10 Replacement Hard Rock Singers That NAILED It (Or Just Didn't Fit)

Van Halen played their way out of backyard parties during the mid 1970s in their native California, to become one of the biggest rock bands in the world by the turn of the following decade.

While the heartbeat of the band has always undoubtedly been the legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen, the super-ego that was David Lee Roth led from the front always wanting to be the centre of attention. Friction between the two was never far away and their musical differences started to spread them further apart by the time they released their sixth album 1984, the magnum opus of their career.

Roth left to go solo that same year and Van Halen turned to Sammy Hagar, a huge stadium rock act in his own right which divided fans just as Roth had divided the band.

However Van Hagar as they would commonly be known, wasted no time in releasing the album 5150 in 1986, a commercial success which saw them embark on a reincarnation of the group, which as the decade rumbled on would see their most successful period in terms of show sizes and revenue.

Hagar would make three more albums with Van Halen before the collaboration imploded after the 1995 record Balance, and Sammy’s time eventually came to an end, coinciding with a period of middle age where Van Halen were unfortunately no longer considered cutting edge.