Van Halen's Michael Anthony - Breaking His Silence in 1980
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- Van Halen's Michael Anthony: The Unsung Hero of Hard Rock | Interview Breakdown
Description: 🎸 Van Halen fans, are you ready for an awesome dive into the band's rich history? In today’s video, Robert John Hadfield discusses a fascinating interview with Michael Anthony, the unsung hero of the legendary group. From his early days in the band to his lasting impact on Van Halen's sound, Michael Anthony played a pivotal role in the band’s success. Join Robert as he reflects on how Van Halen’s unique harmony and raw energy made them one of the greatest hard rock bands of all time! 💥
Plus, Robert shares his own personal Van Halen story and his first experience with their groundbreaking album Women and Children First. Don’t miss this behind-the-scenes look at the magic that made Van Halen a household name!
👉 Make sure to like, comment, and subscribe for more content on classic rock legends like Van Halen!
#VanHalen #MichaelAnthony #HardRock #ClassicRock #EddieVanHalen #DavidLeeRoth #RockHistory #WomenAndChildrenFirst #MusicLegends #80sRock #VanHalenFan
Timestamps:
0:01 - Introduction to the video and Robert’s connection to Van Halen.
0:40 - A look back at Michael Anthony's role in Van Halen.
1:06 - Exploring Women and Children First and Robert’s first experience with the album.
2:10 - Michael Anthony’s contributions to Van Halen’s sound.
3:10 - Michael Anthony talks about Van Halen’s live performances and audience connection.
5:25 - The band's unique ability to keep a connection with their audience.
7:10 - Van Halen’s rise to fame and their legendary live performances.
10:12 - Michael Anthony’s insights on the band’s appeal and longevity.
13:10 - Final thoughts and reflection on Van Halen’s lasting impact.
Hashtags:
#VanHalen #MichaelAnthony #RockMusic #VanHalenFans #MusicHistory #ClassicRock #80sMusic #HardRock #RockLegends
@ Mentions:
@VanHalenOfficial - The official band account.
@MichaelAnthony - Michael Anthony's official social media.
@DavidLeeRoth - David Lee Roth’s official social media.
@EddieVanHalen - Eddie Van Halen's official social media.
Video hosted by Robert John Hadfield
robertjohnhadfield.com
thickandmystic.com
audiomover.com
#robertjohnhadfield #audiomover #audiomovers
Michael Anthony is the man!
In high school 1992 MA saw a class mate of mine who was left in the car by older friends and went into bar. MA bought my under aged class mate drink who was left in the car. We always thought that was very cool of him.
That picture, on the album cover, was the first time Valerie Bertinelli saw Ed. 🤟
WACF was my first Van Halen 8 track. 😂😂I was 9. My neighbor gave it to me because he knew I was a KISS fan . I had actually just seen KISS the year before. In 1979. But when I heard the WACF 8 track I fell in love with it. I did not even know who played what. Then MTV came out. And I saw the Oakland 81 videos. And then I was really sold. 4 bass drums. Blew my mind. I got to see them in 1984. It was probably the best concert I have ever seen. And I’ve seen a bunch. But nothing ever matched that 1984 concert. 2000 chrome lights. I had no idea a year later they would split. Broke my heart. I still have my ticket stub. 2/11/1984. Concerts were so much better back then than they are today.
Ticket was $ 12.50
i still have my 84 vh shirt from trip to bilouxi.
Ha ha I was a bit older. I think I was 16 or 17 but I had a pioneer super tuner eight track and had that woman and children first tape.!
Met the man at his house .. Michael Anthony took the time to talk, very down to earth!
