From MTV - Sammy Hagar & VH?

[Andrew]

Having just wrapped a "who-would-have-thunk-it" co-headlining tour with the guy he replaced in Van Halen 10 years before leaving the band himself, Sammy Hagar is now mentally preparing for a reunion with Eddie, Alex and Michael.

"I think a reunion is inevitable," the self-proclaimed "red rocker" said backstage at last week’s MTV Video Music Awards, shortly after presenting an award with David Lee Roth. "I mean come on, how could it not [happen]?"

Hagar confessed that he hasn’t spoken with either of the Van Halen brothers in quite some time, though bassist Michael Anthony has been joining him onstage of late.

"Mikey hasn’t even heard from Eddie or Alex," Hagar explained. "I just think when they’re ready to surface, they’ll do it."

Roth, whose own attempt at a Van Halen reunion fell apart shortly after the 1996 VMAs, said he hasn’t spoken to them either.

"Eddie Van Halen may catch up with us at some time in the future," he said. "I’m an optimist. Most people hope for the best, I actually expect it. When I go fishing, I take a Nikon and a frying pan. And I only hold positive visions for Eddie Van Heineken as well."

Hagar joined Van Halen in 1986 when Roth — the band’s original, highly charismatic frontman whose voice soared over such early hits as "Runnin’ With the Devil," "Panama" and "Hot for Teacher" — left (or was fired, depending on which story you believe) to pursue a then-burgeoning solo career.

Hagar brought his considerable guitar prowess, slightly more serious lyrical presence and a back catalog of solo hits like "I Can’t Drive 55" into the Van Halen fold. Hagar’s seemingly more congruent personal and musical chemistry with guitar hero Eddie helped take the band to its greatest commercial heights, though admittedly many fans and critics alike long held out hope for a reunion with Diamond Dave.

Their wish seemed to have come true when Van Halen’s management issued a statement in June 1996 announcing that Hagar had left the band and that Roth was collaborating with them on two new tracks set to be included on a greatest-hits package.

Roth appeared with Van Halen at the 1996 VMAs to present an award to Beck, though he declined to ease into the background (as is customary at such events) while Beck accepted, and proceeded to soak up much of the moment’s spotlight for himself instead. Soured by his antics, Eddie fired Roth before ever officially even rehiring him, and subsequently recruited former Extreme frontman Gary Cherone for 1998’s Van Halen 3.

A battle of words ensued between the Van Halen brothers, Sammy and Dave in the press. As each singer resumed their respective solo careers, Eddie accused them both of having "lead singer’s disease," and Van Halen proceeded to tour with Cherone. Van Halen 3 was a critical and commercial failure that sent Cherone packing, though his split was (strangely, perhaps) uncharacteristically amicable.

Things have been relatively quiet on the Van Halen front ever since. Warner Bros. severed ties with the band. Eddie successfully fought cancer, and rumors abounded that the band was attempting a new reconciliation with Roth. Last year, Eddie surfaced to say that the group had a lot of songs, but no singer.

Michael Anthony eventually found his way back into the studio with Hagar, who has kept himself busy with his various solo outings and the unlikely tour with Roth that just wrapped.

"It’s not that I’m crying for [a reunion]," clarified Hagar, who also sells his own brand of tequila. "I’m happy. I’m totally happy. [But] I don’t think I could say I am never going to play with those guys again and it will never happen. And God forbid something happened to one of us and then it could never happen. I’d be very regretful.

"So I think it’s inevitable," he reiterated. "So I think we’ll do it. And hopefully we’ll do it like right here in the VMAs sometime or something."

[Volcane666]

I *personally* don't think they should as I don't care for the Hagar era stuff, again personal feelings only but I think they should either get back with Roth or not at all!

Or at the very least do a joint Roth/Hagar for a farewell tour to please fans of both era's.

[jrnysc]

I think they should start TODAY!!!!!!!

[jrnytracker]

Nothing more needs to be said... except... where's my shot of tequila?

[TequilaGod]

Nothing more needs to be said... except... where's my shot of tequila?

Someone mention Tequila?

