only added to the legacy.

**1984** · 10.19.00, 07:34 PM

i don't think so. i think they'd be more popular if they split up then reunited with dave shocking all of us fans who have been waiting for the reunion.

**Bostonian** · 10.19.00, 08:14 PM

I think their popularity would have fizzeled. Look at "ground breaking" or "voice of a generation" bands from the 90's. Pearl Jam is a classic example, they were "innovators" of the grunge/90's/go kill myself/ I hate the world/ feel sorry for me rock. Yet, their popularity has drop considurably. In the 90's PJ was the hottest thing, that and Nirvana. I was in High School when the change from the 80's to the 90's took place. Now while VH did go out (classic VH that is) with a bang, I think they would have fizzeled if Dave stayed especially in the 90's. Dave VH isn't PC, and stands for the excess of the 80's and 70's. Very few bands from the 80's and 70's held well in the 90's. And they did so because they changed with the times (including Van Hagar, Aerosmith, Metallica, and so on..)

Although I found this funny, tonight on my way home from work teaching, I heard the new Aerosmith on Rock 101, WGIR in Boston. And the DJ was like, "wow, seems like Aerosmith decided to get their balls back!" If Dave, and the crew could accept "outside influences" to write songs that don't represent them (Ie: I don't want to miss a thing: Aerosmith) then they would have sustained their fame... If not, they would have turned into another nostagia band I think.

-Bostonian

**Dr.5150** · 10.20.00, 06:46 AM

I'm gonna say No just so I could have a better chance at gettin them to play in my backyard at my birthday!

OF course they would still be popular!

Their music has changed dramatically from inception till now. Plus there will always be a few (5.150 Million) of us 5150ians around who would but the new album no matter who was singing.

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**Sean** · 10.20.00, 07:35 AM

I would say yes and here is why: When Roth left and Hagar entered, the band did not miss a beat. They elapsed previous commercial success and established themselves as a record store and touring draw--and that was with a new lead singer. Say what you will about Hagar's contribution but the band thrived. I can't believe that they wouldn't have done the same with the original lineup all of these years. I can see how things might have gotten stale especially considering that Dave really hasn't changed much over the years. But, I still doubt that a band with as much to offer as Van Halen in its original lineup would cease to be popular. Now, don't misunderstand, I still think we would have the pop boy band bullshit that's currently infecting us but we're always going to have those types of fads. Real music outlasts that.