Alex Van Halen Says Van Halen “Not the Same” After David Lee Roth Left: “Magic Was in the First Years”

As Alex Van Halen continues to promote his upcoming memoir, Brothers, the drummer’s apparent disdain for Sammy Hagar becomes more and more evident. In a new interview with Billboard, Alex suggests that Van Halen lost their “magic” after David Lee Roth left the band in 1985.

In a previous interview with Rolling Stone, Alex blamed Diamond Dave’s apparent refusal to pay tribute to Eddie Van Halen for putting the kibosh on a planned reunion tour honoring the late guitarist. That said, he holds the band’s initial years with DLR in the highest regard.

“What happened after Dave left is not the same band,” Van Halen told Billboard. “I’m not saying it was better or worse or any of that. The fact is Ed and I did our best work whenever we played.”

He continued, “We always gave it our best shot. But the magic was in the first years, when we didn’t know what we were doing, when we were willing to try anything.”

While spinal issues over the past few years have limited Alex’s drumming, he asserted that he wanted no part in Hagar’s recent “Best of All Worlds” Van Halen-centric tour even if he was physically capable. “I’m not interested,” he said of the outing, which featured Joe Satriani on guitar, Michael Anthony on bass, and Jason Bonham on drums. “They’re not doing the band justice. They can do what they want to do. That’s not my business.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Alex explained why he chose to focus on his relationship with his brother Eddie in the book, as opposed to any feuds he had with his bandmates. “It’s not about the dirt,” Alex said. “If I start throwing dirt, it’ll never end. I think some people would like that; that’s how projects are sold nowadays. I think it divides the audience, and we’re not here to divide.”

In fact, Alex doesn’t even mention Hagar in the book, which jumps ahead from DLR’s initial stint in the band to Eddie’s final years before his passing in 2020.

Alex insisted that the “three main components of the band” were himself, Eddie, and David Lee Roth, adding, “I have nothing but the utmost respect for Dave and his work ethic. I just think some of his choices were really strange to me, but that’s not my job to figure it out.”

Alex Van Halen’s memoir, Brothers, is available for pre-order here ahead of its October 22nd release date.

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