David Lee Roth has responded to Sammy Hagar’s recent invitation from his fellow former Van Halen frontman to take part in the Red Rocker’s 2024 Best of All Worlds Tour. In an exclusive statement shared with the Van Halen News Desk fan site, Roth said, “I’m ready to go. Let’s do this.”
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Hagar extended his invite to Roth during a November 14 appearance on SiriusXM’s The Howard Stern Show in which Sammy officially announced details of the tour and the musicians who will make up his band on the trek—ex-Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony, rock guitar virtuoso Joe Satriani, and drummer Jason Bonham.
[RELATED: Sammy Hagar Invites David Lee Roth and Alex Van Halen to Perform with Him on 2024 Tour]
On the Stern Show, Hagar explained that the Best of All Worlds tour would feature a deeper focus on the Van Halen catalog than his previous solo outings and would pay tribute to late guitarist Eddie Van Halen. He also mentioned that he planned on having well-known guest musicians join him at various shows during the tour, highlighting that he’d love his Van Halen predecessor and the other surviving original member of the group to also make appearances.
“If Alex Van Halen wants to jump out… If David Lee Roth wants to come out and join us, come on, motherfucker!” Hagar declared. “You are welcome.”
After visiting The Howard Stern Show, Hagar also was interviewed on the Eddie Trunk-hosted Trunk Nation show on SiriusXM, and he again talked about having Roth participate in the tour.
“From the bottom of my heart, he would be so welcome,” Hagar declared. “And so would Alex, and so would [one-time Van Halen singer] Gary Cherone.” He also told Trunk that he’d like Queen guitar Brian May to join him during the trek and that he definitely expected Eddie Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang, to do so.
Van Halen News Desk reported on Tuesday, November 21, that despite the invitation, Hagar had not yet called Roth, and that the Red Rocker’s camp hadn’t reached out to Roth’s to officially ask him to join the Red Rocker on the tour.
Meanwhile, many Van Halen fans apparently thought that Hagar may have been inviting Roth to take part in the entire tour. Yet, Sammy set the record straight in some strongly worded responses to some recent comments on his Instagram page.
“[H]e’s not invited on the tour NOOOO F;()$(.g way,” Hagar said in one response. “[I]t was to sing a song with us somewhere like a lot of singers guitarist [etc.] are going to do on this tour. [I] know better than to have him on tour again. been there done that.”
The Red Rocker then reiterated his feelings to another fan, writing, “[Roth] ain’t coming out with me again. [M]aybe 1 show a song or 2 if he remembers the words.”
Hagar and Roth, of course, have long had a tense relationship, dating back to when they toured together as solo artists in 2002. Hagar has said in multiple interviews that he tried to get Roth to hit the stage with him during the trek, but that Diamond Dave was cold to him and ignored his requests.
The Best of All Worlds Tour is scheduled to kick off on July 13 in West Palm Beach, Florida, and is plotted out through an August 31 show in St. Louis. Check out all of the dates at RedRocker.com.
Meanwhile, in other Roth news, the singer has released a previously unheard solo song titled “Wash and Fold,” and has made it available on his YouTube channel. According to Blabbermouth.net, the song is the latest in a series of recordings Roth has unveiled in recent years that he did in 2007 with guitarist John 5, who recently replaced Mick Mars in Mötley Crüe, and who previously played in Roth’s solo group, as well as with Marilyn Manson and Rob Zombie.
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