Sammy Hagar: “It’s the same old fucking story… But there’s not going to be a Van Halen reunion”
“The thought of a Van Halen reunion without Eddie, no, there’s no such thing.”
Image: Paul Natkin / Getty
Sammy Hagar has shut down debate surrounding a Van Halen tribute tour, believing that without Eddie Van Halen himself, “there’s no such thing” as a VH reunion.
Last year (2022), Wolfgang Van Halen had shared that “there was an attempt” to pull together some sort of tribute show, but has since said a number of times that due to frictions within Van Halen, a reunion wouldn’t be possible.
Ever since talk of a tribute began, numerous questions have been asked to WVH and other surrounding Van Halen musicians with hopes still holding out for some sort of get together. However, on an episode of the THAT Rocks! podcast, Hagar categorically ruled that there is not going to be a reunion.
“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,” states Hagar (via Blabbermouth).
“First of all, it’s too late. I’ve already said it a million times – Wolfie [Van Halen] is doing such a great job with what he’s doing, and he would be the perfect guy [to play with us at a tribute concert], so that’s out. Dave [Lee Roth] and I are still alive, but there’s no way he would cooperate with me,” he continues.
“So if [Dave] goes out by himself, that’s not a Van Halen reunion; that’s half a Van Halen reunion. If I go out by myself without him, it’s half a Van Halen reunion. Only good news about that is that I could sing his songs just fine.
“But Mike [Anthony] and I are like this [crosses fingers], and if Al wanted to come and play with us… I would love to play with Al. I said it recently, that I would love to play music with Al. I would like to write a song with Al. I would like to go in the studio and jam with Al. But the thought of a Van Halen reunion without Eddie, no, there’s no such thing,” the vocalist and guitarist finalises.
Listen below at the 56 minute mark:
Hagar continues to perform with former Van Halen bassist and close friend Michael Anthony. The pair now tour with Jason Bonham and Vic Johnson as The Circle. You can check out their upcoming live dates here.