George Orwell’s novel Nineteen Eighty-Four envisioned a dystopian future where totalitarian governments ruled the world and the average person’s attempts to enjoy even the slightest personal pleasure were patrolled and punished by the Thought Police in service of Big Brother. However, when humanity finally reached that symbolic year, the prevailing atmosphere was more of a hedonistic nonstop party than a period of peril. We have the power of the mighty Van Halen to thank for that.
Considered by many – including Eddie Van Halen himself – as the band’s masterpiece, 1984 was one of Van Halen’s best-selling albums and one of the best-selling rock albums of the eighties. It has earned RIAA Diamond certification for surpassing 10 million units sold – a feat the band only matched with their 1978 debut album, with the two perfectly bookending the beginning and end of Van Halen’s classic era with David Lee Roth fronting the band.