I'm 52 Grew up a huge music nerd and became a professional drummer. First kiss record at 3yrs old. Yes 3. My mother loved telling the story when she was alive. I distinctly remember where I was when I first heard van halen. 1978 Sitting on the floor watching T.V. at my grandma's. My uncle comes in with this little cheap tape recorder and says "you need to hear this band". We always turned each other on to different bands. I turned him on to kiss. He has atomic punk cued up. Why he picked that I don't know. First the guitar intro then the song kicks in. I distinctly remember the Fur on my arms Just rising up, you know those goose pimples? My uncle said I looked like I saw santa claus in person. 😳😳😳 The song wasn't even halfway over and I knew this was the best thing I'd ever heard. Why? Couldn't tell you. But now that I've gone through life and have played in many bands And listened to many groups. It was the realness and knowing that that band was playing Live in the studio. Just like I'm a huge James Brown fan(Dave's favorite singer, Now you know where some of the yelps and howls come from) It's the same thing with James. That realness and raw energy that you know isn't calculated and it moves people. Try to put on a van halen song or a james brown song and sit still not get fired up.🔥🔥🔥 Plus those lyrics go back and listen to everybody wants some. Dave, along with James, had lyrics Sometimes that just really didn't make sense but they were cool!!! I'm still looking for that moonbeam. 🌛🌛😂😂. With van halen you "feel it". In a song like Loss of control the tempo kicks up a few notches, a few different times. But you don't think about it speeding up. You're just feeling the energy and excitement. Every show I ever played.I always listen to van halen before I went on. And I mean every show!! I always had a walkman(yes I'm old) Or something so I could plug in my headphones and listen. The Music fired me up, but it also reminded me Just go up there and play man don't think about it just rip. Remember people don't come to "hear" the band they come to "see" the band so give them a show and have fun and if you make a mistake who cares. Just play it twice and they'll think it's part of the song!! 😂😂😂😂. That band taught me a lot. They were my template for my whole drumming career and it served me well!!!
Former and returned El Paso resident here. I had not yet been bitten by the Van Halen bug yet. My post Kiss correction started with Rush with 5150 being my first Van Halen record. Enjoyed the video and have a lot of respect for Mike.
Still in El Paso. The show was at the Civic Center. We ate at the Lucky Boy. Stay up.
@danielabilez3619 I was there... remember they started a little fire with the trash in the middle of the floor? That was an awesome time to be alive in elp....
Dave came up with the idea of the drunk bass solo and choreographed it for Mike.
I exited the kiss phase arount '78 bc of bands like cheap trick, rush, priest nugent etc although i did get dynasty later ✌️✌️
Really appreciate your episodes. Thank you
The "phase-shifting" on 'And The Cradle Will Rock' was not a guitar at all, but an amplified Wurlitzer electric piano. It was the first song Ed Van Halen played keyboards on, contrary to popular belief '1984' wasn't the 1st VH album with keyboards it was 'Women & Children First'. EVH also hated the name Eddie, for the record. It was a real shame Mike Anthony was let go but from the brothers side he was not an original or contributing band member, he never wrote any music for the group, just got lucky being in the right place at the right time. And he sided with Sammy Hagar when Hagar dished the dirt on the brothers in his 'Red' autobiography, that was the deal-breaker. An important layer of the 3-part vocal harmony along with Ed & Dave, later Sammy who he has stayed loyal to. But a lead singer he isn't haha Cool article from a magical time in music!
Women and children first, is the only album im not that familiar with, except for the Cradle will rock. I'm definitely checking it out.
Get ready to be blown away.
You are my new favorite find on YT!!! Love your content.
Some of the best harmonies in Rock!
tickets $8 in advance, $9 day of event. less than 10 bucks to see Van Halen!!!!
12.50 for 1984 2/11/84 blew my mind. 🤯
Pre-Ticketmaster pricing.
Now it’s way way more to go see a VH cover band that has two former barely creative members, but Anthony has one of the finest harmony singers, and steady bassist, that locked the groove down. The original members grew, and did it all them selves. Sham-Wow comes in, and has tension that was eating a way from the late 80’s….which the band has admitted. Now paying your dues by selling rolls of tickets you bought from the bar so you could get paid…..that is what it takes to build a Ferrari. Then Sham Wow comes in, and defends Mike in 2915 as they went to go on tour, which nobody on the stage cared about.
The “Mighty Van Halen”….was/is the best. Sure I loved how Ed expanded to use his talent, as did Al, and even Dave playing keys on ADKOT.
Yet this tequila robber, gets away with doing the bare minimal…27 years and a book, and after agreeing to join a tour with Ed, who hated him at the time…
Bottom line….Sam is that cyst that can’t be removed, until a higher powered being takes him. I’d tell him to go to hell but I never want to meet him! 😂
Rock on. If you love Sammy enjoy, I always say love who you love and just enjoy. VH forever.
