Alex Van Halen says David Lee Roth is the reason that a Van Halen reunion tour didn't happen after the death of guitarist Eddie Van Halen — specifically, the singer's refusal to do an onstage tribute to the musician.
Alex, the drummer of the legendary hard rock band who lost their career-defining guitarist, his brother, in October 2020, made the revelation this week in his first interview since Eddie's death.
Over the last four years, rumors and reports about a reunion with Van Halen's surviving members or a Van Halen tribute tour have been abundant. Now, Alex confirms that he and Roth, the lead singer who helped first put Van Halen on the map, began early rehearsals for such a tour in 2022 before things went south between them.
And it all happened because Alex requested the band do an onstage tribute to his brother at some point in the reunion set. But he alleges that Roth wasn't having it.
Alex tells Rolling Stone, "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 [for the late Freddie Mercury], 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."
Alex says he fired back. "I'm from the street," he explains. "'You talk to me like that, motherf***er, I'm gonna beat your f***ing 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, motherf***er. It's not you alone anymore."
Alex and Roth's original idea for the tour was to bring in guitarist Joe Satriani and perhaps original Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, who hadn't played in the band since 2004.
However, as rehearsals began, Alex started feeling numbness in his feet, seemingly related to a back pain he had suffered for several years. An incident at a shooting range later that year broke his back, just after the tour plans collapsed.
"The rifle kicked me on my a--," Alex says now. "[It] broke my back, instantly. And then I spent a year on the floor. Just staring at the ceiling. We became best friends."
Philosophically, he adds, "They say life is suffering. If you don't get what you want, you suffer. Even when you get exactly what you want, you still suffer, because you can't hold on to it forever."
Alex talks more about Eddie and Van Halen in his new memoir, "Brothers," out Oct. 22.
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