Sammy Hagar only wants Van Halen reunion if Roth is involved

Hagar with Van Halen
Hagar with Van Halen

Sammy Hagar says he wouldn’t want to deal with the “anxieties” that would come with a Van Halen reunion – but would consider it if vocalist David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony were involved.

The Red Rocker last year apologised to the band for comments he made about them in the past – and hopes that some sort of reconciliation was on the cards came when Hagar wished guitarist Eddie Van Halen happy birthday last January.

Now Hagar tells Billboard: “Let’s put it like this, when it came to my birthday, I didn’t get a message, so obviously that camp – him and Alex Van Halen – still have some kind of trip against me.

“I’m certainly not looking to get back in that band when I’ve got Chickenfoot sitting in my lap and I’m scared to grab the reigns of that one.

“Van Halen would be twice the nightmare of the workload and the anxieties about getting along or being worried about being stabbed in the back again or something. I don’t want to put myself in that situation, that’s for sure.”

But Hagar says that going on tour with the original Van Halen including David Lee Roth and bassist Michael Anthony would be appealing, with both vocalist sharing songs they had recorded with the band.

Hagar adds: “You never know. That’s really the only way I would be interested in a Van Halen reunion.

“Everybody’s saying, ‘Well, what would it take?’ For me, no money, man. I don’t need money. I would do that for the fans and give the money to food banks or something.

“I’m not sure anybody else would agree with me, but that would interest me enough to sit down across the table from everybody and work that one out.”

Earlier this month, Hagar’s Chickenfoot released their new album Best + Live, along with a video for the track Divine Termination.

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Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.