FLASHBACK FRIDAY
During an old school full in bloom interview with London’s Nadir D’Priest, the frontman talked about Guns N’ Roses guitarist Izzy Stradlin, Alex Van Halen, Lizzie Grey, Tracii Guns, & his ’80s lifestyle.
LISTEN TO THE STORY VIA THE EMBEDDED YOUTUBE CLIP BELOW. You can also access the video directly on our YouTube channel @ this location.
Now live at BaT Auctions: Alex Van Halen’s Modified 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air 2-Door Hardtop 5-Speed. –MORE INFO
This 1955 Chevrolet Bel Air two-door hardtop was previously owned by five-time NHRA champion Joe Amato before being purchased by musician Alex Van Halen in 2013. The car is finished in black and white over matching vinyl upholstery and is powered by a 540ci V8 mated with a Tremec TKO five-speed manual transmission and a 9-inch rear axle with 4.11:1 gears. Features include an Art Morrison chassis, independent front suspension, power rack and pinion steering, adjustable Strange Engineering coilovers, Wilwood front disc brakes, and staggered 15″ ET Classic five-spoke wheels as well as MSD electronic ignition, an Edelbrock intake manifold, RHS cylinder heads, an aluminum radiator, a Hurst shifter, and a retro-style digital cassette stereo. This Bel Air is now offered by the seller on behalf of the owner with service records, a letter from Joe Amato, and a clean California title.
The body is finished in black and white and is said to have been repainted during previous ownership. Features include a “hood bird” hood ornament, chrome side spears and bumpers, Bel Air badging, LED taillamps, tinted window film, and dual exhaust outlets that exit below the rear bumper. The paint is chipped on the front fascia, above the left front window, along the edge of the left door, and under the rear of the trunk.
The staggered 15″ ET Classic five-spoke wheels wear 205/60 BFGoodrich Advantage T/A tires up front and 325/50 Mickey Thompson Sportsman S/R tires out back. The car is fitted with an Art Morrison chassis with independent front suspension and a multi-link rear suspension as well as adjustable Strange Engineering coilovers and power rack and pinion steering. Braking is handled by Wilwood front disc brakes and rear drums.
The cabin features front bucket seats and a rear bench upholstered in black vinyl with white piping and accents. Equipment includes a floor-mounted fire extinguisher, aluminum bowtie trim, a Hurst shifter, an analog clock, front shoulder belts, aftermarket speakers, and a retro-style digital cassette stereo. A battery, 10-disc CD changer, and power cut-off switch are mounted in the upholstered trunk.
The three-spoke steering wheel has a chrome horn ring and frames a 110-mph speedometer and gauges for fuel level and coolant temperature. A Mooneyes tachometer is mounted on top of the dashboard and ancillary gauges are mounted in the dashboard. The five-digit mechanical odometer shows 11k miles, approximately 8k of which were added during current ownership. Total mileage is unknown.
The 540ci V8 was installed during previous ownership and features an Edelbrock Victor Jr. intake manifold, MSD electronic ignition and billet distributor, braided fuel lines, RHS cylinder heads, tubular exhaust headers, and an aluminum radiator with dual electric fans. An oil change was performed in 2022.
Power is delivered to the rear wheels through a Tremec TKO five-speed manual transmission and a 9-inch Positraction rear axle with 4.11:1 gears. A custom dual exhaust system with Flowmaster mufflers is fitted.
Ben Eller: Nick Bowcott told me the CRAZIEST Van Halen story that NOBODY has ever heard… until now! Who is Simon Van Halen???
Simon Van Halen. I don’t know if he exists or not, but he existed for an afternoon in the ’80s. Long story short, my band Grim Reaper, we used this company called LSD, which was an acronym for Light, Sound, Design. We used them for every gig we had. I was at the University of Manchester. We had done a gig on the weekend, and they said, “Hey, we’ll be in Manchester on Wednesday because Van Halen are playing. Come down and watch from the soundboard. They’re playing Birmingham, your hometown, the next day. Get on the truck and come with us.” So, I got to see Van Halen twice.
I went early to the venue, and they went: “We know you’re a big Eddie Van Halen fan. We know the hotel where they’re staying.” I got ‘Women and Children First,’ and I thought, “Ok, how do I do this?”
