A Van Halen reunion is not happening any time soon, Sammy Hagar says. The iconic singer recently opened up about trying to connect with the band’s drummer, Alex Van Halen — brother of late Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen — but Hagar says that Alex won’t return his calls.
In a new interview with Las Vegas Review-Journal, Hagar was discussing the ongoing Best of All Worlds tour with bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani, and drummer Jason Bonham, which partly pays tribute to the music of Van Halen, the legendary rock band that Hagar previously fronted. At one point, Hagar was asked if he contacted Alex about taking part, to which the singer replied: “I reached out to Alex a dozen times, before this tour was announced, and got no response.”
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“I mean, I’ve asked him to meet me under any conditions, any circumstances, anytime, anyplace, anywhere,” Hagar continued. “It’s not like, ‘Well, let me think about it.’ It’s like, no answer. Zero.” He then added that he was willing to offer Van Halen the drumming slot “to just play a couple of songs, or if you want to be the drummer the whole night, or be the executive producer.”
While he is not certain, Hagar went on to speculate that Alex’s upcoming autobiography, Brothers, could have something to do with his lack of communication. “I’m sure when he made his book deal, they said, ‘You cannot talk to Dave [Lee Roth, original Van Halen singer], and you cannot talk to Hagar,” said the “I Can’t Drive 55” singer. “I guarantee you, that that was part of the deal.”
Van Halen came to an end with the death of Eddie in October 2020 — at the age of 65 — after the legendary rocker fought a long battle with throat and lung cancer. Eddie had been first diagnosed with tongue cancer as far back as 2000. Not long after his death, his ex-wife Valerie Bertinelli mentioned that cancer eventually spread to his lungs.
The former couple’s only son, Wolfgang, confirmed the news of his father’s death in an Instagram post, writing, “I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning. He was the best father I could ever ask for.” Wolfgang, who was Van Halen’s bassist for a number of years, has since explained that he will never revive the band.
