Why did David Lee Roth leave Van Halen?

“The band as you know it is over,” stated Eddie Van Halen to Rolling Stone in mid-August 1985, confirming the rumors of a divide in the band with David Lee Roth and adding the jab, “Dave left to be a movie star.” The first chapter of Van Halen’s story was over, but how did it get to that point? Why did David Lee Roth exit Van Halen at the height of their ’80s fame?

Years of Underlying Tensions

While the band’s star continued to rise in the late ’70s and early ’80s, several incidents indicated a growing divide between David Lee Roth and the rest of the band, in particular Eddie Van Halen.

Some of these incidents reflected the individual personalities of the band’s two central figures. While it’s difficult to say where the two musicians first started butting heads, there are several key incidents that are often pointed to as disputes that furthered the wedge in the band.

Women and Children …. and Roth …. First

One oft-reported dispute occurred when it came time for Van Halen to shoot the photo for their third studio album, Women and Children First. Per Medium.com, Roth took the lead in finding a photographer for the photo shoot, securing acclaimed fashion photographer Helmut Newton for a shoot.

With Newton and his assistants on hand, they decided to get started on the shoot while still awaiting the arrival of the Van Halen brothers. As Roth positioned himself by a fence near the pool, one of the assistants dropped some chains that were soon fastened around Roth’s wrists, thighs and torso. Once the brothers arrived and took note of what was going on, they were none too pleased. But eventually Newton photographed other members of the band.

Warner Bros. art director Richard Seireeni recalled, “Helmut didn’t much like the other band members. So he took some of the other guys but ended up shooting all of these pictures of David.” So, as the day continued, eventually the Van Halen brothers and Michael Anthony left with Newton still snapping photos of Roth.

The following day, a dispute between Roth and the brothers occurred over the photo shoot, with Roth being accused of trying to hijack the album artwork. Eventually, another photo shoot was scheduled with Warner Bros. bringing in rock photographer Norman Seeff to shoot the band. The group and Roth eventually reached a compromise, with Seeff’s shots being used for the front and back cover, while Roth’s famous chained photo from Newton being included as a poster with the first million vinyl pressings of the new album