photo credit: Anirudh Koul via photopin cc

David Lee Roth is giving Van Halen's European fans reason to get excited.

During a syndicated radio interview on Monday (March 11), Roth announced that the group -- which had to cancel its North American summer tour last year to let guitarist Eddie Van Halen have emergency intestinal surgery -- planned to play "probably 50, 60 shows" across the pond, "starting and the end of the year, and then come back around through the U.S."

It's big news given Van Halen's modest touring schedule for the year so far, which includes a headline spot at the inaugural Stone Music Festival on April 20 in Australia, three Japanese shows in June and the Rock USA festival on July 20 in Oshkosh, Wisc.

Roth claimed to be "frankly surprised" by the festival dates, cracking that "I think probably they had designs on somebody else, and somebody else got sick...or somebody else took ill."

Nevertheless, he said he's looking forward to getting back on stage with the group:

"Van Halen is very pure and uncut kinda music. It's a little like getting drunk on shots of really good Kentucky bourbon. It's like, you'll have a great night, but you probably won't want to see us again for three years!"

Van Halen is still touring to support its most recent album, 2012's "A Different Kind of Truth."