During a recent interview with The Guardian, Alex Van Halen broke his silence on Sammy Hagar.
Alex feels that David Lee Roth used Eddie Van Halen to step out as an excuse to leave the band. Given how popular the singer had become through the very videos that embarrassed the brothers, it looked like he would have a great career in film and TV, as well as music. But it didn’t work out that way. “He was delusional,” said the drummer. “He’s not an actor.”
Alex also said: “The spiritual part of the band died when Dave left.” That’s why he ended his book in 1985. Though the band went on to have mega-success with subsequent frontman Hagar, he later wrote a scathing book about his time with them.
Alex Van Halen comments on Sammy Hagar
Reacting to Hagar’s complaints, Alex said: “‘Are you really that jealous of Ed? Are you really that scared of him?’ That’s how people act when they try to diminish somebody.”
Van Halen’s last tour was in 2015, featuring Alex, Roth, Eddie, and Eddie’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen, on bass. They performed in almost 40 cities across North America over several months.
Alex Van Halen’s new memoir ‘Brothers’ will be released on October 22nd and it’s written with New Yorker staff writer Ariel Levy and acknowledges the s*x and drugs and rock n’ roll. However, as the title indicates it’s primarily a chronicle of the drummer’s relationship with his guitar hero brother, who passed way during October 2020 at the age of 65 after a long battle with cancer.
It hasn’t quite worked out that way. “I’m not done dealing with this yet,” he said. “In fact, I’ll probably be dealing with it until my dying day.”
