Sammy Hagar has shared his understanding of Alex Van Halen’s decision not to participate in the upcoming Best of All Worlds tour, a Van Halen-focused trek featuring Michael Anthony, Joe Satriani, and Jason Bonham. Hagar, who had a Van Halen reunion with Anthony 20 years ago, acknowledged the passing of time and expressed his gratitude for his career.
In an interview with AZ Central, Hagar mentioned, “I don’t have another 20 years to be waiting on Alex Van Halen, who’s the only guy left. So he didn’t want to do it? You know, he, Don’t blame him. God bless him.” Despite Alex’s absence, Hagar sees Jason Bonham as an excellent alternative, noting that Jason plays like his father, John Bonham, who was Alex’s hero.
Hagar is appreciative of his extensive career and has dubbed the tour the “Thank You tour,” expressing gratitude to Eddie Van Halen, the fans, and for the opportunity to have this remarkable life. He emphasized his plan to feature classics from his career and focus on a substantial Van Halen catalog during the tour. Inspired by the recent Van Halen Collection II box set, Hagar aims to delve into deep cuts like “Seventh Seal” and “Amsterdam.”
Hagar also reiterated his plan to play a handful of classics from throughout his career — “There’s Only One Way to Rock,” “Heavy Metal,” “I Can’t Drive 55” and one song apiece from Montrose and Chickenfoot — while keeping the focus on “a whole lot of Van Halen, the whole catalog.” The frontman previously told Howard Stern that the recent Van Halen Collection II box set inspired the tour idea, and that he’d like to unearth deep cuts such as “Seventh Seal” and “Amsterdam.”