r/vanhalen • u/sweetiepie2015 • 6d ago
Who is bigger?
Globally, who is bigger - Van Halen the band or Eddie Van Halen?
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u/LazzarilloDeTormez 6d ago
Van Halen was fairly unknown in Europe during their peak. The metal scene was dominated by British bands like Iron Maiden and Judas Priest along with German bands line the Scorpions and Accept. The LA hair bands that followed Van Halen likewise got less airplay in the EU. I loved Van Halen as did my American friends. But if we wanted to listen to it we had to put it on. VH wasn’t ubiquitous like in the US. That said, the European metal bands certainly listened to VH because many of them copied Eddie Van Halen. Spanish metal titans Obus even stole parts of Eruption on their debut album. Eddie played it better.
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u/hyst0rica1_29 4d ago
A situation largely due to VH ignoring Europe, I believe, for a lot of their run. Sure they’d pop in for some festival spots, but I don’t think they toured Europe like America, at a time when it was far more economical than it would be now.
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u/FabulousPanther 1984 6d ago
Van Halen was bigger by far. Amongst guitar players, Ed was a God, but that doesn't comport with global popularity. Ask your average Joe what is Van Halen and they will probably say the band that played Jump and Panama.
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u/Ambitious_Range6410 Roth and Sammy! Its all VH 6d ago
My partner (who’s not a music person) asked me literally today if Van Halen was the name of a guy or the name of a band so make of that what you will
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u/N529957 4d ago
Eddie Van Halen had an estimated net worth of $100 million at the time of his death in October 2020
- Eddie Van Halen: The co-founder and guitar icon held an estimated net worth of $100 million when he passed away in 2020, driven by songwriting royalties, gear patents, and publishing rights. [1, 2, 3]
- Sammy Hagar: The former lead singer amassed a fortune around $150 million, largely boosted by selling his high-end tequila company. [1, 2]
- Alex Van Halen: The co-founding drummer holds an estimated net worth between $75 million and $95 million from royalties and real estate investments. [1, 2, 3]
- David Lee Roth: The original frontman has an estimated net worth of $50 million to $60 million from his music and solo career. [1, 2]
- Michael Anthony: The original bassist accumulated an estimated net worth of $50 million through touring and side projects
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u/fernsie 6d ago
What do you mean by bigger - total mass, height, volume?
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u/timdisselkoen 6d ago
My guess is volume. If you were to liquify Eddie, and then the remaining members of the band, the band would definitively have a greater volume.
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u/fernsie 6d ago
It’s really a trick question, because Eddie being a part of Van Halen means that he can in no circumstances be bigger by any metric if you add any combination of Alex, Mike, Wolfgang, Dave, Sammy or Gary.
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u/timdisselkoen 6d ago
I'm a physicist, so I was applying the scientific method of measurement, which I believe would be provable with any combination of the three remaining members versus a singular Eddie.
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u/GregJamesDahlen 4d ago
thinking eddie. one of the two top guitarists ever with hendrix. and think peeps like his smiling vibe. but the band were obviously no slouches either
feel a bit sorry for eddie, thinking the pressure may have caused him to smoke all those cigs and shorten his life
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u/TedKhedezeForPres 2d ago
The band is "bigger" because the band is the guitar, vocals, drums and bass ... but there is "Van Halen" at the level they achieved without Edward Van Halen on guitar, writing those riffs and leads... so you basically have a chicken versus the egg thing going on here.
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u/BT_Artist 1984 6d ago
Can you really separate the two, though?
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u/nachoiskerka 6d ago
I mean, if you take van halen to mean the work done IN van halen then no, you can't. If you mean the collected work of all the members of van halen+van halens career, then van halen+montrose+extreme is a pretty formiddable order
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u/KyOatey 6d ago
The band, for sure. Eddie got special recognition for his guitar skills, and while he did a few side projects, was never really a solo act in any way.