Sammy Hagar addressed the lack of references to his name in Alex Van Halen’s memoir ‘Brothers’ and the promotion surrounding it during a recent Q&A with Rolling Stone.
“It’s sad,” he shared, when interviewer Andy Greene pointed out the drummer said the essence of Van Halen ended with David Lee Roth in the new book. “I haven’t read the whole book, but I’ve seen all the excerpts, and I hear some of the interviews. It breaks my heart because if I think what Alex is going through, losing his brother, never played with anybody else in his life, and then his health… When I saw how rickety he is, I realized, ‘No wonder he’s not answering my call when I say, ‘Do you want to go out and play with us?’ He can’t.”
Alex has struggled with health issues, including major hearing loss and neuropathy in his legs, and hasn’t performed in front of an audience in years. A few months ago, he even sold some of his gear at an auction but dismissed rumors that he would no longer make music.
Hagar continued, “That breaks my heart because I can only put myself in those shoes and say, ‘What if I couldn’t sing and perform anymore?’ The thing that I did my whole life, the thing I devoted my life to, the thing that made me rich and famous and gave me the most beautiful life on the planet, and all of a sudden, I can’t do that anymore? I would feel like I was robbing the fans, to start with. When you put yourself in his shoes, I’m saying, ‘Okay, I feel sorry for him.’”
“Why he left me out, I would like to hear him explain that someday because I don’t get it completely. I know that he’s bitter about some things, whatever that is… It’s like, ‘If you don’t want that era, that even gives me more justification to say I own it then.’ Because no one else can do it, and he can’t do it even without me. It makes it easier for Mike and I. We’re sitting there going, ‘Okay, I guess we own this,’ and we have the obligation to bring this to the fans to keep this music alive, keep it live and alive.”
Hagar set on the Best of All Worlds Tour with former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Jason Bonham earlier this year to honor his era with the band. Bonham left the group before the final dates due to a family emergency, announcing he would return as soon as possible.
Kenny Aronoff stepped in for the Japanese leg of the tour, and Hagar later confirmed him as the permanent drummer. The group is now getting ready for a 2025 Las Vegas residency. Meanwhile, Bonham is disappointed about being replaced.
“I had always planned to come back once mom was better,” the drummer wrote under Hagar’s announcement of the new dates. “She is home now so I was always supposed to be doing more shows, but he decided to use Kenny. I gotta say, I was devastated after doing 25 of those big shows this summer then holding dates in April, May, July, and August for Sam to be let go was heartbreaking.”
The singer has received great backlash from fans for dismissing Bonham since then.
