SAMMY HAGAR On Possible VAN HALEN / ROTH Reunion: 'I Don't See It In A Million Years'

John Soeder of Cleveland's The Plain Dealer reports:

VAN HALEN scored a landslide victory in The Plain Dealer's seventh annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame poll. The newspaper asked readers and visitors to www.cleveland.com to tell it which nominees on the latest official Rock Hall ballot are most worthy of induction.

"Quite honestly, I'm not surprised," singer Sammy Hagar said when he was informed of the mandate.

VAN HALEN's music "is holding up really well," said Hagar, 59. "I'm not taking all the credit. I mean, the earlier stuff with Roth set the tone for the whole thing. Thank God when I joined the band, it didn't go down. We kept going. It was awesome."

Earlier this year, it was announced that Eddie Van Halen's 15-year-old son Wolfgang had replaced Michael Anthony on bass.

"I really have no idea — ppphhhttt! — what's going on," Hagar said. "Michael and I are friends, which is why he isn't in the band anymore."

VAN HALEN and Hagar went their separate ways in 1996. Eight years later, Hagar was back in the fold for a reunion tour. In the interim, he co-headlined a tour with Roth.

There has been buzz lately about VAN HALEN hitting the road again with Roth. Hagar, for one, doesn't buy it.

"I'm not saying I don't want a Dave reunion," Hagar said. "I think their best bet after this would be to go out with Dave. But I don't see it working.

"Ed, Wolfie, Alex and some new kid would be what I put my money on. That could happen.

"But Dave and Ed working together? I don't see it in a million years. I know 'em both."

In fact, Hagar doubts VAN HALEN's members can put aside their differences even long enough to get through the Rock Hall ceremony.

"I think it could be ugly," he said. "This might be the best one ever! It's what everybody wants. They want to see blows thrown and yelling and screaming and people making fools of themselves and trying to outshine each other.

"This could be a real comedy, man. This could be a reality series right here.

"I don't think it's gonna be a real friendly, beautiful scene. . . .I could go there and jam with them. Ed, Mike, Al and I probably could pull it off, 'cause we just did it [in 2004]. We were professional when we went onstage.

"But you throw Dave in that mix, and I just don't see it working. Dave's gonna want it to be all about him. Ed's gonna want it to be all about him. And that's a tough one right there. I'll probably just be sitting over in the corner, cracking up."

Read the rest of the article at www.cleveland.com.