It was one of the most highly anticipated concert tours of the summer season, but Van Halen announced this week that it was postponing a number of summer dates. No reason was given.
The abrupt postponement came as a surprise and disappointment to fans, who openly hoped on message boards that band members were well. Some speculated that the band might be postponing parts of the tour because guitarist Eddie Van Halen is sick again.
“I just hope it’s not Eddie having to battle against cancer again,” said one fan on a Van Halen fan message board.
Thirteen of the band’s shows, including a stop Saturday in St. Paul, Minn., will go on as scheduled, but all dates after the June 26 New Orleans show will be postponed. In all, 30 dates will be postponed. No information was given about when these appearances will be rescheduled.
The band is touring behind its new release, “A Different Kind of Truth”, which is the first album the band has released since lead singer David Lee Roth re-joined the band. The last full album the band recorded together was “1984”, which was released on Jan. 31, 1983.
Van Halen has a turbulent history with lead singers as well as personal issues. Roth left the band in 1985 and was replaced by Sammy Hagar, who left the band in 1996. He was replaced by former Extreme vocalist Gary Cherone in 1998; the album recorded with Cherone at the vocal helm was the worst-selling in the band’s history.
Lead guitarist Eddie Van Halen has more than once undergone treatment for cancer and alcoholism as well as other health problems. In 2007, the band was inducted in to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame; later that year, the band announced a tour with Roth at the helm. During that tour, the band replaced original band member guitarist Michael Anthony with Van Halen’s son Wolfgang, who was 17 at the time. During the 2007-2008 tour, several dates were postponed, but all were rescheduled.
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