Michael Anthony joined Van Halen in 1974, when the Pasadena, California glam rock outfit still went by Mammoth. He remained the band’s lead bassist until 2006, providing backing vocals on hits like “Runnin’ With the Devil” and “Jamie’s Cryin’.” Since his departure, Anthony has enjoyed success with former Van Halen bandmate Sammy Hagar and the supergroup Chickenfoot. However, the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer, 70, does have one lingering regret after nearly five decades in the music industry.
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“The only regret I have is that the way it all ended,” Anthony said during a recent appearance on Get On the Bus. “It should have gone out with a fricking bang that shook the world, and it was more like a whimper, the way everything ended.”
How Did It End?
Fans began whispering as early as 1996 that Van Halen had fired Michael Anthony. And indeed, the bassist played a minimal role in the band’s 1998 album Van Halen III, playing on only three songs. He contributed only backup vocals to the band’s 2004 compilation album, The Best of Both Worlds.
However, those rumors became reality in 2006, when guitarist Eddie Van Halen announced that his son Wolfgang would replace Anthony on bass. Anthony later claimed he learned this news on the Internet. He also was “a little miffed” when Van Halen announced plans to reunite on tour with original vocalist David Lee Roth. “If I was dead and they needed someone to play, that’s one thing, but to me this is not a reunion,” Anthony told Rolling Stone.
Michael Anthony Never Made Amends With Eddie Van Halen
When Van Halen was at its peak, Michael Anthony compared the experience to “a fairy tale.” Unfortunately, it all fell apart in a way not unfamiliar to many rock bands. And sadly, Anthony never reconciled with Eddie Van Halen before his death in 2020.
[RELATED: Michael Anthony Says Van Halen Has “Miles” of Unreleased Recordings in Its Archives]
“We had some issues,” Anthony admitted. “And I’m sure that if he had not passed when he did, that we would have reconciled or we would have really, you know, calmed all that stuff down.”
Anthony said Wolfgang Van Halen had touched base with him regarding “a big reunion tour” prior to his father’s death.
“At that point in Ed’s life, I think he was a little bit more like, ‘Hey, you know, the past is the past, let’s all… freaking, you know, water under the bridge, that whole bit,” the bassist said. “But unfortunately it was not to be.”
Featured image by Daniel DeSlover/ZUMA Press Wire/Shutterstock
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