Sammy Hagar on a Van Halen reunion: “I foresee it happening”
However, he clarified his foresight comes more from hope, rather than inside knowledge.
Image: Scott Dudelson / Getty
Van Halen’s former frontman Sammy Hagar has spoken about his optimism for a reunion with the band, despite a history of division between him and its other members.
Hagar made the comments in an interview with Rolling Stone, in whcih he said that he hoped Van Halen would return to the stage, and that he would be involved. Hagar and the Van Halen brothers reportedly didn’t speak for over a decade after Hagar left in 2004.
David Lee Roth, however, last year brought the axe down on rumours of a Van Halen reunion – saying that the band was “finished” in its current form, and its next phase was existing as part of his solo residency at the Las Vegas House Of Blues. “I’ve inherited the band de facto,” he said, “whatever that means. I think it means if you inherit it, carry this proudly. Van Halen isn’t gonna be coming back in the fashion that you know.”
Hagar thinks otherwise: “Until Ed or Alex Van Halen die, they’re not finished. Those are two great musicians that can friggin’ do as good as most people at half-mast. I wish they were more active, but I think Van Halen will never be finished.
“If they want to get it together, they just have to call Dave or have to call Sammy. They can go out with Wolfie as a trio, but that’s not the legacy of Van Halen. I think they know that. I’m not predicting what’s going to happen, but I would tell you if there’s concerts next year, Van Halen will probably be on tour next year.”
While Hagar disagreed with David Lee Roth’s as to how ‘finished’ the band is, his ideal reunion situation does involve both himself and Roth singing, passing off songs from their respective eras.
“I foresee it happening,” he said of a reunion like this, but made sure to qualify that “I’m not trying to plant a seed like I know something is happening. I know nothing. I just know what I know in my heart and my head, which is that it has to happen. Whether it’s Sam and Dave or not, I don’t know that either. But I know that Eddie and I are not done. If enough water goes under the bridge before we die, it’ll happen. It has to. God is going to slap us both around if he has to.”
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