In a new conversation with the Las Vegas Review-Journal, Sammy Hagar shared why he thinks Alex Van Halen refuses to talk to him.
“I’m sure when he made his book deal, they said, ‘You cannot talk to Dave [Lee Roth, original Van Halen singer], and you cannot talk to Hagar,” the Red Rocker said, referring to the drummer’s upcoming autobiography, ‘Brothers.’ “I guarantee you, that that was part of the deal.”
In an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock last month, Hagar said Alex didn’t respond when he reached out to him. “Mike and I reached out to Alex before we did this. We reached out to him a dozen times before this tour, in every way. Email, text message, phone call, message on the machine, OK? No response. No response,” the singer noted.
Hagar continued, “I mean, we made every offer to get together or to just talk or to have breakfast, lunch, or dinner. Go to the studio and play. Come to my house or I’ll come to your house. Go ride horses, go sit on the beach. What do you want to do? Let’s just do something. Let’s get together. And nothing.”
“When the tour came, the first person we called and left all of the messages, sent all of emails, it was Alex Van Halen,” Sammy added about the Best of All Worlds Tour. “Mike and I said, ‘We’re wanting to do this thing.’ Alex’s famous line to me [was], ‘Sammy, we ain’t getting any younger.’ Mike and I said, ‘Alex, we ain’t getting any younger. We’re going out and playing for the people.”
Hagar stated, “We’re going to go honor the Van Halen catalog. Let’s just get together and let’s talk about it. Mike and I, we’re going out, we’re going to do this, Alex. Please join us. Let’s be friends, let’s bury the hatchet, whatever.’ There was no response.”
“I was saying, ‘He’ll come to a show, he’s got to in L.A. or something. I’m sure he’ll come,’ Sammy said, sharing his wish before the drummer decided to sell his gear But no, no, he sold all of his equipment. That was his statement. That was like, ‘Nah, I ain’t coming nowhere.’”
Best of All Worlds Tour continues in the United States. The band is set to perform on August 11 at Morrison Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Colorado. They will play shows until the end of August. Meanwhile, Alex’s autobiography will arrive on October 22, 2024.