According to an inflation calculator $9 in 1980 = $37 today. Still, not bad.
No that wasn’t before ticket master. It sucks that live shows are so ridiculously expensive today. I saw everyone back in the day, every band that came through town , everyone from George Thorogood , to Fleetwood Mac, to all the big hair bands of the 80’s including Van Halen, Kiss, Motley Crue, Def Leppard, Ratt, Bon Jovi, all the big bands of the day, and a ton of the lesser known bands as well. Today I would have to take a second mortgage on my house just to see the artists of today. I feel bad for my kids because they have never seen a band live
FYI opening riff of 'cradle will rock' is played on an overdriven wurlitzer piano
BTW the 'vast wealth' comment in the new article seems a littleoff to me; i'm pretty sure they were still largely in debt at that point in their career ha ;>
@@MackAxyzz Yes, combined with an MXR Flanger.
Definitely interesting/cool article. Thx to Wolfgang we got to C and hear the 70-80’s era of VH! WACF is a freakn FANTASTIC ensemble of hits. Fools-Could This be Magic-In a Simple Rhyme all kick ass killer tunes and Ed introducing keyboards on this album. 1980 was a great year for music. I think we know now , with Alex introducing his book , just how devastated VH was when Roth quit
VH's appeal, for me, was the combo of Ed's wizardry , DLR's gritty but on key box Al's bombastic approach and the perfect harmonies featuring, of course, MA's soaring vox above it all. They were no holds barred rock that was unlike anything else filling that space at the time .
Then, when MTV appeared and you got to see the vids of them and how much fun they were having, especially Ed it made you love them even more.
But, at the end of the day, there was the mastery of Ed's guitar that was always fresh. He never settled into a groove. The guy had more riffs than anyone with every song sounding like it's own breakout single which is why his solo time in concert could be comprised of nothing but the riffs that came to be so iconic.
I really doubt there will be another EVH type of guitarist in my lifetime. I just feel so fortunate to have grown up and lived in a time when Van Halen ruled the world of rock and got to see them numerous times including, the US Festival !
My best friend and I hitchhiked from Chico, CA to Devote, CA to attend the festival and then had to hitchhike back home and is so it again in a heartbeat.
Hang on, let me get in my Time Machine, I want to go back in here this
Great video. Very insightful.
Remembering those years, when I was in middle school and early high school, Van Halen was raw with incredible musicianship. Even though a lot of the early stuff were covers, the band made those songs their own. You could see the hours of rehearsals. It was definitely about the band. Now I wish they could appreciate it and discuss freely with each other and talk about the good times and difficult times. What did the band members see if each other to make band successful? I would love it if Michael Anthony could write a book. I would love to hear his side of the story. This band, each member has a story that people want to hear.
I saw VH 3 nights in a row in Atlanta on that tour.
In 78,early79,I Was Still into Kiss!But Ace,was my Man!But Enter the Champion!Eddie Van Halen!😮After seeing VH,in 79,at 13,That Energy,at the first day of Rockin Roll!Say No More!The other bands there,were,like Sammy Hagar,solo,Heart,first line up,the only one that matters!,Boston!😊!Nazareth!😊BOC,came on like 2 or 3 in the morning!We Left,before they played!Take care!
That signature element for me was the cocktail of DLR’s overtone shrieks, Anthony’s stellar backing vocals and the big empty room ambience. You could have replaced Eddie and Alex with Rush members and it would still have the factor.
DLR’s dad was an eye surgeon. He wasn’t in the music industry. Never heard that Michael Anthony’s dad was Jazz musician.
Roths Dad was a Doctor yes , but he also had toes to the music industry because of his stature and helped them get into some of the clubs in the early days , they rehearsed at Roths dads mansion for years until they broke big. And yeah Mikes dad was a musician in the Chicago area . All accurate and correct . Gotta do your research buddy!! Also Roths uncle manny owned a club that hosted tons of music legend so yes Roth had it in his family as well
@@mattmacarthur520 I knew about his uncle Manny but in every interview I’ve seen or read with DLR he never mentioned his dad having anything to do with VH. Especially the rehearsing at his mansion. Do you know who Michael Anthony’s dad was? That I’m really curious about.
