Sammy Hagar recently joined an interview with Rolling Stone and talked about the right time to reach out to Alex Van Halen about a possible VH reunion. Hagar also mentioned that Alex was still mourning the passing of his brother Eddie Van Halen.
Although things were going pretty well for Van Halen, Eddie Van Halen’s passing in 2020 changed everything. The tragic news left hundreds of thousands of fans heartbroken. Still, the most affected were his bandmates, especially his brother Alex. It seemed like he couldn’t move on, so he decided not to contact anybody.
It has been hard to keep in touch with Alex after Eddie’s passing. As Sammy Hagar said in September 2021, the drummer wasn’t ready to communicate with anyone because he was very hurt. In May 2022, Michael Anthony also confirmed this and said Alex was still grieving. Although Anthony and the rest of the members were ready for a reunion, everything was up to the drummer as he was still in pain.
After former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted revealed that Alex and Roth asked him to perform for a tribute show, fans were excited about a reunion. In a previous interview, Hagar had said that Van Halen’s manager approached him, but he wasn’t interested. However, he admitted that an offer from Alex with a new lineup featuring him, Anthony, and another guitarist could change this.
In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Sammy Hagar said it would be inevitable for VH to re-release Van Hagar material as they were all chart-toppers, but Dave was against it. After that, Hagar disclosed Alex is still mourning and has no plans for a reunion. However, he believes it’s time for him to reach out to Alex because he will probably be interested in a reunion after coming out of his shell.
Asked whether Van Hagar era albums would be re-released, Sammy Hagar told Rolling Stone the following:
“Well, I think it’s going to have to be inevitable because we sold 46, 47 million records with me in the band. They were all number 1 albums. You can’t just leave that and have it sit in the dumpster. Warner Brothers have been pushing forever to do something, but I know Dave is against it. Dave likes to pretend like I was never in the band.
Hagar then continued:
“Alex is not active. He’s not out there pushing it and talking to people like you. He’s not making plans. I think he’s still licking his wounds from his brother’s death, and God bless him, man. I don’t know how he could deal with it. I’m having a hard enough time myself.
I think when Alex comes out of his shell, he’ll probably do it. And, as I said, I’m thinking about reaching out to Alex. You’re pushing me in that direction, and I’m feeling it because it’s time. It’s been a couple of years since I gave up on him.”
Since Eddie Van Halen passed away, Alex has become the band’s sole decision-maker. Understandably, he hasn’t been able to move on after his brother’s passing and focus on his career. Considering that Alex has an introverted personality, it might be best for Hagar to encourage him to come out of his shell after all these years.
