Alex Van Halen explains why Roth ruined Eddie’s tribute tour

Since Eddie Van Halen passed away in 2020 at the age of 65, rumors of a possible reunion tour as a tribute to the late artist have surfaced. In his first interview since his brother’s death, Alex Van Halen revealed that it was David Lee Roth who ruined the reunion because he refused and became angry when Alex suggested they should show old footage of Eddie and acknowledge him during the shows. According to Alex, in an interview with Rolling Stone, Roth simply didn’t want to pay tribute to Eddie at the concerts at all. As a result, they had a disagreement, and the entire project was scrapped that day. When asked by the magazine about the situation, Roth declined to comment.

Alex Van Halen explained why Roth ruined Eddie’s tribute tour

Alex said their rehearsal began with two Roth band members serving as “seat fillers” and the idea would be to eventually bring in Joe Satriani and maybe the classic bassist Michael Anthony. After a conversation with Queen’s Brian May, about how the band works without Freddie Mercury but also paying tribute to him, Alex went to explain to Roth how they would pay tribute to Alex during the shows. In those early rehearsals, the drummer was feeling numbness, peripheral neuropathy, especially in his feet and he said he felt like it was an “omen from above”, which was warning him that the reunion shouldn’t happen.

“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.’ And the moment I said we gotta acknowledge Ed, Dave fuckin’ popped a fuse.… The vitriol that came out was unbelievable.”

According to Alex, Roth found the idea very offensive, for reasons he can’t comprehend.

So the drummer said he was displeased:

“I’m from the street. You talk to me like that, motherfucker, I’m gonna beat your fucking brains out. You got it?’ And I mean that. And that’s how it ended. It’s just, my God. It’s like I didn’t know him anymore. I have nothing but the utmost respect for his work ethic and all that. But, Dave, you gotta work as a community, motherfucker. It’s not you alone anymore.”

“It’s too bad on one hand, but it’s fine on the other (that it didn’t happen). 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.”

He is still in touch with Roth but doesn’t mention Sammy Hagar

Although the disagreement happened, Alex says he is still in touch with Roth. About the vocalist recently criticizing Alex’s son, calling him “this fucking kid”, Alex said: “To me, it’s a sign of respect that he actually thinks that Wolfie’s on the same level as the old master Dave, right? The other thing is that Wolf can easily take care of himself. It’s not a problem.”

Alex didn’t even mention Sammy Hagar’s name in the interview or in the book “Brothers” he will release soon, according to Rolling Stone. He said: “The heart and the soul and the creativity and the magic was Dave, Ed, Mike, and me.” In the book, he refers to other Van Halen eras with the phrase: “We had a lot of other singers over the years”. But he doesn’t mention Sammy.