[Wild Turkey]

Having just wrapped a "who-would-have-thunk-it" co-headlining tour

For what it's worth, I saw the Hagar/ DLR double bill in Charlotte NC (7/02) and it was a show of two halves.

DLR opened and he was, to put it bluntly, a sad old fart. He did nothing but VH songs (with one exception), so everything was at least 19 years old 'cept for Yankee Rose. It was all very pedestrian.

Sammy Hagar did a range of material fom Montrose through to his albums post VH, he and his band played with great enthusiasm, and, after wanting to walk out of the DLR show I left thinking that I had seen one of the best shows ever. For the record I have seen probably a hundred shows or more, including Plant & Page '95, Deep Purple at Knebworth '84, Metallica MK '93 (?), Queen at Wembley '86, plus Scorps, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Rainbow, Tesla (London unplugged), Great White, Cinderella, Van Halen, Shadow King (THE gig, their only gig!)DLR, etc etc etc., but Sammy's Charlotte show was certainly one of the five best shows I have ever seen.

Should Sammy go back? .... Well, I'm in two minds. Van Hagar definitely produced the better music, and having that back would be great, but then we'd lose out on Sammy's solo material, which after almost thirty years in the business is as strong as ever.

On balance, I'd say yes he should go back, because it would get one of the world's greatest guitarists back in business.

[atticus]

I am one of those type of vh fans that doesnt care who is singing.I dug all the line-ups of VH and will continue to do so.But,if they reconciliate with Sammy or Dave,it will be an album well worth all this waiting for.

[Triplexrock]

I love VH and aside from Gary Cherone, think that both guys rocked !BUT, I feel that a reunion will never live up to all the hype that the fans and the media have placed upon it no matter which guy it is.Like Michael Jordan...maybe the Awesome memories would be better left alone.If they would have never brokeup with Dave they would have gone on to Rolling Stones type status..or continued w/ Sam they would have been part time Mtv icons when Mtv could sqeeze em' in between all the crap they promote...kinda like they do with Aerosmith..but the legendary type status was lost when Dave split and Ed knows it and is just deciding whether or not he wants to comeback and collect his bundle of cash and 15 min. of fame.Maybe a final reunion w/both would be cool to cap it off..then call it a day....Ed/Al start something new[I think there's some cool possibilities] Mike goes part time w/Sam or whoever..Sam continues making solid solo cd"s Dave wakes up and calls Billy Sheehan/Steve Vai and goes out and kicks some ass! LEAVE THE GREAT MEMORIES ALONE! The odds are against the ED/Sam combo making more than 1 more album that is going to be musically/commercialy viable at this stage. I just don't think the fire is there anymore for it to be any fun anymore.

[ltbob]

yes

[FORD]

Sammy can "mentally prepare" all he wants, but that doesn't mean it's going to happen. Nor should it. Van Hagar painted themselves into a corner by depending on trendy Top 40 cheese ballads to sell their albums, and even if the Van HALEN legacy, and David Lee Roth had never existed, it would still be highly unlikely that they could make a viable comeback today.

Eddie's only options are to either call Dave, or retire.

[Lou]

HELL NO.

I will fucking throw up if it's a Van Hagar reunion. I don't care if it's my last chance to see Eddie, I will not attend the concert and I won't buy the album.

[ltbob]

I don't think it matters who is out front, Ed is gonna play what he plays. He is going to write the music, the singer is going to sing over it. The same music if its Dave, Sammy, or you.

[FORD]

I don't think it matters who is out front, Ed is gonna play what he plays. He is going to write the music, the singer is going to sing over it. The same music if its Dave, Sammy, or you.

The problem with that scenario is that Eddie cannot write a song to save his life without either David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar in the room. The horrid Van Danniels III album proved that beyond all doubt.

Furthermore, anyone who can say the music was the "same" with Van Hagar as it was with Van HALEN must have a serious earwax problem. There was nothing like "Cheese Comes Walking In" on the 6 Van HALEN records.

[Eddymon]

Eddie can write a song FORD.

I think the VH 3 follow-up would have proven that.

Just what do you do when your beloved army is down (which is more than its up)?

