ALEX VAN HALEN Says DAVID LEE ROTH Refused To Pay Tribute To EDDIE VAN HALEN On Nixed Tour

In a new interview with Rolling Stone, Alex Van Halen weighed in on the proposed all-star VAN HALEN tour that never came to fruition, saying that David Lee Roth's refusal to pay tribute to the drummer's brother, legendary VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen, prevented such an event from materializing.

According to the article, Roth and Alex had begun rehearsing for the tour with members of the singer's solo band, with plans to fill out the lineup with former VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony and Joe Satriani on lead guitar. During those early rehearsals, Alex started feeling numbness in his feet, symptomatic of peripheral neuropathy. He had also been in contact with QUEEN's Brian May about how to properly pay tribute to his late brother during the reunion shows, as QUEEN did with Freddie Mercury.

"The thing that broke the camel's back, and I can be honest about this now," Alex told Rolling Stone, "was I said, 'Dave, at some point, we have to have a very overt — not a bowing — but an acknowledgment of Ed in the gig. If you look at how QUEEN does it, they show old footage.' And the moment I said we gotta acknowledge Ed, Dave fuckin' popped a fuse.… The vitriol that came out was unbelievable."

According to Alex, David simply refused to pay tribute Eddie.

"I'm from the street," Alex said. "'You talk to me like that, motherfucker, I'm gonna beat your fucking brains out. You got it?' And I mean that. And that's how it ended."

Alex added: "It's just, my God. It's like I didn't know him anymore. I have nothing but the utmost respect for his work ethic and all that. But, Dave, you gotta work as a community, motherfucker. It's not you alone anymore."

Alex went on to say that would not have been physically able to do the tour anyway. "It's too bad on one hand, but it's fine on the other," he said. "Because now, in retrospect, playing the old songs is not really paying tribute to anybody. That's just like a jukebox, in my opinion.… To find a replacement for Ed? It's just not the same."

In April 2022, former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted revealed to The Palm Beach Post that he was approached by Alex about six months earlier about playing bass for the project. Newsted told the Florida newspaper that he agreed to go to California to jam with Alex and Joe Satriani and see if it felt right, but he eventually realized that it would be impossible to do justice to VAN HALEN's legacy.

In recent months, Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen, who played bass for VAN HALEN at the end of the band's recording and touring career, repeatedly said that "drama" in the VAN HALEN camp has prevented a proposed all-star VAN HALEN tribute project from materializing.

Wolfgang played three VAN HALEN songs over the course of two Taylor Hawkins tribute concerts in September 2022 alongside FOO FIGHTERS members Dave Grohl on bass, Josh Freese on drums and THE DARKNESS's Justin Hawkins on vocals.

Wolfgang, who played "On Fire", "Hot For Teacher" and "Panama" at the Hawkins tribute concerts, told Classic Rock magazine that he was no longer actively interested in pursuing the idea of a standalone Eddie Van Halen tribute event. "I think I already did it with the Taylor Hawkins tributes," he explained. "I feel a lot of closure because my part of the show was a tribute to my father."

"When it comes to VAN HALEN and entities surrounding the band it's unfortunate, certainly compared to FOO FIGHTERS who have their shit together with interpersonal relationships," Wolfgang added.

"I don't know what it is with some bands but certain personalities just can't get over themselves to work collectively for one purpose. That's been the curse of VAN HALEN for its entire career. So my playing at the Taylor shows delivered that catharsis without the stresses of dealing with the VAN HALEN camp, and the players involved. Their camp is very dysfunctional — everyone! Hell, it was difficult to make plans even when the band was active."

Eddie died in October 2020 at the age of 65. The legendary VAN HALEN guitarist passed away at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California.

Alex is promoting his memoir "Brothers", which will arrive on October 22 via HarperCollins Publishers.