Despite rumours of a Van Halen reunion for 2019, it appears that tensions between members are as high as ever, with David Lee Roth revealing he and the band’s titular brothers “have always hated each other”.
Even if you’ve never listened to much of their work, there’s a fair chance you’ve heard of the contentious relationships that have followed iconic rockers Van Halen.
Founded back in 1972, the group was fronted by David Lee Roth from 1974 until 1985. After a few years of switching between Sammy Hagar, Gary Cherone, and Roth, the former formally took up his original role again in 2007, where he has remained ever since.
Despite this, David Lee Roth has taken part in a new interview to reveal that it’s a wonder anything has ever worked out in the band, noting he and the Van Halen brothers have never gotten along.
Speaking to the WTF With Marc Maron podcast, Roth revealed that he and Eddie and Alex Van Halen have “always hated each other, right up until the last phone call.”
“There were always creative differences,” he explained. “We’ve never gotten along. We started in rival bands. Bitter rivals. But we were thrown together and it was amazing.”
Check out Marc Maron’s podcast with David Lee Roth:
Despite this, Roth claims that the band were able to make it work despite these tensions. “Think of your favourite jeans, they’re ruined and full of holes,” he explained. “What you love most about them is the fucked up parts.”
“You’ve seen cowboy movies where the guys are always sabotaging each other but they’re working to somehow accomplish something. And I think you’ll see that in a lot of popular bands. They may have gotten through it, but I don’t know that we ever really grew up and became gentrified.”
“Now, that may not be a good thing; a part of me remained 23 years old forever.”
While this might not come as a surprise to anyone, it may help explain why Van Halen haven’t taken to the stage since 2015.
Despite this, the group’s former bassist Michael Anthony recently revealed a reunion of the group’s original lineup was supposed to take place this year, explaining that despite numerous plans, contracts were never drawn up, and the plug was presumably pulled.
With this in mind, it does make us wonder if David Lee Roth’s dislike of Eddie and Alex Van Halen might have something to do with the reunion’s failure to launch.
Check out ‘Jump by Van Halen:
