In August 1984, Van Halen took to the Donington stage as part of the Monsters of Rock Festival for their first show in England since 1980.
With an incredible lineup that included AC/DC, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Accept, Y&T (replaced by Dio for some shows) and Mötley Crüe, the then-annual festival traveled throughout Europe that summer.
For Van Halen, it coincided with their 1984 tour that supported the legendary album of the same name. It was treated as the European portion of their tour. These shows featured the final performances by David Lee Roth with Van Halen—until he rejoined in 2007.
Rumors of raised tensions at the time might explain why Van Halen left the bill before the short tour's final dates in Italy. In the clip below, which is taken from the single U.K. appearance, early into the set, Eddie and the crew treat 65,000-plus fans to a high-energy rendition of "Hot for Teacher."
Broadcast at the time by British TV show The Old Grey Whistle Test, the footage is among a few rare clips that exist of that historic performance—and the last by the original lineup on U.K. soil.
Jonathan Graham is an ACM UK graduate based in London studying under the likes of Guthrie Govan and Pete Friesen. He is the creator of ForgottenGuitar.com, a classic-guitar media website, and is completing his debut album, Protagonist, due for release in 2016. Updates also can be found at Graham's YouTube channel.
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