“I will not take this to my grave”: Sammy Hagar says it’s on his “bucket list” to make peace with Alex Van Halen
Sammy Hagar has reflected on his absence from Alex Van Halen’s new memoir, Brothers, which charts his personal and professional relationship with his late brother and bandmate Eddie Van Halen.
In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Hagar says that while he hasn’t read the whole book, some of the excerpts and interviews he’s seen “break his heart”. Alex has previously criticised Hagar for his Best Of All Worlds tour, for which he plays classic Van Halen material with Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Kenny Aronoff.
READ MORE: “That was strange, after 10 years of being with him”: Jason Bonham says he’s “a little shocked” about being let go from Sammy Hagar’s Best Of All Worlds tour
Alex suffered a spinal injury in 2022, and, subsequently, has not been able to play the drums since. Hagar has offered his sympathy to Alex for his health battles, and all the other things he’s had to go through including the loss of Eddie. However, he would like an explanation as to why he was left out of the memoir.
“I don’t get it completely,” he says. “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 [Anthony, former Van Halen bassist] and I [to go out and play the songs on our own]. 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. This music is too good to throw away.”
As of repairing his relationship with Alex, Hagar is keen to make amends: “It’s on my bucket list that I will not take this to my grave, and I don’t want Al taking it to his grave. I’ve put the olive branch out there many times, and I just put it out again to [Van Halen manager] Irving Azoff.
“I want to be friends… I don’t want to play in a band with Al,” he states. “I’m not asking for that. I can see that he’s not capable of doing that. If he was, I’d be happy to play with him, but it’s not what I’m looking for. I just want to be friends again.”
Hagar and his Best Of All Worlds band – including Joe Satriani, Michael Anthony, and Kenny Aronoff – are due to commence a Las Vegas residency in 2025. Tickets are on sale now.
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