Sammy Hagar, the iconic rock vocalist and former member of Van Halen, has once again made his voice heard regarding the long-awaited all-star tribute concert for the legendary band. Expressing his enthusiasm, Hagar has openly declared his desire to perform alongside Alex Van Halen, reigniting the hopes of fans everywhere.
As reported by BlabberMouth, During a recent episode of the popular YouTube series “THAT Rocks!”, hosted by Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine, and Don Jamieson, Hagar was asked about the possibility of a reunion of surviving Van Halen members for a tribute concert. His response shed light on the complex dynamics within the band. Hagar lamented the lack of response from Alex, emphasizing that there would not be a Van Halen reunion for multiple reasons. He praised Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, for his exceptional talent and considered him the ideal candidate to join them at a tribute concert.
However, Hagar acknowledged the unlikelihood of Roth cooperating with him, dampening any hopes of a complete Van Halen reunion. Despite these challenges, Hagar expressed his eagerness to collaborate with Alex, longing to write songs and jam together once again. Nonetheless, he firmly stated that a Van Halen reunion without Eddie was an impossibility.
Sammy said: “It’s the same old story. It’s the same old f*cking story. Alex won’t respond to me. I reach out to him. I haven’t done it in a long time now, ’cause it’s, like, ‘Hey, you wanna talk to me? Call me.’ But there’s not going to be a Van Halen reunion. First of all, it’s too late. I’ve already said it a million times — Wolfie [Eddie Van Halen’s son and former Van Halen bassist Wolfgang Van Halen] is doing such a great job with what he’s doing, and he would be the perfect guy [to play with us at a tribute concert], so that’s out. Dave [Lee Roth] and I are still alive, but there’s no way he would cooperate with me, so if he goes out by himself, that’s not a Van Halen reunion; that’s half a Van Halen reunion.”
Unfortunately, there has been a dearth of progress on this front. Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted revealed earlier that year that he had been approached by Alex Van Halen himself to play bass for the tribute project. Newsted’s initial agreement to jam with Alex and renowned guitarist Joe Satriani eventually led to the realization that doing justice to Van Halen’s legacy would be an insurmountable challenge.
He closed: “If I go out by myself without him, it’s a half a Van Halen reunion. Only good news about that is that I could sing his songs just fine. But Mike and I are like this [crosses fingers], and if Al wanted to come and play with us… I would love to play with Al. I said it recently, that I would love to play music with Al. I would like to write a song with Al. I would like to go in the studio and jam with Al. But the thought of a Van Halen reunion without Eddie, no, there’s no such thing.”
