Former Van Halen manager Noel E. Monk’s new memoir of his years with the band contains plenty of backstage stories, many of them involving David Lee Roth.
Naturally, the outspoken singer was the first VH vet to respond to the book — and he’s done it in typically tongue-in-cheek Diamond Dave style.
As previously reported, Monk’s book Runnin’ With the Devil: A Backstage Pass Into the Wild Times, Loud Rock and the Down and Dirty Truth Behind the Making of Van Halen includes plenty of the rock-star debauchery fans would expect to find in a firsthand account of the group’s rise to fame.
Roth, for example, was allegedly captured in “several hours” of X-rated footage while fooling around with groupies, sparked a food fight that left Journey singer Steve Perry crying and covered in guacamole and at one point needed to be buckled into a straitjacket so he’d “settle down.”
Unsurprisingly, Roth hasn’t deigned to respond directly to any of these stories.
Instead, in a series of tweets, he posted a trio of blanket responses to the “inevitable inquiries & questions” sure to be prompted by the publication of “this ‘book.'” (See below....)
***In the end, I think it is safe to assume that Dave's lack of denial means all these tales of those long-ago band days are TRUE! What do you think?
This memoir was published June 13th.