So, I called the hotel from a payphone, no cellphones existed, no internet. I called up the hotel and with the worst American accent, I said: “Yeah, hi, my name is Simon Van Halen. My cousins, Edward and Alex, are checking in later. There might be a big party. They might be under pseudonyms. But I would just like to leave them a message.” They went, “Certainly, sir, let me get a pen and paper.” So, they started writing down this message. “Hey, this is Simon. I just wanted to wish you a great gig. Hopefully, I will see you later on,” then I said, “Oh, by the way, where are you located because I’m new in town and I’m not too familiar with the area,” and they told me. I said: “Well, as happenstance would have it, I’ll be passing that way. Do you mind if I sneak in and surprise them?” They went: “Yeah, they haven’t arrived yet. Come on down and we’ll alert security.”
I went to the hotel. I put a suit jacket on. I had my album. I had the guitar, which had stripes on it because I wanted to get stuff signed. And there were fifty or sixty kids there that day, just hoping that it was their hotel. I walk up to the security guy at the front of the hotel. They put one out because of all the kids. He goes, “Are you Simon Van Halen?” I go, “Yes, I am.” He said, “Come on in.”
So, I go in, and they said: “They still haven’t arrived. Go to the bar and have some complimentary drinks.” I’m like, “Ok.” I go to the bar and Dutch courage, pun intended, I’m like, “I’m in trouble now. This is working.” So, I was there for like, three or four beers later.
This big American guy walks up and goes, “Simon Van Halen, huh? My bet is, you’re not even American.” I said, “Busted. Guilty on both charges. I’m just a huge fan.” He goes: “The band thinks it’s funny. They will meet you.” It worked. I didn’t get in trouble.
So, I have my ‘Women and Children First’ album signed by all four members from that day, and better still, I got the backplate of the guitar signed by Edward. It worked. Lying sometimes, a little white lie, it works. The funny thing is, I got to work with Edward, may he rest in peace, and we had some great conversations, but I never felt the moment was right to insert that story. So, I never told him.
Epic Epic Epic! Just ran into Alex Van Halen (my first drum hero) at LAX and talked for 30 mins. Haven’t seen him in years. It was so great to reconnect. Crazy, I was with Wolf Van Halen yesterday and was asking him how his uncle’s been doing. Bizarre! Not pictured is Mark Guiliana who I ran into 5 mins later. Drummer craziness at LAX this afternoon.
Greg Renoff: Alex Van Halen, on 🔥. Needless to say, Alex stopped lighting his drums on fire after 1979.
Alex Van Halen:
We used to put lighter fluid on all the drumheads before the last song. Then the roadie would hand me a couple of mallets that were soaked with lighter fluid and lit. We always had someone standing by with a fire extinguisher, just in case it got out of hand. And one night it did… I caught on fire. I started yelling, “Hey, look at my fucking arm!” And the roadie yelled back, “Yeah, man, it looks great!”
The Mighty Van Halen: 3/9/1962 – 60 yrs ago today the Van Halens arrive in America!! About a decade later they formed Van Halen and the rest is history…
An Alex Van Halen custom-designed Ludwig drum kit sold for $230,400 at auction last weekend. The stage-played set was used on over 100 shows during Van Halen’s 1980 Invasion tour. In addition to being featured on the Van Halen tour, the kit also spent five years on display at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland.
Julien’s Auctions:
“This kit from the 1980 Van Halen Invasion World Tour spent 5 years on display at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland,” said Alex Van Halen. “It’s the only one like it in the world and I’m happy that 100% of the selling price will be going to charity via the Frangioni Foundation and Mr. Holland’s Opus.”
This spectacular and massive drum ensemble features a visually striking element: articulating kick drums, which began a long fascination Van Halen had with flexible hoses joining drums.
Once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Alex Van Halen stage-played complete kit on Van Halen 1980 Invasion Tour, photo documented w/ drums and cymbals obtained directly from Alex through author of CRASH: The World’s Greatest Drum Kits (no gong or fire extinguisher included). Was on display at the RRHOF. See pix for details. A portion of proceeds goes to charity.
Van Halen News Desk: We received this from Alex Van Halen… “Hey Ed. Love you. See you on the other side. Your brother, Al”
