Music News

Van Halen's 'revised spirit'

Feb 9, 2012, 16:02 GMT

Van Halen

David Lee Roth says there is a 'revised spirit' within Van Halen.

The band's original frontman - who has a tempestuous relationship with guitarist Eddie Van Halen and originally left the band in 1985 - admitted there is still some 'routine conflict' within the 'Jump' rockers, but there is also 'a lot of laughter'.

He said: 'It's a revised spirit, it's a real band. However temporary it may be, there's a real core of strength, an integrity to the band. An obsessiveness to it that will ring true, at least for the rest of this tour.

'If Ed and I can get along then world peace can have a chance. There's sparks, there's energy, there's a team enthusiasm closer to pirates than little league. There's still some pillaging going on there. You can hear it in the music. There's routinely conflict but there's a lot of laughter.

'A lot of appreciation for the privilege of the job; compared to some of the other jobs we've all held, this is better. In one of the songs I say, 'I've been rich and I've been poor, rich is better'. It's totally better.'

However, David is still not sure if there is a long-term future for the band after their forthcoming tour.

He added to News.com.au: 'To promise anything beyond that, I don't know. That kind of friction and back and forth solicits the best. In the battle of the bands, we actually are a battle of the bands in one band.'