See Newly Unearthed Van Halen ‘Dinosaur Park’ Video Shoot
For avid historians of Van Halen's history, the source of an '80s dinosaur-themed photo shoot has gone unsolved for years. But it looks like the Van Halen News Desk can put an end to the debate as new video from the Van Halen Italia Fan Club has surfaced from this shoot.
The photos first surfaced in 1995 with the shots of the David Lee Roth-era band playing in front of life-sized sculptures of dinosaurs. The previously unseen photos were then published in the Van Halen-featuring The Inside magazine as part of a one-page piece titled "Sunday Afternoon in Jurassic Park?," a title still very hot at the time coming on the heels of the 1993 Jurassic Park blockbuster.
It was narrowed down that the shoot occurred in 1981 on location for a video shoot for the Fair Warning album, but that the footage was never utilized by the band. The photos had been taken by one of the band's roadies, but no further details were known about the shoot and it remained that way for years.
But as Van Halen News Desk reports, video footage has finally arrived online revealing some key essential details. The poster Kosmo VanHalenItalia writes, "At the end of 1981 Van Halen filmed some video clips settled in a Jurassic park in Italy, the 'Prehistoric Park' of Rivolta D'Adda (near Milan) The band was engaged in a European tour for promoting Fair Warning. These videos aired on Italian state television, RAI 1, during a TV show called Happy Circus. Van Halen Italia Fan Club found those video clips and shares them with fans all over the world."
Have a closer look at the newly unearthed footage from the band's appearance on Italy's Happy Circus below.