When Eddie Van Halen died in October 2020, news of Van Halen disbanding was shared just one month later. “You can’t have Van Halen without Eddie Van Halen,” his son Wolfgang said at the time.
Fans, however, would probably never turn down the chance to attend a tribute tour the band, and rumours about such an event have been on the increase in recent weeks.
The tour could have quite the spectacular guest list. Former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted was one musician potentially attached to the project, revealing that he was invited to jam with the band’s Alex Van Halen and legendary guitarist Joe Satriani several months ago. While Newsted attended the jam session, he ultimately backed out of the tribute tour because he “didn’t want it to be viewed as a money grab.”
After being named by Newsted, Satriani then had his say. He acknowledged that a tribute tour would be “a real labour of love”. “I was just so honoured to take on the challenge,” he said.
And now Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth has weighed in on the expanding rumours. In a statement provided to the Van Halen News Desk, he offered a considered response. “In the age of COVID is going to require two of us for every position. Satriani and Lukather, Anthony and Newsted, Al or Tommy Lee.”
By adding in the names of Toto’s Steve Lukather and Mötley Crüe’s Tommy Lee in his statement, does that mean they’ve also been part of tentative discussions about the tribute tour behind the scenes? One notable person currently missing seems to be Wolfgang, but Roth had another surprise artist to name drop. “Probably the only one who could do my job is Pink,” he insisted.
We’ll keep you posted with any confirmation of the tribute tour. If COVID and each musician’s individual schedules allowed it to happen, it would be quite the occasion for fans of the band.
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