Thanks for the info-you learn something new every day! 👍😉
He mentions that his dad was a jazz musician in the Van Halen Early Years documentary
@@josephcollins628 never saw that. I gotta check that out. Thanks man.
@ definitely, it’s on UA-cam
YOU ARE SO RIGHT I WAS EXITING KISS IN 1980 AND GETTING INTO VAN HALEN ... OZZY OSBOURNE...BLAXK SABBATH ...IRON MAIDEN !!!!
It was there over the topness! All of em🎉
I think simply put they all worked very hard. Granted they were drinking while they worked. MA's highs were definitely part of the sound. His bass fits perfectly. I wonder like how difficult would that be? Like what do I play to this?
I saw them in 79 in Caldwell ID at Simplot Stadium. About 3k were in attenance and my ticket stub says $6.50. Thebiggest surprise, Mikey did the high screams on Runnin with the Devil. I bought my first car anout a month before the show and it was stolen and wreckedthat night. My friend and I had to call my dad to come get us at the police station, where we were a couple of "baked" high school seniors waiting for our ride
i’ve worked with a lady that saw the same show and still has the flyer of the same show …
@SSTIXX-lc9qd nice. My ticket stub is around somewhere
I think what Anthony said, the audience related to the band. At that time, Van Halen was a humble and entertaining band. You could not wait for their next album. I thought they did way too many covers, and seemed to take credit for them. The band really went commercial with the Jump song.
Mike is the unsung and always takes the high road.good concert Aug 1,1980 Memphis sold out mid South coliseum, fun party Atmosphere.1 month prior same venue sold out Nugent,Scorpions,Def Leppard
I love the guy, but I’d like to know why he wouldn’t say something while Ed and Al complained after M.A wasn’t very creative…not my opinion, but Ed’s, Al’s and Dave’s. They all put the screws to him. He just signed over his rights to all these songs.
Love what you love, and just press play!
I agree on everything you wrote
@@Kinger1625I think he loved being in Van Halen more than he loved the money. Still a jerk move to do that to Anthony after all he had given the band.
And as for Eddie "having to show him what to play", IMHO of course he's going to tell the bass player what he wants him to play. He's Eddie frickin' Van Halen! All I know is this: if you take that bass line and those high harmonies off of VH first album, it loses it's power and it's sparkle
Mikey is the true flag bearer of the Van Halen spirit as far as I'm concerned. It's abhorrent what's come to light the past few years in regards to how he was treated. Yet, he still carries himself with dignity and class.
If anything, Mike was the most grounded, and steady member of that band. His attitude was always gung-ho. He was the rock along with Alex. Dave and Eddie were the focal point of course, but it's about the intangible stuff that Mike especially brought to the table. When you have an outfit like VH , that's very important.
The music stands on it's own, but Dave was the cheerleader who pulled everyone to the party. No other front man had tried or had the convincing ability.
I completely agree with your assessment of the 1984 tour. My first show was the Diver Down tour and it was so much better. I was very underwhelmed with the 1984 show.
They surpassed all those-yeah, I said it WAY BETTER than Aerosmith, considerably better than Nugent and eclipsed Zeppelin to a degree(for me anyway.)Basically the best parts from each of those 3 to be “The Mighty VH”🤘🖖✌️🎸🥁🎤🎸
All that talk about connecting with the audience, etc., is too sophisticated for me. The simple answer is the music was freaking fantastic.
I don't remember exactly which tour, but I saw them around the time you did (the now defunct Capital Centre in Landover, MD, just outside of DC). Underwhelming is the perfect one-word description. No real fire, just a lot of cliched rock moves and motions. MIchael Anthony's bass "solo?" He turned on every effect on his pedalboard, took off the bass, threw it to ground and proceeded to stomp on it for awhile. It was absolutely awful. But I've always loved his ultra-high backing vocals.
Michael' vocals were outstanding. Being a bassist myself, i didn't like the fact that Eddie wrote Michael's parts. Which i think is bs .
Drugs and alcohol destroyed the life of Van Halen. What's the point of fame and fortune if you are going to be in pain dealing with both physical and mental illness for the rest of your life?
