In 1984, the two-year-old MTV community nonetheless had so much to turn out about its rock credentials, and managers have been thinking about proving all of it. On the identical time, Van Halen had not anything left to turn out – however it didn’t forestall the events connecting to supply one of the crucial outlandish prizes ever to the band’s fanatics.
Saying the “Misplaced Weekend” contest (one in all a chain of such promos), the broadcaster indexed the tempting treasure: two nights partying with Van Halen amid their 1984 excursion, together with all of the larger-than-life antics that would include it, plus a stack of products and $1,000 in money.
“You’ll do not know the place you’re,” David Lee Roth mentioned in an onscreen advert. “You’ll do not know the place you’re going and more than likely no reminiscence of it after you cross.”
Over 10 million postal entries have been gained, together with a handful from from 20-year-old Kurt Jefferis – and it used to be one in all his postcards that used to be lifted out of the pile. After fielding a load of determined requests to industry his prize for bikes, vacations, laborious money and nearly the whole thing else, Jefferis and his pal Tom Winnick have been taken from their Philadelphia house by means of limo to an airport, and flown to Detroit to satisfy Van Halen.
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“A man passed me a bottle of Jack Daniels,” Jefferis advised Web page Six later, emphasizing how briefly the band made the winners really feel welcome. “I took a sip and requested for extra.” He and Winnick watched the display from the blending table earlier than Jefferis used to be invited on degree, the place the band smashed an enormous cake in his face and poured champagne over him.
Issues ramped up afterwards, in fact. Again on the resort, Jefferis used to be quickly smoking a joint, after which the cocaine arrived. “I did a pair strains. Then David [Lee Roth] mentioned, ‘I believe Kurt wishes Tammy.’” The groupie, an outdated pal of the band, “took off her garments and began dancing bare. The 2 folks wound up in combination within the bathe.”
Watch MTV’s Van Halen ‘Misplaced Weekend’ Prolonged Pictures
He recollects Eddie Van Halen as an overly pleasant particular person, and changing into rapid buddies with the guitarist’s then spouse, Valerie Bertinelli. Sooner or later, alternatively, Jefferis blacked out.
He hadn’t advised MTV that he’d lately suffered an coincidence that had left him with a steel plate in his head and a prescription for robust trauma medicine. “I didn’t inform MTV about my coincidence as a result of I didn’t suppose the rest of it,” he defined later. “I used to be the grand prize winner and I used to be going to head enjoy a misplaced weekend with Van Halen.”
MTV boss John Sykes remembered: “I used to be in Detroit that evening… and Richard Schenkman [MTV executive] referred to as since the child used to be freaking out. His pal mentioned, ‘He’s were given a steel plate in his head. He shouldn’t be ingesting.’
“On the resort, it used to be simply insane. The band’s having an enormous birthday celebration; they’re announcing, ‘Get the child out of right here.’ We needed to lock him in a room, and one in all our manufacturers stayed with him. Van Halen poisoned everyone that evening. It became out to be one in all our best promotions ever.”
MTV’s ‘Misplaced Weekend’ Used to be a ‘Wild West’ Experiment
As Jefferis took it simple the next day to come, a deliberate excursion of Detroit with Roth used to be canceled; and whilst the band partied once more that evening, the prizewinner slowed himself all of the method down. “Alex Van Halen passed me a 16-ouncer and mentioned, ‘You’re now not leaving this spot till you drink that beer.’ I poured it out in a trash can,” he mentioned. Winnick, who’d held again at the first evening, jumped deeper into the birthday celebration as an alternative.
“This used to be the Wild West of the cable technology and [MTV] have been doing the rest they might to hook up with audience,” mentioned Bradford Thomason, co-director of the documentary Misplaced Weekend. “They have been flying by means of the seats in their pants, attempting 100 various things to look what caught.”
The prizewinning pair went house the next day to come with a minimum of some recollections of a once-in-a-lifetime enjoy. “No method may just that occur as of late,” mentioned Jefferis, who to his wisdom suffered no everlasting side-effects from breaking physician’s orders. “You’d be signing releases out the wazoo – and that may take all of the amusing out of it.”
How Van Halen Conquered the Global in Simply 10 Displays
Van Halen’s meteoric upward thrust to reputation all through their first international excursion in 1978 incorporated 10 specifically essential performances. Here is a glance.
Gallery Credit score: Matthew Wilkening
