Sammy Hagar has revealed that the disagreements he once had with Alex Van Halen remain unresolved to this day.
The guitarist and the drummer have not spoken in 21 years, and in an interview with Rolling Stone, the 77-year-old Hagar explained his perspective on the ongoing animosity between them.
“He’s not a singer. He’s not a guitar player. He is not really a band leader,” Hagar stated, adding, “He seems like he doesn’t want to play drums or can’t play drums anymore, and he can’t go write a new record.”
Alex Van Halen co-founded the band in 1973 but is now unable to play drums as he once did due to a spinal injury.
Regarding the late Eddie Van Halen, his brother and the band’s co-founder, Hagar said, “Alex wasn’t the songwriter in the band. He was the drummer. Eddie and I wrote the songs. Dave and Eddie wrote the songs, and so we can go out and do them.”
Despite their past falling out, Alex and Sammy reconciled before Eddie Van Halen’s passing in October 2020.
Referring to the band’s bassist, Michael Anthony, Hagar commented, “And I think that really bothers him that Mike and I are still out there doing it. I would feel bad. If I put myself in his shoes, I would feel terrible if I couldn’t do it anymore.”
