“Just leave me alone” - Van Halen’s Sammy Hagar on not speaking to Alex Van Halen in over 2 decades

Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar has opened up about his alleged feud with fellow Van Halen band member, Alex Van Halen. During a recent conversation with Rolling Stone, Hagar, who was Van Halen’s lead vocalist from 1985 to 1996 and again from 2003 to 2005, spoke about his time with the hard rock band.

When asked why the band mates haven’t spoken to each other in over 21 years, Hagar addressed Alex Van Halen during his interview with Rolling Stone, and said,

“Al, you’re fine. Just leave me alone. I’ll leave you alone. Everything’s good.”

Why did Sammy Hagar and Alex Van Halen stop speaking to each other?

The friction between Alex Van Halen and Sammy Hagar led to the band’s drummer not mentioning Hagar in his memoir, Brothers, despite the fact that the two spent years working together, according to People magazine.

Despite not speaking for over two decades, Hagar told Rolling Stone that he remains unsure of why Van Halen won’t speak to him. He shared that the Van Halen drummer appeared in his dreams and tormented him. He said,

"I hate to say it, but I dreamt about Alex the other night, man. It was crazy. And it was so friggin’ real. I was saying, ‘What are you pissed off at me about, man? What the f**k? Now just tell me what your problem is. What did I do? Just tell me.’…And he goes, ‘You really don’t know, do you?’ And I said, ‘No, I don’t.’ 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**king pretty realistic dream.”

Hagar speculates that perhaps Van Halen harbors hostility towards him because of his health issues.

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Hagar said,

“I think Al’s angry because I’m out doing it, and Mike 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. And he seems like he doesn’t want to play drums or can’t play drums anymore, and he can’t go write a new record. Alex wasn’t the songwriter in the band. He was the drummer. 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.”

According to People, Van Halen suffered a spine injury, which compromises his ability to play the drums.

Continuing, Hagar also added,

“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.”

Hagar, through his interview with Rolling Stone, referred to his Las Vegas residency, Best of All Worlds, which is set to begin at the end of April, and addressed Alex Van Halen, saying,

“I’m making you money, by the way, Al. I’m out there selling Van Halen records and keeping the name alive, keeping the music alive.”

Sammy Hagar’s first stint with Van Halen ended because of disagreements between the band members. In 2017, Hagar confessed that he left the band because of a difference of opinion after Van Halen’s 1995 tour. During a conversation with Loudwire, he said,

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“It kind of broke the band, it was because I wanted to do a whole record, I didn't want to do a greatest hits record, I didn't think van Halen was there yet.”

Despite the disagreements, Sammy Hagar reunited with the band again in 2003 for a two year long stint.

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