David Lee Roth Sabotaged Sammy Hagar Show

Today, we’re diving into one of the most chaotic tours in rock history, the 2002 “Sam and Dave” tour. Picture this: two former Van Halen frontmen, Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth, sharing a stage. What could possibly go wrong? Spoiler alert: everything.

In 2002, Hagar and Roth embarked on the “Song for Song, the Heavyweight Champs of Rock and Roll” tour. The concept was simple: alternate headlining spots each night. But when you put two alpha rockstars with decades of rivalry on the same bill, things are bound to get messy.

Speaking with Rolling Stone, Sammy Hagar revealed that Roth wasn’t too keen on the alternating schedule. On nights he was supposed to open, Roth would reportedly call in just minutes before showtime, claiming his bus broke down. Hagar, ever the professional, would step in to avoid disappointing fans. He did this about four times.

Hagar recalled, “He tried to pull stuff on the Sam and Dave tour. The nights when he was opening, when we flip-flopped…which I would never do again. I would never bother. But look, I’m not an opening act for anybody.

He added: “On those nights, he would call in and say, the bus broke down, 10 minutes before he was supposed to go on. And because I care about my fans, I would go on. And I did that about four times. I wanted to break the guy’s neck.”

He also criticized Roth’s performances, saying he stuck to his 1983 Van Halen setlist, complete with young musicians replicating Eddie Van Halen’s solos. Hagar felt Roth should have showcased more of his solo work. He said:

“The stupidest thing is, he did the worst when he headlined. He couldn’t follow me with a band of kids playing Eddie’s guitar solo note for note and playing ‘Eruption.’ He did his whole Van Halen show from 1983, and I’m going, ‘What an idiot!’ He should have represented himself a little more like who he was as a solo artist.”

Despite this overall unpleasant collaboration, Hagar isn’t sure he’d refuse to play with him again outright. He explained: “The circumstances would have to be right. Dave always wants too much. He always tries to upstage.”