Music

Wolfgang Van Halen, the son of late Van Halen icon Eddie Van Halen, is earning many fans of his own with his Mammoth WVH solo project. One of those fans is former Van Halen vocalist Sammy Hagar, who tells ABC Audio he’s been “shocked” by one particular aspect of Wolf’s sound.

“My most impressive thing isn’t the fact he played every instrument,” Hagar says. “That’s cool, that’s awesome, but he’s Eddie Van Halen’s son, hello? Eddie could play every instrument too, you know, so he was raised that way.”

“But, I love his voice,” the Red Rocker adds. “I think he’s a great singer, and being a singer myself, that was shocking to me.”

Hagar shares that he’s heard “about five songs” from the self-titled debut WVH album, which dropped earlier this month. With each one, he became more and more impressed with Wolf’s vocals.

“I loved his voice,” Hagar says. “Every song I’ve heard him sing, he’s got a sweet, soulful voice.”

In fact, Hagar implies that Van Halen would’ve been better off in the band’s later days if Wolf, who starting playing bass in the group in 2006, took over vocal duties as well from one David Lee Roth.

“He could’ve sang with the reunion tour with that Roth character,” Hagar says of Wolf. “He could’ve sang ‘Right Now,’ ‘Why Can’t This Be Love.’ He could’ve sang ‘Top of the World.'”

The Red Rocker adds, “Wolfie could’ve sang the songs. But I’m sure Diamond would’ve had no part of some guy on stage singing better than him.”

Wolf will be bringing his sweet, soulful voice on the road this summer and fall while opening for Guns N’ Roses. He’ll also be playing several headlining dates.

Hagar, meanwhile, just announced a Las Vegas residency, kicking off in October.

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Music mogul Clive Davis is staging a huge concert August 21 in New York City’s Central Park to celebrate the post-COVID reopening of the Big Apple, and according to one report, he’s already lined up two major stars for the event.

A source tells Page Six that Bruce Springsteen and Paul Simon will be among the headliners for the show, which will air on CNN.  According to the source, Springsteen will sing a duet with fellow rocker Patti Smith; Springsteen co-wrote Smith’s hit “Because the Night” with her.

Simon was previously part of a now-iconic 1981 concert in Central Park with Art Garfunkel., and he also played a huge solo show in the park in 1991.

Jennifer Hudson, who is portraying Aretha Franklin in an upcoming biopic, also is expected to take part in the event, claims the source.

Originally envisioned as a three-hour concert, an insider tells Page Six that the event will now be a four-hour show and will include “a sizable percentage [of] artists of color.”

One artist who Davis attempted to land for the event was Diana Ross, who memorably performed in Central Park in 1983. However, sources say Ross said no, because she’s not planning to perform again until 2022.

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We can’t say if it’s a bargain, but The Who‘s Pete Townshend is selling his expansive London estate for a cool 15 million pounds, or about $21 million.

According to Pereds realtors, the residence, known as The Wick, was first built in 1775, and is located on a picturesque bend in the Thames River. The 8,500-square-foot home features five bedrooms, five bathrooms, an office suite, a reception room, a drawing room with a balcony, a conservatory, two studies, a dogs’ room, a heated swimming pool and more.

People reports that Townshend purchased The Wick in 1996 from music executive Derek “Dick” Leahy, who helped guide George Michael‘s career. Prior to Leahy, Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood owned the mansion and installed a music studio, which was used by The Stones to record the demo for their classic hit “It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (But I Like It).”

Wood purchased The Wick from Oscar-winning actor John Mills.

“The main thing about the home is that it just looks like a little doll’s house sitting on the hill,” Preds founder Perry Press tells People. “But…[o]nce you get inside it sort of expands around you. It also has that outlook over the River Thames, which is quite astonishing considering it’s on the fringe of London.”

Press also notes that Townshend actually helped design the music studio commissioned by Wood, while reporting that the studio has “been pretty much dismantled for the sale.”

You can check out photos of The Wick and the estate’s grounds at Pereds.com.

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Bon Jovi has finally joined YouTube’s Billion Views Club: One of the band’s videos has officially racked up a billion views on the streaming platform.  But it’s not for the song you might think.

While you’d figure that either “You Give Love a Bad Name” or “Wanted Dead or Alive” — arguably the group’s two signature tunes — would have hit the billion mark long ago, they actually haven’t.  Instead, it’s the video for their 2000 hit “It’s My Life” that has hit the milestone.

By comparison, “You Give Love a Bad Name” has just under 300 million views, while “Wanted Dead or Alive” has a paltry 151 million views.

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