Sammy Hagar recently discussed his split from Van Halen on ABC 7, saying he saw an ‘ugly side’ of Eddie Van Halen and Alex Van Halen during their 1996 breakup. Alternative Nation transcribed his comments. Eddie Van Halen being ‘disrespected’ by Steve Perry was recently revealed.
“I’m pretty happy, but I was happy at the peak of my career, from the ‘I Can’t Drive 55’ era, my album VOA. Probably 1982 or 1983, when I had my first Platinum album and I became a millionaire. I was really happy with that, through the Van Halen era, I was really happy.
Until that band broke up, I got divorce, and then the next year, the band breaks up. That’s as close to me being miserable, saying, ‘Man, what the hell is going on,’ [that I have gotten]. It was the time I was most disappointed. I was disappointed that the band broke up.”
He later added about that time in his life, “I saw a real ugly side of human beings, I saw an ugly side of my friends Van Halen. Eddie and Alex, I saw a real ugly side of them.”
Hagar left Van Halen in 1996, with differing stories about if he quit or was fired, though a big basis around the split was disagreements over recording “Humans Being” for the Twister soundtrack. David Lee Roth briefly returned to record two new songs, but he was quickly replaced by Gary Cherone.
Hagar returned for a reunion tour in 2004, but left at the end of it, with Michael Anthony soon following, leading to the return of David Lee Roth in 2007. Hagar later said about Eddie’s behavior on the 2004 tour, “[It] was some of the most miserable, back-stabbing dark crap I’ve ever been involved with my whole life.” Michael Anthony just revealed why Eddie Van Halen really fired him.
