It appears that David Lee Roth predicted his recent retirement announcement 30 years ago, almost to the exact day.
In the music video for his 1991 solo single “A Lil Ain’t Enough,” the longtime Van Halen frontman looks into a crystal ball and gazes into his future.
At first, he sees a billboard that reads: “Diamond Dave And THE ABSOLUTE FINAL TOUR.” Then, a Delorean-esque vehicle pulls up, and out from the suicide doors steps an overweight, aged Roth. The date “October 10th, 2021” flashes across the screen while spacesuit-wearing paparazzi bombard the singer.
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If only Roth had a waited just a few more days, he would have been spot-on. Last week, Diamond Dave announced that his upcoming five-date Las Vegas residency would be his final shows ever. He implied that health issues are forcing him to hang up his mic.
“I am throwing in the shoes,” he told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “I’m retiring.” He added that he thought that he would’ve been the first classic member of Van Halen to pass away, not Eddie Van Halen. “I thought I might have been the first, frankly. I might have thought the Marlboro Man might’ve gotten me. ‘Hey Ed, objects in the rearview mirror are probably me.’ … And my doctors, my handlers, compelled me to really address that every time I go onstage, I endanger that future.”
The news was a shock, considering Roth had released a new solo single featuring John 5 that morning and had just announced that he was returning for the upcoming Vegas residency.
Regarding the Vegas shows, Roth said: “I’ve got a band that is doing what [Alex Van Halen] and I used to call a ‘block,’ that means 75 rehearsals for one show. We are bringing it in classic VH style. Alex and I are the only version, that was his message. There is no other variation. There is no torch being passed. There is no other side to this coin. This is classic, in-your-face Van Halen.”
Watch David Lee Roth predict his retirement in the video for “A Lil Ain’t Enough” below, and pick up tickets to one of his last five shows ever via Ticketmaster.
