David Lee Roth says Van Halen are 'finished'
Van Halen singer David Lee Roth has said in a new interview the band are now “finished.”
Diamond Dave previously shed doubt on Van Halen’s future when he said last month he “didn’t know what’s coming up” for the band and the years of inactivity have personally been “paralysing” for him.
Now, in a fresh interview with Detroit radio station WRIF to promote his upcoming Las Vegas residency, Roth has stated he believes the band are now “finished.”
Asked if he was “bummed out” that Van Halen’s proposed reunion tour got axed at the eleventh hour this past summer, Roth replied: "That's been cancelled a number of times, and I think Van Halen's finished and this is the next phase.
“I've inherited the band de facto — whatever that means. I think it means if you inherit it, carry this proudly. Van Halen isn't gonna be coming back in the fashion that you know. And that being said, Eddie's (Van Halen) got his own story to tell. (It's) not mine to tell it."
Speaking to the Marc Maron’s WTF Podcast in July about his relationship with Eddie and Alex Van Halen, Roth revealed there’s still plenty toxicity between them: “We have always hated each other, right up until the last phone call.”
Reflecting on his decision to quit Van Halen in the mid-eighties, Roth explained: "Why did it fracture? 'Cause all rock bands fracture. It turns into diverse interests. People have the friction of time. And that friction is family; that friction is… sometimes it's partying, but I don't know if that's what really separated Van Halen.
"There were always creative differences," Roth continued. "We never got along. It was a beautiful, beautiful pairing of… You've seen cowboy movies where the guys are always sabotaging each other but they're working to somehow accomplish something. And I think you'll see that in a lot of popular bands.
“They may have gotten through it, but I don't know that we ever really grew up and became gentrified. Now, that may not be a good thing; a part of me remained 23 years old forever."
Asked if he could ever go out for a meal with Alex and Eddie Van Halen, Roth replied: "Nope. Not even close. Not even close. This is not a golf club. This is a little closer to 'The Wild Bunch'. There is a fury and an antagonism, and what comes out of that is, when it's good — oh, man."
Van Halen’s last show took place at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles almost exactly four years ago in October 2015.
Roth let slip in December 2018 that Van Halen had tapped Metallica, Foo Fighters and Guns N’ Roses for a huge show that was “just around the corner.” The ambitious plans, of course, never came into fruition.
David Lee Roth’s Las Vegas residency at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino House of Blues kicks off on 8th January and continues through to March.