Van Halen’s legendary history is filled with drama (Picture: Getty Images)
Van Halen, one of the most iconic rock bands in history, is known for more than their blood-pumping music.
From feuds between bandmates to controversial lineup changes, Van Halen’s history is as much about the drama that shaped the band as it is about their music.
The original lineup of Van Halen, featuring brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen, bassist Michael Anthony, and front man David Lee Roth, burst onto the music scene in the late 1970s with their self-titled debut album, quickly becoming a bonafide cultural movement.
The band became known for their electrifying live performances, with crowds often growing so rowdy that they gained a reputation for being some of the most out-of-control concerts of the decade.
Behind the scenes, things were also heating up. David’s larger-than-life personality and growing ego often clashed with Eddie’s desire for creative control – leading to one of the most legendary feuds in music history.
Why did David Lee Roth leave Van Halen?
Things got so tense that Eddie infamously threw a bowl of guacamole at David backstage in 1978. He missed the singer entirely and instead hit Steve Perry, who cried, according to Runnin’ With the Devil, a 2017 memoir by Van Halen’s former manager, Noel Monk.
The tension between David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen has become legendary (Picture: Getty Images)
In another instance in the same year, the band destroyed the entire seventh floor of a hotel in Wisconsin. The chaos began when Eddie came back to his room to discover that David had thrown the table and chairs from the room outside into the snow.
This led to the liner notes of 1979’s Van Halen II in which the band thanks ‘the Sheraton Inn (seventh floor).’
The tension between David and Eddie came to a head in 1985, following the release of the hugely successful album 1984, which featured hits like Jump and Panama.
Although the album was a commercial triumph, behind the scenes, David and Eddie were barely speaking, with their communication mostly limited to musical disagreements that would turn to shouting matches and even more property destruction.
David quit the band at the height of their popularity after continued conflict with Eddie (Picture: Getty Images)
David, who had embarked on a solo career with the release of his EP Crazy from the Heat, decided to leave the band, citing creative differences and a desire to pursue his own musical vision.
He told Billboard in 1985 that he never truly felt welcome in the band that he helped make famous, saying: ‘Since my very first days in with the band 11 years ago, I have always had the feeling that one day I would wake up in a cold hotel, all the rooms would be empty and I would be stuck by a phone with a busy signal. From the first day. Nothing has changed.’
But Eddie later claimed it was David’s ego that broke the band up, telling Rolling Stone in 1986 that David said: ‘I can’t work with you guys anymore. I want to do my movie. Maybe when I’m done, we’ll get back together.’
David’s departure marked the end of an era for Van Halen, but it was just the beginning of the band’s explosive drama.
Why did Sammy Hagar leave Van Halen?
Left without a lead singer at the height of their popularity, Van Halen recruited Sammy Hagar in 1985 to replace Roth. A successful solo artist and former Montrose frontman, Hagar and his enormous ginger hair injected new energy into the band and for awhile it seemed like things were going to run a lot more smoothly.
Sammy Hagar took David’s place as lead singer in 1985 (Picture: Getty Images)
With Sammy, Van Halen entered a new phase often appropriately referred to as the ‘Van Hagar era.’ The band’s sound evolved, with more emphasis on synthesizers and a broader range of musical styles, drawing even more fans and seemingly defying the odds by successfully replacing their iconic front man.
Albums like 5150 and OU812 topped the charts, and the band enjoyed commercial success throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s.
But Eddie Van Halen’s desire to remain tightly in control of the group once again became a problem, and Sammy and Eddie frequently butted heads over the band’s musical direction and creative decisions, in many ways echoing the David Lee Roth years.
Sammy and Eddie began to butt heads in the late 80s, leading to even more tension within the band (Picture: Getty Images)
The band’s 1995 album Balance was marked by growing tension, with Sammy later describing the recording process as the ‘beginning of the end.’ By 1996, Sammy and Eddie were barely on speaking terms, even reportedly coming close to exchanging blows on more than one occasion.
Sammy later told Rolling Stone that he left the group against his wishes, saying: ‘I was told that I quit by Eddie. The phone rings, and I’m laying there with my brand-new baby. He goes, “You know, you always just wanted to be a solo artist, so go ahead and be one. We’re going to get Dave back in the band.” And when he said that, I flew up out of bed like I’d seen a ghost.’
Why did David Lee Roth leave Van Halen…a second time?
After Sammy’s exit, Van Halen briefly reunited with David Lee Roth in 1996 to record two new songs for the band’s greatest hits album, Best Of – Volume I. However, the reunion was short-lived and brought even more tension.
Roth later wrote in his memoir that he refused to use lyrics written by Bon Jovi and Aerosmith hitmaker Desmond Child. He wrote: ‘Those sanguine, sissified, grew-up-way-too-close-to-mommy lyrics. It sounded awful but even then I tried to sing some of it. Wasn’t right.’
The original line up of the band appeared on MTV in 1996, and Roth’s handling of journalist’s questions after the gig reportedly sent Eddie Van Halen into a rage.
