VAN HALEN - VAN HALEN PLOT LIVE RETURN

VAN HALEN PLOT LIVE RETURN

US rock band Van Halen have unveiled details of their first tour with original lead singer David Lee Roth for 22 years.

The band announced their much-speculated reformation at a press conference in Los Angeles yesterday, with guitarist Eddie Van Halen and Roth partaking in a unifying hug for the cameras.

Drummer Alex Van Halen was also present, as was Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen, who will be playing bass for the band.

The group have not toured together since their last album 1984 and the new dates will kick-off in North Carolina on September 27th.

Roth, 52, noted that a new album is now in the planning stages and the band hope to pick up where they left off.

The absence of previous bassist Michael Anthony led Roth to say that the press conference was not about a reunion - instead it was the announcement of a "new band".

"Usually when a band comes back like us it's rockers with walkers, and this is everything but. Meet us in the future, not the past," the Reuters news agency quoted him as saying.

Van Halen are one of the most successful US rock bands of all time, forming in Los Angeles in 1974 and going on to achieve a number of hits albums.

Tracks like Jump, Running with the Devil, I'll Wait and Everybody Wants Some made the band global superstars.