A long lost video of Van Halen performing in front of giant dinosaur statues has finally been unearthed after more than 40 years.

“At the end of 1981 Van Halen filmed some videoclip settled in a Jurassic park in Italy, the ‘Prehistoric Park’ of Rivolta D'Adda (near Milan),” notes the YouTube uploader, Kosmo VanHalenItalia.

At the time, the band were touring Europe in support of their fourth LP, 1981’s Fair Warning. The video finds the band mime-performing along to their song “So This Is Love?” in front of a stone brontosaurus, while tyrannosaurus rex, triceratops, and wooly mammoth statues look on. In the clip, David Lee Roth struts around wearing a piano scarf, colorful boots and button-up shirt (left open to show his chest, of course). Brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen have on coordinating striped outfits, while bassist Michael Anthony appears to be donning an orange prison jumpsuit.

“These videos aired on Italian state television, RAI 1, during a TV show called Happy Circus,” the YouTube caption further explains, adding that the “Van Halen Italia Fan Club” were the ones who uncovered the long lost footage (which you can watch below).

Speculation surrounding the mysterious “dinosaur video” has long run rampant among handcore fans. The Van Halen News Desk notes that pictures from the video shoot, taken by one of the band’s roadies, were published in 1995 in the magazine The Inside. The accompanying story was short and shone very little light on the video, speculating “the dinosaurs never made it off the cutting room floor.”

“So This Is Love?” was released as a single in 1981, peaking at No. 15 on the U.S. Mainstream Rock Tracks chart.

 

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