Looks Like That Van Halen Reunion Won’t Be Happening Anytime Soon
Though he floated the idea for a Van Halen reunion earlier this year, Sammy Hagar is now pouring cold water on the prospect.
Talking to syndicated talk show host Eddie Trunk after celebrating his 70th birthday last month, Hagar said that the prospects for getting together with Van Halen in any form are pretty much nil. Hagar said that, “People say, ‘What’s going on with Van Halen?’ Absolutely nothing. I have no idea. I haven’t heard from the guys. To me they made a real strong statement by not wishing me a happy birthday for my 70th, especially amongst the fact that so many people have died. A week before that, Tom Petty died. Tom Petty’s birthday was the next Thursday after mine, and he was still a young man as far as I’m concerned. With all those peopel dying, if somebody turns 70 that’s a monumental thing. You would think if they ever wanted to be friends, it would be so easy. And even if they didn’t want to be friends, it’s just something that would be the right thing to do.”
Hagar started the reunion ball rolling by sending guitarist Eddie Van Halen birthday wishes via social media earlier this year. He subsequently began floating the idea of a tour with both he and original Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth co-fronting the band:
“That’s really the only thing I would be interested in a Van Halen reunion would be Michael Anthony on bass, Eddie on guitar, of course, Alex on drums of course and Sammy and Dave singing, and not necessarily together. I don’t think he’s up for that but I’m up for anything if it could be like that ’cause that is fan-friendly and would show a real love for, to the fans that we would do this for them — suck it up, elevate our consciousness to where you put it all behind you and go out and do the right thing. Now that I would be up for.”
Anthony is part of Hagar’s band The Circle, while Van Halen has been on ice since touring in 2015.
Gary Graff is an award-winning music journalist who not only covers music but has written books on Bob Seger, Neil Young and Bruce Springsteen.
