Alex Van Halen Says Roth Stopped Reunion Tour Over Eddie Tribute
Rock fans now know why the Van Halen reunion tour never happened. In a very candid interview with Rolling Stone, Alex Van Halen revealed that it's because David Lee Roth—the band's lead singer—refused to pay tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen. Read on to discover Alex’s full statement and how it made him feel.
Alex Van Halen reveals why the Van Halen reunion tour never happened
Eddie Van Halen, best known for his guitar work and being a founding member of the classic rock and roll band Van Halen, died from cancer in 2020 at age 65.
And now, in his first interview since then, Eddie’s brother Alex is opening up about how that experience was for him, telling Rolling Stone, “I was yelling and screaming. I was beside myself.”
Despite that, though, Alex was all set and ready to reunite the band and go on tour until David Lee Roth allegedly scuppered it.
“The thing that broke the camel’s back, and I can be honest about this now, was I said, ‘Dave, at some point, we have to have a very overt—not a bowing—but an acknowledgment of Ed in the gig. If you look at how Queen does it, they show old footage,” the drummer said, “And the moment I said we got to acknowledge Ed, Dave f*ck*ng popped a fuse. The vitriol that came out was unbelievable.”
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Naturally, Alex didn’t take the news well, telling the magazine that he responded by saying, “I’m from the street. You talk to me like that, m*th*rf*ck*r. I’m going to beat your f*ck*ng brains out. You got it?’ And I mean that. And that’s how it ended.”
Like most bands, Van Halen had issues before, like drug use and Eddie’s outburst at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. They even broke up in 2020 after Eddie’s death, but knowing someone for 50 years forces you into an unbreakable bond.
Now, though, Alex claims, “It’s like I didn’t know him [Roth] anymore. I have nothing but the utmost respect for his work ethic and all that. But, Dave, you got to work as a community, m*th*rf*ck*r. It’s not you alone anymore.”
Roth has yet to comment on Alex’s claims.
How Alex Van Halen really feels about the reunion getting canceled
Even though Alex might be mad at Roth for running the Van Halen reunion tour, he also sees the silver lining, saying, “It’s too bad on the one hand, but it’s fine on the other because now, in retrospect, playing the old songs is not really paying tribute to anybody. That’s just like a jukebox, in my opinion. To find a replacement for Ed? It’s just not the same.”
Alex also commented on how his brother Eddie’s death still “feels fresh.”
Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music / Contributor/Getty
“I just miss him,” the drummer said. “I miss the arguments. I live with it every day. And I can’t bring him back. I can’t make things right.”
Alex is 71 years old and is getting ready to release his memoir Brothers on October 22. It is expected to be all about his and Eddie’s adventures both in and out of the band Van Halen.
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