IGA inks Van Halen

YOU REALLY GOT ME: Whaddaya mean Interscope is out of the rock business? Jimmy Iovine’s label just signed Van Halen, and we know that because of the above photo, which shows the band—that’s Wolfgang next to his dad—with Iovine, manager Irving Azoff, IGA Vice Chairman Steve Berman and UMGD topper Jim Urie. Van Halen’s first new album in 13 years (and that one was with Gary Charone) is in the can, and though details are few at this point, it appears that John Shanks was involved in the production and Ross Hogarth mixed. Iovine "heard the band was available and wanted to work with them,” a source told The Hollywood Reporter’s Shirley Halperin. “It was decided at the 11th hour.” Shirley also wrote that THR broke the story that VH had left Warner Bros. Records. In fact, that bit of news was first revealed months ago by our own I.B. Bad—who looks at the radically altered landscape of the music biz a week after everything changed in his latest column. (11/18a)