Sammy Hagar Hasn’t Spoken to Ex-Bandmate Alex Van Halen in 21 Years

Ex-Van Halen frontman Sammy Hagar revealed he hasn’t spoken to former bandmate Alex Van Halen in 21 years amid a long-running feud.

“I think Al’s angry because I’m out doing it, and [bassist] Mike [Anthony] and I are out doing it, and he can’t. He’s not a singer. He’s not a guitar player. He is not really a band leader,” Hagar, 77, told Rolling Stone in an interview published on Tuesday, April 29.

Hagar had multiple stints with Van Halen throughout his career, first replacing original lead vocalist David Lee Roth in 1985. After initially quitting Van Halen in 1995, Hagar returned in 2003 for a world tour and then left once again two years later, alongside bassist Anthony. The final incarnation of Van Halen before guitarist Eddie Van Halen’s death featured Roth reuniting with the Van Halen brothers and their new bassist, Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen.

Hagar spoke often about tensions within Van Halen since leaving the band in 2005, candidly discussing Eddie’s addiction issues during their reunion tour in his 2012 memoir, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock. (Eddie died at age 65 in October 2020 following a years-long battle with throat cancer .)

In his latest interview, Hagar addressed whether the success of his restaurant chain, Cabo Wabo, may have caused friction with Alex, 71. The Van Halen brothers, Hagar and Anthony cofounded the restaurant together in 1990, but Hagar later took over sole ownership.

“Some people have said to me, ‘Oh, Cabo Wabo. At one time, Van Halen, when you built it, you guys were all partners in that. And then they didn’t want it anymore when it was losing money, and they gave it to you, and you turned it around and made hundreds of millions of dollars on it. And they’re angry. Alex is angry about that,’” he acknowledged.

Van Halen Reunion Axed After David Lee Roth Rejected Tribute to Eddie

Hagar countered that argument by saying, “To that I said, ‘How the f*** could they be angry about that? They gave me the damn thing, they walked out on me, left me with it. And they made me indemnify them in case I got sued and lost everything. They made me sign off big time.’ And I’m going, ‘I hope it’s not that.’”

As for whether Alex may be upset about Hagar discussing Eddie’s well-publicized addiction struggles on their reunion tour, the “Red Rocker” insisted he’s only ever been “honest.”

“It was well documented that Eddie was a mess on that tour. But I don’t want to drag Eddie through no coals now. That’s just water under the bridge,” he said.

Hagar argued that Alex may actually feel bitter because the singer and former Van Halen bassist Anthony are still touring together.

Valerie Bertinelli Details ‘Drugs, Infidelity’ in Eddie Van Halen Marriage

“Alex wasn’t the songwriter in the band. He was the drummer,” Hagar noted. “Eddie and I wrote the songs. Dave and Eddie wrote the songs, and so we can go out and do them. 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.”

“But I’m the happiest guy out of all of them. That pisses people off, in itself. Being too happy, people don’t like that,” he insisted.

While Hagar confirmed he hasn’t physically communicated with Alex in more than 20 years, the musician said he recently had a dream about his former bandmate.

“I hate to say it, but I dreamt about Alex the other night, man,” Hagar said. “It was crazy. And it was so friggin’ real. I was saying, ‘What are you pissed off at me about, man? What the f***? Now just tell me what your problem is. What did I do? Just tell me.’”

Hagar remembered that Alex simply snickered at him in the dream and then offered a “kind of a friendly laugh.”

“[Alex] goes, ‘You really don’t know, do you?’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t,’” Hagar recalled. “And so then it became this game, and he was saying, ‘Well, I’ll tell you what, let’s flip a coin, and heads, I’ll tell you, tails, suffer.’ Now that’s a f***ing pretty realistic dream.”

It seems Alex isn’t the only Van Halen brother who apparently appeared in Hagar’s dreams lately. The singer has said that he communicated with Eddie “from the beyond” to write his new song, “Encore, Thank You, Goodnight.”

“There is no question about it. I dream about Eddie all the time, quite honestly,” he insisted.

Valerie Bertinelli Gushes Over Son Wolfgang Van Halen’s Wedding

Alex has been candid in his own right about his late brother Eddie’s legacy in recent years. The drummer confessed in 2024 that he was still angry that Eddie contributed a guitar solo to Michael Jackson’s 1982 hit “Beat It.”

“Why would you lend your talents to Michael Jackson? I just don’t f***ing get it,” Alex told Rolling Stone. “And the funny part was that Ed fibbed his way out of it by saying, ‘Oh, who knows that kid anyway?’ You made the mistake! Fess up. Don’t add insult to injury by acting stupid.”

Alex addressed Eddie’s addiction struggles in the same interview, confirming that the guitarist abused prescribed steroid pills after undergoing surgery to remove a brain tumor.

“You know, he fought until the end,” Alex said in October 2024. “Anybody who thought he was anything less than that can suck my you-know-what. … If you knew what he had to go through to beat the cancer — he wouldn’t do traditional treatment. Some of the off-the-wall s*** caused such a toxic mix in his body. And, yeah, you shouldn’t drink with it, Ed!”

Eddie was first diagnosed with tongue cancer in 2000 but was declared cancer-free two years later after having a portion of his tongue removed. He battled throat cancer for the last five years of his life.