Van Halen's Sammy Hagar says he wants to reconcile with his long-estranged former bandmate Alex Van Halen.
in a recent interview rolling stone magazine, The 77-year-old musician expressed hope that he and Alex, 71, might be able to mend their relationship before his death.
“It's on my bucket list that I don't want to take this to my grave, and I don't want Al to take it with him to his grave,” Hager said. “I’ve put out an olive branch out there many times, and I just put it out there again. [Van Halen manager] Irving Azoff.
Sammy Hagar (left) wants to “be friends again” with Alex Van Halen. (Getty)
Hagar became Van Halen's new frontman in 1985, replacing original lead singer David Lee Roth, along with the band's drummer Alex, Alex's younger brother and guitarist Eddie Van Halen, and bassist and vocalist. Joined by Michael Anthony.
Sammy Hagar admits he wouldn't be as 'legendary' without Van Halen
After producing four multi-platinum albums, Hagar's career with Van Halen ended with their disbandment in 1995. The Cabo Wabo founder briefly reunited with Van Halen in 2004, but left the band again after a successful summer tour.
Hager's second retirement resulted in a long estrangement between Eddie and Alex. However, Hagar and Eddie reconciled months before the Van Halen founder died of lung cancer in October 2020.
Center Hagar became Van Halen's new frontman in 1985, replacing original lead singer David Lee Roth. (Kevin Winter/Getty Images)
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Hagar said he doesn't believe he and Alex will ever make music together again.
“But I want to be friends,” he said. “I don't want to play in a band with Al. That's not what I'm looking for. I know he doesn't have that ability. If he did, I would be happy to play with him, but that's not the case.” All I want is to be friends again. ”
In an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock in July, Hager said he tried to talk to Alex several times before he and Anthony left on their “Best of All Worlds” tour, but he didn't get a response. revealed.
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The tour, which featured many hits from Van Halen's catalog, concluded in August but will return in spring 2025 for a nine-date Las Vegas residency at Dolby Live at Park MGM.
“We reached out to him over a dozen times before this tour in all sorts of ways: emails, texts, phone calls, messages on the machine, OK? No response. No response,” Hager said. He told the same media.
“So we've had all kinds of offers to get together, just talk, have breakfast, lunch, dinner,” he added. “Go to the studio and play. Come to my house or I'll go to your house. Ride a horse or sit on the beach. What do you want to do? Something Let's get together and do nothing. ”
Hagar left the band twice after falling out with Eddie and Alex. (Paul Nutkin/Wire Image)
In October, Alex told Billboard that he had “no interest” in going on tour.
“They don't treat the band justice,” he said. “They can do what they want. That's not my job.”
Hager shared his reaction to Alex's new memoir, Brothers, during an interview with Rolling Stone. In the book, Alex does not mention Hagar's name, other than to say that “there have been many other singers over the years.”
“The heart and soul, the creativity and the magic was Dave, Ed, Mike and I,” he said in an interview with Rolling Stone in October.
In “Brothers,” Alex skips the Van Hagar era entirely, concluding the band's story in 1984 prior to Roth's departure.
Hager told Rolling Stone that he thought the snub was “sad.”
“I haven't read the whole book, but I've seen all the excerpts and listened to some of the interviews,” Redrocker said.
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The musician said he didn't want to take their feud “to the grave.” (Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images))
He continued, “It's heartbreaking to think about Alex losing a brother, never having played with anyone in his life, and what his health is going through…how much he is… When I saw how unstable he was, I realized that it was strange that he wouldn't answer the phone even though I said, “Do you want to go out and hang out?'' “He can't do it.''
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine in October, Alex said that he suffered a spinal injury in 2022 that limited his mobility.
“It's heartbreaking,” Hager said of Alex's health issues, “because all I can do is put myself in that position and think, 'What if I can't sing or play anymore?'” Ta. “What I've worked for all my life, what I've dedicated my life to, what made me rich and famous and gave me the most beautiful life on earth, is suddenly no longer possible? First of all, if I put myself in his shoes, I would feel like I'm taking money from the fans.
He continued, “I'd like him to explain to me someday why he excluded me, because I don't fully understand it. I know he's bitter about some things. , whatever it is… it's like “if you don't want those times,” then it even gives me more legitimacy to say I own it. Because no one else can do it and he can't even do it without me.
“It's going to be easier for Mike and me,” Hager added. “We sit there and think, 'Okay, I think this is ours,' but we have this to our fans to keep this music alive and to keep it alive.” I have an obligation to deliver it.
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However, Hager went on to praise Alex's memoir and reflected on whether the drummer has plans for a sequel.
“I would like to praise that book a little more. The way he writes it is soulful and moving,” Hager said. “So it's about their childhood. It's like a love letter to his brother, and that's touching to me.”
“I want to give him a love for that. He probably couldn't tell the whole era in one book. It would have been a Bible or a dictionary, so maybe he could have told the story in the first book. They have plans for a second volume. Who knows?”
