In 1980, Don Henley was virtually sure that Eagles would by no means reunite, famously telling a reporter that they’d get again collectively “when hell freezes over.”

In July of that 12 months, the band got here to a dramatic finish at a present in Long Beach, California, the place Don Felder and Glenn Frey butted heads so severely there was practically a bodily altercation. As Henley would succinctly put it to People in 1982: “1980 was a terrible year.”

But over a decade later, the temper began to shift. In 1993, an Eagles tribute album, Common Thread: The Songs of the Eagles, was launched, that includes covers carried out by numerous nation acts. At the finish of that 12 months, Henley, Frey, Felder, Joe Walsh and Timothy B. Schmit all appeared in the video for Travis Tritt’s cowl of “Take It Easy,” and plans have been hatched for a reunion. In April of 1994, they filmed an MTV particular, which resulted in the 11-track reside album, Hell Freezes Over.

“For the record, we never broke up; we just took a 14-year vacation,” Frey joked at that live performance.

Watch Eagles Perform ‘Life in the Fast Lane’ for MTV in 1994

From there, Eagles determined to maintain the prepare rolling, launching the Hell Freezes Over tour on May 27, 1994 in Irvine, California, a 30-minute drive from the place the band imploded over a decade earlier.

“It’s a relief,” Frey stated previous to the present. “You know, we’ve been rehearsing for so long and we’ve been playing for men who don’t clap: our crew. So it’s like, now we got paying customers. … For some reason everyone has a wonderful calm right now. I think we’re excited to get out and play. I’m actually not nervous yet.”

Schmit used the identical phrase that night earlier than the present: “I’ll tell you, the mood is very calm. … I think it’ll get more aggressive as it gets closer to showtime, but everybody’s about as ready as can be. We’ve worked really hard — really hard — six, seven day weeks for the last six weeks, maybe two months.

READ MORE: Underrated Eagles: The Most Overlooked Song From Each Album

“We’ve all gotten older and wiser,” he continued. “Everybody’s quite a bit clearer, to illustrate. … We’re not trying again, we’re simply specializing in what’s forward.”

But, as Frey pointed out, this was just night one of an extensive tour, with dates lined up through October: “This is simply the first of 66 video games we gotta play this season. It’s not the Super Bowl but.”

The evening’s 28-song set list featured plenty of Eagles classics — “Hotel California,” “Lyin’ Eyes,” “Life in the Fast Lane,” etc. — as well as some solo selections, including but not limited to: Frey’s “Silent Spring,” Henley’s “The Boys of Summer” and Walsh’s “Life’s Been Good.” (A full set list can be viewed below.) At the end of it all, the band played not one but three encores.

Watch Eagles Leave Their 1994 Concert in Irvine, California

After the concert, Henley echoed the words Frey has used pre-show. “It’s a aid,” he said. “Because I do not assume we’ll be as nervous now. I used to be actually high quality till I acquired on the market [laughs], and heard the roar.”

Eagles would go on to play 160 shows over the course of 1994-1996, becoming one of the most lucrative tours in all of rock history.

“It’s an excellent feeling to be up there with the guys,” Henley said after that first show. “I feel that is simply going to get higher because it goes on.”

Eagles, ‘Hell Freezes Over’ Tour, 5/27/94, Set List:
1. “Hotel California”
2. “Victim of Love”
3. “New Kid in Town”
4. “Wasted Time”
5. “Pretty Maids All in a Row”
6. “The Girl From Yesterday”
7. “I Can’t Tell You Why”
8. “Ordinary Average Guy” (Joe Walsh song)
9. “Lyin’ Eyes”
10. ‘One of These Nights”
11. “Silent Spring” (Glenn Frey tune)
12. “Tequila Sunrise”
13. “Help Me Through the Night” (Joe Walsh tune)
14. “The Heart of the Matter” (Don Henley tune)
15. “Love Will Keep Us Alive”
16. “You Belong to the City” (Glenn Frey tune)
17. “The Boys of Summer” (Don Henley tune)
18. “Funk #49” (James Gang cowl)
19. “Dirty Laundry” (Don Henley tune)
20. “Life’s Been Good” (Joe Walsh tune)
21. “All She Wants to Do Is Dance” (Don Henley tune)
22. “Heartache Tonight”
23. “Life in the Fast Lane”
Encore:
24. “Get Over It”
25. “Rocky Mountain Way” (Joe Walsh tune)
Encore 2:
26. “Already Gone” (Robb Strandlund cowl)
27. “Desperado”
Encore 3:
28. “Take It Easy”