After announcing his new album, ‘The Last Song’ in May, Mitch Malloy recently talked to The Real Music Observer. During the chat, the singer mentioned the names he worked with in the past, giving Desmond Child as an example, and revealed that he refused Van Halen because of David Lee Roth.
Malloy first mentioned the songwriter’s contribution to his career and said:
“I wrote with [Desmond Child] a lot. I mean, you know, he is amazing. In fact, people don’t know this and not the transition into Van Halen ’cause, you know, whatever. I mean, we can talk about it in any other – But he was part of that, and that’s kind of not widely known that he was part of that.”
The singer gave up on the idea of becoming Van Halen’s new vocalist in the ’90s when he saw the band members presenting the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards with Roth. After the event, he let them know about his rejection of the position through a letter, which he claimed was Child’s idea.
Talking about the letter he wrote to the band after the event, which took place without his knowledge, he went on:
“In fact, he’s the one who suggested I write the letter to them saying, ‘Thanks, but no, thanks.’ That was his idea. He said, ‘You know what?’ – ‘Cause I called him, and I’m like, ‘Look, man! They just went on MTV, and they did this thing, and bla bla, and it’s like getting weird, and I don’t know what to do.’
He goes, ‘What do you want to do?’ I’m like, ‘I don’t think I wanna do it because I don’t think it’s gonna work.’ And he goes, ‘I think I agree with you. Write them a letter and pass on the gig.’ I was like, ‘What?’ Yeah, that’s a good idea. I think I’d already decided [to leave], but he was the one who suggested the letter.”
The former Great White member detailed this event in a 2021 interview with Rolling Stone. During that interview, he talked more about what pushed him away from Van Halen by saying:
“He never did tell me though that they were gonna present with David Lee Roth. I was back in Nashville and turned on the TV to watch. They came out, and Dave came out too. I was like, ‘What? My jaw just dropped. I was like, ‘Why are they with Dave?’
This’s not good for me. The whole world thought that Dave was back in the band and wanted Dave in the band. I wanted Dave back in the band. I mean, I grew up on Van Halen with Dave in it. Those first albums were amazing. It did it what they are today. When I saw Dave come out with them, that was it for me. That was over. “
This incident caused tension between Malloy and Eddie Van Halen, although things got better after he went to see the band’s 1998 Nashville concert with Gary Cherone. However, the two’s contact faded away after the singer once again rejected Ed’s indirect offer to join Van Halen.
You can watch Mitch Malloy’s recent interview in the video below and read his full account of the events here.
