Glenn Hughes says he was nearly asked to sing for Van Halen
“Eddie was newly sober at that time… And we spoke about it.”
Image: Jorgen Angel / Getty
Bassist and vocalist Glenn Hughes has revealed that Eddie Van Halen nearly asked him to sing for the band following the departure of lead vocalist David Lee Roth in 1985.
It was of course Sammy Hagar who ended up replacing Roth in Van Halen that year. The rocker recorded four studio albums with the band during his time as frontman, including 5150 (1986), OU812 (1988), For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge (1991), and Balance (1995).
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In an appearance on The Classic Rock Podcast, Hughes confirmed he was nearly asked to fill Roth’s shoes: “Well, Eddie was newly sober at that time… And we spoke about it,” Glenn says [as transcribed by Blabbermouth].
“I had no idea. Eddie had been a friend of mine from the beginning,” he adds. “Look… Wow… Would it have worked? I’m not sure, unless I was completely sober – and I’ve been sober now for 24 years. Yeah, it would have been interesting, wouldn’t it? [Laughs] You never know.”
Talks of a Van Halen reunion have been shut down by both Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen and Hagar himself. In a recent podcast interview, Hagar explained: “It’s the same old story. It’s the same old fucking story. Alex [Van Halen] won’t respond to me. I reach out to him. I haven’t done it in a long time now, ‘cause it’s, like, ‘Hey, you wanna talk to me? Call me.’ But there’s not going to be a Van Halen reunion.”
Meanwhile, Hughes is set to embark on a US tour where the rocker will perform hits from Deep Purple catalogue. Most prominently, the tour celebrates the 50th Anniversary Of Deep Purple’s 1974 record, Burn. Hughes joined the band in 1973 and later departed in 1976. Get tickets for the tour here.