“I am throwing in the shoes. I’m retiring,” Roth tells the Las Vegas Review-Journal in a new interview promoting the residency. “This is the first, and only, official announcement. … You’ve got the news. Share it with the world.”
Roth will launch his final live appearances at the House Of Blues inside Mandalay Bay on New Year's Eve and perform his last concert at the venue on January 8; tickets for the series go on sale Saturday, October 2 at 10 a.m. PT.
“I’m not going to explain the statement,” adds the rocker, who will turn 67 on October 10. “The explanation is in a safe. These are my last five shows.”
“I am encouraged and compelled to really come to grips with how short time is, and my time is probably even shorter,” shared Roth, almost a year to the day that his fellow bandmate, Eddie Van Halen, passed away at the age of 65 after a lengthy battle with cancer.
“I thought I might have been the first, frankly,” he continued, in reference to the legendary Van Halen lineup. “‘Hey Ed, objects in the rear-view mirror are probably me.’ And my doctors, my handlers, compelled me to really address that every time I go onstage, I endanger that future.”
Roth sums up his history this way: “I know that when I am in the audience, whether you come out with a ukulele or a marching band, all I ask is you give me everything you’ve got to give. That’s what I did for the last 50 years.
“I’ve given you all I’ve got to give. It’s been an amazing, great run, no regrets, nothing to say about anybody. I’ll miss you all. Stay frosty.”
The Van Halen family emigrated to the US from Holland in 1962 when brothers Eddie and Alex were both under 10 years of age; the pair studied classical piano before their interest in rock led them to new instruments and the formation of several bands before relaunching under the Van Halen banner in 1974 with a lineup that included Roth and bassist Michael Anthony.
Years of backyard parties and club shows eventually saw the group secure a record deal in 1977 and release their self-titled debut record the following year; the project would go on to reach Diamond status for US sales of more than 10 million copies, a rare feat they repeated six years later with their “1984” album.
Roth left Van Halen in 1985 to launch a solo career after scoring US hits with the help of a series of popular videos for “California Girls” and “Just a Gigolo/I Ain't Got Nobody" from his EP, “Crazy From The Heat”; his 1986 album debut, “Eat ‘Em And Smile”, continued the platinum trend, and more records with various lineups followed through the years.
Van Halen brought in Sammy Hagar for four studio albums until his departure in 1996, the same year Roth recorded two new songs with the band (“Me Wise Magic” and “Can’t Get This Stuff No More”) for a Greatest Hits project.
Following Van Halen’s 1998 album, “III”, and tour with Extreme singer Gary Cherone, Roth regrouped with the band again in 2000 for some writing and recording sessions but didn’t fully reunite with them until a 2007 tour that saw Eddie’s son, Wolfgang, on bass; the lineup released “A Different Kind Of Truth” in 2012 and toured in support of it before a final trek in 2015.
Van Halen have sold more than 80 million albums worldwide – including 56 million in the US - and they were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.
Roth’s last full studio album was 2003’s "Diamond Dave"; in 2018, he and business partner/tattoo artist Ami James created INK the Original, a full line of skincare products that protect tattooed skin.
See also:
David Lee Roth streams Lo-Rez Sunset animated video
David Lee Roth announces Las Vegas residency
Eddie Van Halen hometown tribute approved by City of Pasadena
Mammoth WVH expand 2021 US tour
Search Van Halen at hennemusic
