VAN HALEN: Expanded 40th-Anniversary Edition Of '5150' To Be Released In March

Celebrating its 40th anniversary in March 2026, "5150" is the first of four albums VAN HALEN recorded with lead singer Sammy Hagar. To mark this moment, Rhino is releasing an expanded edition of this classic on March 27 with a remastered version of the original album, a disc of rare singles edits and B-sides and a previously unreleased performance from the band recorded on August 27, 1986 in New Haven, Connecticut. Rounding out the package will be a Blu-ray inclusive of the first HD release of the band's classic 1986 live video "Live Without A Net" and a promo video for the track "Dreams".

A live version of "Summer Nights" from VAN HALEN's aforementioned New Haven concert can be seen below.

The 3CD/Blu-ray/LP version of "5150 (Expanded Edition)" includes a remastered version of the original album (overseen by longtime VAN HALEN engineer Donn Landee in 2023 for "The Collection II" box set),a disc of rare non-LP edits and mixes, and the audio from the "Live Without A Net" home video. The New Haven concert, taped at the New Haven Veteran Memorial Coliseum, has also been remastered in HD and included on a Blu-ray alongside two music videos.

"5150" was VAN HALEN's seventh studio album and the band's first to claim the top spot on the Billboard 200. Certified platinum six times in the U.S., the record treated fans to hits like "Dreams", "Love Walks In" and "Why Can't This Be Love", which peaked at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.

"5150" was named after the California police term for a mentally unstable person, which comes from section 5150 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code. 5150 is also the name of guitarist Eddie Van Halen's home studio where the band worked on the record.

"Why Can't This Be Love" was the first single off "5150". It reached No. 3 on the Billboard 100 and helped propel the album to number one. "Dreams" was the second single off "5150". It peaked at No. 22 on the Hot 100.

Ten years ago, Hagar told Rolling Stone about "5150": "It was the first Number One record for all of us, and it stayed there for five weeks. The crazy thing is that it took three weeks to go to Number One. It was a lot more difficult back then before SoundScan. Back then, it wasn't all about sales and it kept building and building. I think we sold something like a million records in the first week, but they didn't count it that way for the charts. It was some weird system.

"It was a big deal for us all to have our first Number One record together," Sammy added. "I remember us drinking champagne in Atlanta at the Ritz Carlton. Our manager told us the news and we popped a bottle at two in the afternoon, which wasn't my style, and we probably had a pretty good show that night. I don't remember that one."