Van Halen reunion canceled after David Lee Roth refused to pay tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen, brother says
A reunion tour for the legendary rock band Van Halen was axed because the group's lead singer, David Lee Roth, refused to pay tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen, his brother, Alex Van Halen, revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone.
A reunion tour for the legendary rock band Van Halen was axed because the group's lead singer, David Lee Roth, refused to pay tribute to the late Eddie Van Halen, his brother, Alex Van Halen, revealed in an interview with Rolling Stone.
Alex Van Halen, who founded the band with his brother, opened up to the magazine for the first time since his brother's death and shed light on infighting within the band that led to the collapse of the latest planned tour.
Eddie Van Halen, the virtuosic and revered guitarist, died in October 2020 after a bout with cancer at age 65.
Alex Van Halen confirmed to the magazine, in a piece published Tuesday, that rumors of a planned tour after Eddie Van Halen died were true and said there were even early rehearsals featuring himself on drums with Roth, the band’s original lead vocalist. However, the plans fell through after an explosive argument over paying tribute to the band's late co-founder.
“The thing that broke the camel’s back, and I can be honest about this now,” Alex Van Halen revealed, “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 f---in’ popped a fuse. ... The vitriol that came out was unbelievable.”
Rating: 5