Former Black Sabbath and Deep Purple bassist Glenn Hughes confirmed that he once almost replaced the late Van Halen frontman, David Lee Roth. In an interview with ‘The Classic Rock Podcast,’ Hughes recalled how he nearly got the gig following Roth’s departure in 1985 and revealed what prevented him. He said:
“Well, Eddie was newly sober at that time… And we spoke about it. I had no idea. Eddie had been a friend of mine from the beginning.”
The bassist explained whether or not it would have worked:
“Look… Wow… Would it have worked? I’m not sure. Unless I was completely sober — and I’ve been sober now for 24 years. Yeah, it would have been interesting, wouldn’t it? You never know.”
In a 1996 interview, Hughes discussed the same topic. According to Hughes, Eddie had told him that if he was sober during the ’80s audition with Sammy Hagar, he would have been selected as Van Halen’s lead vocalist.
Hagar took over Roth’s position in Van Halen in 1985 and made four studio albums with the band. All of these albums became number one on the U.S. chart.
Hughes is currently on the road celebrating the anniversary of the release of Deep Purple’s ‘Burn.’ See the dates here.