Dave was great, Sammy still IS.
So I guess that legends don't always go on forever. Loch Ness is a legend as well as a myth. A myth much like VH and Roth ever working again together.

[Lou]

I don't think it matters who is out front, Ed is gonna play what he plays. He is going to write the music, the singer is going to sing over it. The same music if its Dave, Sammy, or you.

That's right, the singer has nothing to do with the music. After all, the band has been, and always will be, Eddie, Alex, and Mike......plus a singer. Even when there was no lead singer debate before 1985, people always thought of it that way. The same music from 1974 to the present would have been written no matter who was singing. It would have sounded exactly the same save the timbre of the singer's voice.

So bearing that in mind, I'm so happy that a singer with some great pipes, Sammy Hagar, came along in 1985 to rescue the band from some just poor, shoddy singing. Wouldn't it have been great if Sammy could have sung with Van Halen all along? Imagine Sammy singing Fair Warning (which of course would have come out EXACTLY the same whether it was Dave, Sambo, you, me, Ricky Martin, or the Pope singing). Fair Warning just could have been so much better with Sammy because he could have sang each note technically correct and not resorted to childish banter that Dave had to employ on "Unchained." Boy that song is silly.

So in conclusion, the best option is for Sam to come back. He is the best singer for Van Halen, which again is a TRIO, with the singer separate from the rest of the band.

[Blue Eyed Murder]

Nah, you can totally divide the music into the two styles (I guess three, actually) of the singers. You actually think Fair Warning would be the same if Sammy sang it? Sammy is also a guitarist and had a lot of influence on the songwriting for Van Hagar too. A lot of early VH was written with the band jammming in a basement, studio, or whatever, so Dave's influence is pretty tangible on those albums too. I just couldn't imagine Sammy singing "Everybody Wants Some" or "Unchained". It's Dave's screeches and howls that add the finishing touches to those songs. There is one thing that hasn't been mentioned either. Ted Templeman's influence. He kicked ass as the producer on every album except 5150 and VHIII (no shit Sherlock). Whatever VH does next, or if they do, they need Ted back as well. He gave them a kick in the ass when they needed it, and also gave them enough freedom when they needed it. Also, Lou, if you're such a Sammy fan, why do you have the VH debut as your picture, which Dave howled and screeched through too? Yet on an earlier posting you said you would throw up if Van Hagar re-unites. ????

[Lou]

I do hope you saw the acute sarcasm in my post, and I hope you're being sarcastic right back at me.

[Blue Eyed Murder]

Yes, very "acute". Also being punny.

[Ghost Rider]

I was happy when DLR got booted, thrilled when Sammy came onboard, and depressed when Sammy got the boot as well. As much as I'd like to see them together again, I just don't think that it would ever be the same. Too many words said against one another, and Eddie is as jacked up now as DLR ever was in the past. This is one group that destroyed itself due to its successes, and one that won't see a happy resurging as Aerosmith did years ago. Time for everyone to move on and forget about a VH reunion .

[yomamasofat]

I don't think it matters who is out front, Ed is gonna play what he plays. He is going to write the music, the singer is going to sing over it. The same music if its Dave, Sammy, or you.

The problem with that scenario is that Eddie cannot write a song to save his life without either David Lee Roth or Sammy Hagar in the room. The horrid Van Danniels III album proved that beyond all doubt.

Furthermore, anyone who can say the music was the "same" with Van Hagar as it was with Van HALEN must have a serious earwax problem. There was nothing like "Cheese Comes Walking In" on the 6 Van HALEN records.

Yo rottard! Wassap bro! Good to see you here!

[ltbob]

Well,ok.So the music isn't the same. Should Ed write the same thing for every song? "Aint Talkin Bout Love" is different than say "Hot For Teacher", but Ed wrote what he wrote for 5150 when he thought Dave was still gonna sing on it.

[CureTheSane]

Sammy to stay solo for me.
If you'd asked me a year or 2 ago, I'd be begging for a Sammy reunion, but the only time I saw Sammy live was solo, after VH.

He did a smallish tour, and because he was enjoying himself so much, the crowd (& me) enjoyed the show more.

I want to see his new solo stuff continue to improve.

