Van Halen 1975 High School Performance Surfaces + It’s a Must Listen

Soundboard audio of an April, 1975 Van Halen performance at Pasadena High School has surfaced. The 30-minute set, comprised of eight songs, is mostly cover songs alongside an early version of "Fools," then titled "I Live With Fools."

Before Van Halen signed a record deal and later hit the world's stages opening for Black Sabbath upon the release of their self-titled 1978 debut, the group were slugging it out anywhere and everywhere, no different than any rock band trying to make a name for themselves.

The group — Eddie Van Halen, Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and David Lee Roth — operated under a number of different names in their early days together, cycling through Mammoth and Genesis, to name two. At the time of the recording, Eddie, the youngest member of the group, had turned 20 just a couple months prior.

In the set, they run through premiere selections from ZZ Top, Deep Purple, The Rolling Stones and more, all of which can be heard in the video toward the bottom of the page, beneath the setlist.

Die-hard fans will be especially appreciative of "I Live With Fools," which was later reworked as "Fools," a song that was included on Van Halen's third record, 1980's Women and Children First.

Van Halen, Live at Pasadena High School (April, 1975) — Set List

1. "Chevrolet" (ZZ Top)
2. "Maybe I'm a Leo" (Deep Purple)
3. "Brown Sugar" (The Rolling Stones)
4. "And We All Had a Real Good Time" (Edgar Winter)
5. "Walk Away" (James Gang)
6. "Rock And Roll Hoochie Koo" (Johnny Winter)
7. "Don't Call Us, We'll Call You" (Sugarloaf)
8. "I Live With Fools" (early version of Van Halen original "Fools")