“We submitted plans for a racquetball court”: Eddie Van Halen's 5150 Studios was decades ahead of its time – but it required a white lie to build

Eddie Van Halen, pictured seated in a chair at 5150 Studios.

Eddie Van Halen's 5150 Studios was, at the time of its construction in 1983, almost as groundbreaking as the man's playing.

Even for a band like Van Halen, who were by 1983 headlining shows to many thousands of people, the traditional record company hierarchy still ruled. Eddie Van Halen's shattering of the electric guitar rulebook didn't necessarily matter much to the band's label, Warner Bros. – hits were the order of the day.