[atticus]

hey guys, enough of the debating who is Ed gonna pick for a reunion.He burnt every bridge he had and now is sitting in 5150 with Alex, wondering how bad he f**ked up. Him and his ego destroyed the greatest rock and roll band in the world.If I were Dave and Sammy, I wouldnt touch Eddie with a 30 foot pole.Ed screwed them both and everyone knows it.Right now Eddie needs them both to bring VH back,but for what?MTV wont touch them, I doubt radio will play them. Both singers should just go about what they are doing and let Eddie wallow in his own mess that he created for himself

[Big Dog]

My vote is no. Sammy deserves better.

I do think Sammy wants to mend fences, maybe for a Sam, Dave, Alex and Ed tour.

[WardyS3]

I Dave returned I would impatiently wait for the next album. Me Wise magic was indeed magic.

But a Hagar return, now that would be too good. Simply because Sam could walk straight back in where he left off, squeeze the best out of Ed and the gang, and deliver a slab of classic Van Hagar. Let's face it, he's lost none of his ability. This is certainly more likely I think, than a reunion with Dave being successful. It's all politics.

I personally prefered the serious Sam era of Halen than the party Dave era. Loved Dave's work and his solo work, but had Sam been the original VH singer, I doubt Dave would've been capable of replacing him.

And if it don't happen, bugger! But there you go!

[atticus]

I truly believe whoever Eddie decides to be the singer,whether its DLR or Sammy,it will be the right choice.I mean, there hasn't been any new material from them in almost 4 years.That is 4 years too long in my book.Now I will agree that Sammy hasnt lost a step since leaving the band,but in order for everyone to get closure,a Dave reunion would be the thing.

[Wizey]

Hmmm...I'm not sure about this one. I am a fan of both Dave & Sammy VH eras (VH3 is just not VH, I don't care what you say!).
I saw VH live with Cherone and whilst I loved the music and it was great to see Eddie, Alex & Mike - Cherone did not cut it in his purple glitter suit looking like a nancy-boy. It was obvious I was not the only one in the crowd feeling the same way either. We all longed for Hagar or Roth.

My only disappointment with the Van Hagar era is that they did not release many albums, unlike solo Hagar who has churned them out since parting ways. I am a big fan of the Hagar solo stuff, thus his departure from VH did not bother me too much.
I looked forward to more frequent solo Hagar releases and thought the VH-DLR reunion would have been the greatest! Sadly, VH didn't go for this, and lost their way instead.

What now for VH?
I hoped it would be with DLR, but from what I read & hear DLR (sadly) no longer has the ability to pull off a reunion, having lost some of his vocal ability (& hair). If this is true I hope a VH-DLR reunion does not happen - it's better to remember the glory days as they were than ruin them by attempting to live them again with tupees & walking sticks. Instead let him & Steve Vai try reigniting their magic again.

As for Van Hagar again?
Well until I got Hagar's new album "Not For Sale" I didn't think so. His first 3 post-VH albums were great, but NFS is very ordinary. His voice sounds great (he's lost nothing) but that's about it, the songs are not much at all except "Things've Changed" - easily the best song, which Hagar didn't write!
If Hagar plans to take a little bit more time in the future (but not as long as VH) to write better songs & release consistent quality albums then I don't think he should get back with VH, as he is a fantastic singer & musician with a great band who can write & make excellent albums on his own. However if NFS type albums are what we can expect, then maybe Eddie VH has some quality songs he can sing instead!

[atticus]

I hope you meant Sammy singing and not Eddie. We all know that eddie should stick to guitar and keys. " How Many Say I" proved that.

[Wizey]

Yes, sorry if I wasn't clear! - I definitely meant Sammy!!!

[WardyS3]

Gotta agree with Wizey here, just heard the new Hagar album and it's shite! Biggest waste of studio time ever I reckon. Okay, maybe that's a little exagerated but so too are Sammy's comments in the new albums booklet, stating he and the band were on such a roll with 'Not 4 Sale'. (Shouldn't be for sale more like). C'mon Sammy, take the time to do some good tunes, stop rushing out the first things that come to your head.

Or rejoin VH!
PLEASE!