Sammy Hagar Hasn’t Spoken to Alex Van Halen in Over 20 Years: ‘Just Leave Me Alone. I’ll Leave You Alone’

Sammy Hagar and Alex Van Halen are nonetheless feuding after greater than twenty years. 

Hagar, 77, and the drummer, 53, haven’t spoken in 21 years, Rolling Stone reported on Tuesday, April 29, along a brand new interview with the singer. Van Halen was once based in 1973, with Hagar approaching board in 1985 after lead vocalist David Lee Roth left. Hagar’s first tenure with the band resulted in 1996, however he returned from 2003 to 2005.

Alex suffers from a spinal damage that has affected his skill to play drums, in line with every other Rolling Stone interview from October 2024. The musician did not point out Hagar via title in his memoir, Brothers.

Hagar informed the opening that he believes their animosity stems from Alex’s lack of ability to accomplish as he as soon as did.

“He’s not a singer. He’s not a guitar player. He is not really a band leader,” Hagar mentioned. “He seems like he doesn’t want to play drums or can’t play drums anymore, and he can’t go write a new record.”

“Alex wasn’t the songwriter in the band. He was the drummer. Eddie and I wrote the songs. Dave and Eddie wrote the songs, and so we can go out and do them,” Hagar mentioned of Alex’s past due brother and band co-founder, Eddie Van Halen.

Hagar and Eddie had a falling out, however they reconciled ahead of Eddie’s dying in October 2020. 

“And I think that really bothers him that Mike and I are still out there doing it,” Hagar mentioned of the band’s bassist, Michael Anthony. “I would feel bad. If I put myself in his shoes, I would feel terrible if I couldn’t do it anymore.”

Despite his earlier sentiments, he additionally spoke without delay to Alex. “Al, you’re wonderful. Just go away me by myself. I’ll go away you by myself. Everything’s just right,” Hagar informed Rolling Stone.

“I’m making you money, by the way, Al. I’m out there selling Van Halen records and keeping the name alive, keeping the music alive,” he mentioned, regarding his upcoming Las Vegas residency, Best of All Worlds, which starts on Wednesday, April 30 and contours Van Halen songs from Hagar’s generation.

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Ahead of his upcoming nine-show residency, Hagar launched a brand new unmarried, “Encore, Thank You, Goodnight,” on Friday, April 24. He informed Rolling Stone in a prior interview that he wrote it after Eddie visited him in a dream.

“He had a guitar around his neck and we were having a lovefest since we hadn’t seen each other in a long time,” he informed the opening. “And he just started playing this riff, and I started singing.”

“This was one hundred percent a communication from the beyond,” he mentioned. “There is no question about it. I dream about Eddie all the time, quite honestly.”