Sammy Hagar has spoken out about his infamous rift with former Van Halen bandmate Alex Van Halen, shedding light on the estrangement for the first time in years.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Hagar, 77, speculates on what has caused one of the most contentious relationships in rock and roll history.
After the publication suggests that perhaps Alex Van Halen’s tendency to keep his private life out of the public eye – while Hagar has always been more of an open book – is to blame, Hagar is quick to deny it.
‘I don’t think that’s it,’ he responds. ‘And I’ve had this conversation with a few people, including [former Van Halen manager] Irving Azoff. I’ve asked him, “What’s the problem?”‘
Hagar goes on to explain that some people have told him they think the problem is with Cabo Wabo the nightclub company founded by the members of Van Halen in 1980.
Originally, the venture was shared equally between the members of the band, but after it started losing money, Hagar bought his bandmates out in 1990 only to turn the business around and make millions. But Hagar denies this is the source of the enmity.
He continued: ‘To that I said, “How the f*** could they be angry about that? They gave me the damn thing, they walked out on me, left me with it. And they made me indemnify them in case I got sued and lost everything. They made me sign off big time.” And I’m going, “I hope it’s not that.”‘
Hagar turned the nightclub company into a tequila brand, eventually selling the majority interest in the business for close to £70million just before the end of the 90s.
The red rocker than goes on to explore the possibility that Van Halen resents him, ‘He’s not a singer. He’s not a guitar player. He is not really a band leader. And he seems like he doesn’t want to play drums or can’t play drums anymore, and he can’t go write a new record.’
He goes on to say that since Alex Van Halen was never the songwriter or main energy source of the band, he’s dependent on Hagar or former lead singer David Lee Roth to perform.
He continues: ‘And I think that really bothers him that Mike and I are still out there doing it. I would feel bad. If I put myself in his shoes, I would feel terrible if I couldn’t do it anymore.’
Hagar concludes that possibly what has made Alex so angry over the years is that Hagar is ‘the happiest guy out of all of them.’
Left without a lead singer at the height of their popularity, Van Halen recruited Sammy Hagar in 1985 to replace David Lee Roth as frontman. A successful solo artist and former Montrose frontman, Hagar and his enormous ginger hair injected new energy into the band and for awhile it seemed like things were going to run a lot more smoothly.
With Hagar, Van Halen entered a new phase, often appropriately referred to as the ‘Van Hagar era.’ The band’s sound evolved, with more emphasis on synthesizers and a broader range of musical styles, drawing even more fans and seemingly defying the odds by successfully replacing their iconic front man.
Albums like 5150 and OU812 topped the charts, and the band enjoyed commercial success throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.
But Eddie Van Halen’s desire to remain tightly in control of the groupbecame a problem, and Sammy and Eddie frequently butted heads over the band’s musical direction and creative decisions, in many ways echoing the David Lee Roth years.
The band’s 1995 album Balance was marked by growing tension, with Sammy later describing the recording process as the ‘beginning of the end.’ By 1996, Hagar and Eddie were barely on speaking terms, even reportedly coming close to exchanging blows on more than one occasion. However, at least during this time, Alex Van Halen and Hagar were on decent terms.
Hagar later told Rolling Stone that he left the group against his wishes, saying: ‘I was told that I quit by Eddie. The phone rings, and I’m laying there with my brand-new baby. He goes, “You know, you always just wanted to be a solo artist, so go ahead and be one. We’re going to get Dave back in the band.” And when he said that, I flew up out of bed like I’d seen a ghost.’
Earlier this week Hagar released a video for his new single Encore, Thank You, Goodnight, which he’s claimed came to him in a dream in which he was visited by Eddie Van Halen and resolved their conflict.
Hagar’s Best Of All Worlds residency – in which he plays solo career highlights alongside songs by Montrose, Van Halen and Chickenfoot – will kick off on April 30 at Dolby Live at the Park MGM in Las Vegas, and continue into May.
He will be accompanied by guitarist Joe Satriani, Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony and drummer Kenny Aronoff.
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