Wolfgang Van Halen won’t record with Sammy Hagar
Wolfgang Van Halen, who replaced Michael Anthony in Van Halen, recently opened up on the chances of him making an album with Sammy Hagar and Anthony.
Wolfgang Van Halen opens up on possibility of working with Sammy Hagar
In a new interview with the Thinking About Guitar podcast, Wolfgang said that he said he has no plans to reunite with them, expressing gratitude for the Van Halen’s legacy, but emphasized that his focus and happiness are with Mammoth.
Asked what the chances are of him one day making an album with Sammy and Michael, Wolfgang responded: “Never. It’s not in the cards for me. Mammoth is very much where I’m happy. I have nothing but appreciation for Van Halen and its history. But when it comes to Mammoth, that’s all I wanna do.”
He also once again confirmed that his father, Eddie Van Halen, had contemplated a “kitchen-sink” Van Halen tour that would have included Anthony, as well as both Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth. There was even talk about bringing back Gary Cherone, who sang with the band on one poorly received album, 1998’s “Van Halen III”.
Van Halen planned ‘kitchen sink’ tour
Wolfgang was then asked why the tour ultimately didn’t happen.
“It was dad’s health. But that had been always our idea. Dad and I came up with that idea, the kitchen sink tour, when we were in the hospital in 2019. And it just always was working under the assumption that things would get better, and it didn’t. So that’s why.”
In early 2019, a rumor surfaced that the classic Van Halen lineup would reunite that summer for a run of stadium shows. This would have been the first time that Michael, Eddie, David and Alex Van Halen performed together since 1984.
The rumors originally started with Roth, who hinted that the band would be playing stadiums with Anthony back in the lineup. However, it was ultimately canceled because of Eddie Van Halen’s failing health due to cancer.
During an interview in 2020, Wolfgang Van Halen revealed that the long-rumored Van Halen “kitchen sink” reunion tour was very real and in active discussion before his father Eddie’s health declined.
He said the idea began around 2015. Manager Irving Azoff began making arrangements and even reached out to Anthony, which led to rumors leaking. Unfortunately, the reunion never happened since Eddie’s health took a turn for the worse.