If Anthony was an Alpha Male and a bass guitar player at the level EVH wanted him to be, he’d never would’ve been in the band. The other three NEEDED someone to dump on. And thanks to Michael’s personality, he was perfect. It was a real no win situation for him. A shame.
Ok so the video stamp says it came out 5 days ago. Why is there energy being put into making this video? Can someone explain this to me? This is such beyond old news. How many times can they recycle this stuff?
10 minutes in and nothing about Anthony breaking his silence. This is cheese..... thanks, good bye.
Appeal? For me it's their boogie ZZ top groove but with a bit more edge. Just got paid/Mean streets.
When DLR left in 85 the band ended as far as I'm concerned. That was the *real* VH and not that Van Hagar s h - t..
To answer your question, the musicianship was on a very high level. Audiences pick up on that sort of thing. 95% of the people are not musicians, but that is the hidden element. Technically proficient, their cover tunes paid homage to the originals, injected their creative energy and elevated the song. They were so good that they could do anything with a piece of music that they wanted, they earned the right. It's the Glenn Gould effect.
I love everybody in that band, but I hate the way Mike was treated. All he ever ended up being was the coolest mf in the whole band. The harmonies and the ability to compliment the rest of the band made him just as important as Eddie's guitar or Dave's... Dave-ness. Lol
I saw kiss as cartoon characters never have and still do take them seriouse. I understand their place but much better bands graced my household.From country to bluegrass to fusion, disco be bop, metal and pink floyde grateful dead so much killer music and also the local scene Adirondack folk music.
EVERYTHING , so much better than distorted Beatles tunes.
My favorite kiss song? I was made for loving you, their disco song hahahaha .
I don't listen to it on purpose.
MA is the GOAT of bass players , with those vocals.ye can still do. Always in the pocket plays the song as needed no need for flash . Bottom end like a fat bottom girl.
They treated Mike like shit he is probably the only one of the most grounded members of the band
Never a Ted Nugent fan
A ‘REAL’ VH’ fan would know; DLR Father was NOT a musical 🤦
CLICKBAIT!!! The only thing about Michael Anthony in here are a few quotes from an article dude reads in its entirety. And the lines quoted aren't exactly Michael Anthony "breaking his silence" (i.e., nothing mind-blowing or shockingly revealing). Generally, if I watch a post like this (filled with filler not reflective of the advertised title), I try and find where people can locate where the actual topic of the title can be found to save them time, but...there's no where in this clip to do this. Clickbait....
Thanks for your feedback, sincerely.
I'm sorry you feel that way. When we can't think of a good title we sometimes throw the entire transcript of the video into an AI to get suggestions. And based on the article itself, and our free-flow commentary, that's one of the suggestions it gave us. To be honest, I questioned it at first; it seemed a little melodramatic. But since most of our videos are about referencing old newspapers, and in our research we don't come across many things from Michael Anthony (Especially compared to DLR and EVH), even a little bit was cool for me personally.
So to avoid confusion, I added the "in 1980" to the title. Obviously the world in 1980 was a very different place. Hearing direct quotes from Michael Anthony were few and far between at the time. I hoped the "in 1980" would drive home the point that, while it was new in 1980, it is now nearly 45-year-old information.
I thought there were a lot of people who would appreciate the video in that context. So from that perspective the title fit, and we went with it.
We considered referencing the headline of the actual article in our video title, but as I said in the video, I didn't understand it myself.
But as I said above, I really appreciate the feedback. We want to create engaging titles that capture my personal excitement while being true to the context and content. And it's possible we missed that mark here.
We don't benefit long-term if people click on the video and then back out immediately, (the algorithm doesn't like that) so good titles need to walk the fine line of being engaging and accurate.
I don't think anyone has ever called our titles "click bait" before. So if it is, even unintentionally, we need to consider it. So your feedback, however difficult to hear, is valuable.
We will definitely take another look at this title.
BTW - while maybe not "mind-blowing or shockingly revealing," finding some direct quotes from a 26-year-old Michael Anthony about why he thinks VH is successful, is pretty close. :)
Thanks again! I'm sorry the video wasn't your thing.
This guy is not adding value to my time
Sorry to hear that. This type of content isn't for everyone. Thanks for giving it a try.