He later told MTV news that David bit back after Eddie told reporters the band wouldn’t consider touring again until after he got hip surgery: ‘He goes, “Well hey, tonight’s about me, not your hip,” I said, “if you ever speak to me like that again you better be wearing a cup.” Either he was high [or] just didn’t hear the truth, but he was never told [he was back in the band], we never alluded to him being back in the band.’
David Lee Roth reunited with the band in 1996 after Sammy’s departure – but it didn’t last long (Picture: Getty Images)
In need of a lead singer once again in 1996, the band turned to Gary Cherone, the former frontman of the band Extreme.
The band’s 1998 album Van Halen III with Cherone was a commercial disappointment, and his tenure with the band was short-lived. By 1999, Cherone had left Van Halen, leaving the band in a state of uncertainty.
In the early 2000s, Van Halen reunited with Sammy Hagar for a highly anticipated tour in 2004, which was marred by backstage tension and Eddie’s bad habits.
In a recent interview with AZ Central, Sammy looked back on that final tour with regret, recalling: ‘Eddie kind of lost it out there. I mean, he was in bad shape the whole tour. Not trying to bring up a sore subject, but he was not healthy and was very abusive to himself.’
Van Halen was a musical phenomenon throughout the 80s, and the drama behind the scenes fascinated fans all the more (Picture: Richard E. Aaron/Redferns)
Sammy went so far as to say that after they plated their final date, he sat on the plane home feeling hopeless. ‘I just sat there, shaking my head, going, “God, that was a terrible experience,” he said.
Although Hagar said he ‘tried as hard as I could to connect us and get him on the good foot and get him healthy,’ he believes that he would’ve been more understanding of his bandmate’s behaviour if he was fully aware of the extent of Eddie’s battle with alcoholism.
Why did Michael Anthony leave Van Halen?
Before that dramatic tour, Eddie took aim at Michael Anthony, Van Halen’s longtime bassist and a key contributor to the band’s vocal harmonies.
Michael found himself increasingly marginalized and pushed out of the decision-making for the band. During the 2004 tour, Anthony was forced to take a pay cut and sign away his rights to the Van Halen name.
By 2006, Eddie had replaced Anthony with his teenage son, Wolfgang Van Halen, leading to a bitter rift between Anthony and the rest of the band. Michael maintains that he was forced out of the band and never told about about the band’s 2007 reunion tour, while Eddie continues to claim that Michael left of his own accord.
Michael Anthony claims Eddie replaced him with his son against his wishes (Picture: Getty Images)
He told Rolling Stone: ‘The funny thing is that everyone who quits the band always claims they got fired by me. Hey, I’m not the bad guy here.
“When Hagar left the band, Mike went with him. Then when we get back together with Dave, and all of a sudden, he wants back in. It’s like, “No, dude, you quit the band.” So my son became the bass player. But we didn’t give Mike the boot to have my son play.’
Meanwhile, Anthony told MusicRadar: ‘Why would I have quit Van Halen? It never happened.’
David Lee Roth returns again…
In 2007, Van Halen announced another reunion with David Lee Roth, this time with Wolfgang Van Halen on bass.
The reunion marked a new chapter for the band, resulting in successful tours and the release of the 2012 album A Different Kind of Truth, their first studio album with Roth in nearly three decades – and ultimately the band’s last.
Despite the outward success, the band’s internal dynamics remained fraught with tension.
Eddie’s health issues, including a battle with cancer, further complicated the band’s future, and the iconic heart of the band eventually passed away in 2020, finally sealing their legacy for good.
David Lee Roth returned to the band a final time in 2007 (Picture: SGranitz/WireImage)
Was Eddie Van Halen on good terms with Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth when he died?
Despite the years of turmoil, it seems Eddie was able to make amends with both of his band’s iconic frontmen before he died of complications of throat cancer.
Following Eddie’s death, David said on his podcast: ‘My dear departed Ed. Boy, I miss him. I had a ball with Ed. Walt Disney once said, “You know what? My love affair with Mickey Mouse was better than any love affair with a woman I ever had.” I’ve gotta tell ya: playing with Ed, writing songs with Ed, presenting those songs with Ed was better than any love affair I ever had.
‘And some of those songs, I think, might last forever – or until the last syllable of time, like Shakespeare said. They became anthems. Where are they playing Jump right now?’
Sammy Hagar also seems to look back fondly on Eddie’s memory, despite the conflict.
Eddie Van Halen died of throat cancer complications in 2020 (Picture: Getty Images )
Following Eddie’s death, Sammy told Hagar told Fox News Digital that he and Eddie had been in regular contact in the musician’s last years and had even considered making more music together.
He said: ‘He was saying, you know, “Yeah, I’m working on some [music].” ‘Cause I’d say, “Ed, what are you working on? You know, I want to get in there and work with you. Let’s write together again.” And, you know, he said, “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Next year, you know, we’ll get together, make some noise and all that stuff.”‘
Today, Van Halen is remembered not only for their contributions to rock and roll but also for the turbulent relationships that defined their journey. The drama within Van Halen may have been as legendary as their music, but it also reveals the red hot passion at the heart of the band’s music.
And after all, there’s no fire without friction.
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