“It’s been a love fest,” Hagar shares
Sammy Hagar and Eddie Van Halen had made peace before Van Halen’s shocking death on Tuesday (Oct 6). The pair had squashed their decades-long feud earlier this year when they began exchanging texts. In a letter sent to Howard Stern, who read it over the air on his SiriusXM show Wednesday morning (Oct 7), Hagar admits he was secretly in contact with Van Halen in the months leading up to the guitarist’s death.
“Eddie and I had been texting, and it’s been a love fest since we started communicating earlier this year. We both agreed not to tell anyone, because of all the rumors it would stir up about a reunion, et cetera, and we both knew that wasn’t gonna happen. But he also didn’t want anyone to know about his health,” he writes.
“He stopped responding to me a month ago, and I figured it wasn’t good. I reached out one more time last week, and when he didn’t respond, I figured it was a matter of time. But it came way too soon.”
Hagar replaced original singer David Lee Roth in 1985 with the band arguably earning its biggest success with albums such as 5150 and For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge. A falling out later led to Hagar and original bassist Michael Anthony’s departure. Years later, the band reunited with Roth and added son Wolfgang as its bassist and backing vocalist.
Van Halen and Roth have reunited off and on for tours in recent years, releasing its potentially final album, A Different Kind of Truth, in 2012. In 2016, we reported that a reunion tour and album was set for the group’s 40th anniversary in 2018, but nothing solidified. It was also suggested that Hagar would some how “take part” of the festivities as he and Eddie exchanged tweets after years of silence between the pair. However, Hagar has stated several times in the past that he would never return to Van Halen without Anthony.
In 2018, Anthony was approached about touring in 2019, but talks dissolved and questions went unanswered. Anthony later dismissed those talks, only to confirm he was actually approached by Van Halen’s management, but was left hanging.
Van Halen died on October 6 at the age of 65 after a long battle with throat cancer. The legendary guitarist passed with his wife Janine, son Wolfgang and brother and drummer Alex Van Halen at his side at a Santa Monica hospital after his health declined within his last 72 hours.
Following the news of his death, Hagar shared an image of he and Eddie on a plane with the caption, “Heartbroken and speechless. My love to the family.”
