Van Halen is together again. More than a decade after the rock band played their final show, David Lee Roth and Alex Van Halen reunited.
The men sat down for a conversation at TEDxFargo. The reunion, which also included artist Robert Vargas, will soon be available to stream on YouTube.
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“Good vibrations only,” Vargas captioned a pics of himself with the rockers. “Our historic TEDxFargo talk @alexvanhalenofficial @therobertvargas @davidleeroth is now filmed and in the vault! Three icons, one conversation. Talking Art, Music, & Creative Process capped with a virtual standing ovation.”
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The July 30 conversation marked the men’s first public reunion since Van Halen played the Hollywood Bowl in October 2015.
Five years later, Eddie Van Halen, the band’s guitarist and co-founder, died. After Eddie’s death, Alex and David were planning a Van Halen reunion tour. However, that never came to fruition.
“The thing that broke the camel’s back, and I can be honest about this now, was I said, ‘Dave, at some point, we have to have a very overt—not a bowing—but an acknowledgment of Ed in the gig. If you look at how Queen does it, they show old footage,’” the drummer told Rolling Stone. “And the moment I said we gotta acknowledge Ed, Dave f**kin’ popped a fuse.… The vitriol that came out was unbelievable.”
“That’s how it ended,” he added. “It’s just, my God. It’s like I didn’t know him anymore. I have nothing but the utmost respect for his work ethic and all that. But, Dave, you gotta work as a community, motherf**ker. It’s not you alone anymore.”
David declined to comment in response to Alex’s claims.
Shortly thereafter, Alex wound up with a broken back, a injury that would’ve canceled the tour had he and David gone ahead with the plans. Looking back, Alex said it’s probably for the best that the trek fell apart.
“It’s too bad on one hand, but it’s fine on the other,” he said. “Because now, in retrospect, playing the old songs is not really paying tribute to anybody. That’s just like a jukebox, in my opinion.… To find a replacement for Ed? It’s just not the same.”
Photo by Chris McKay/Getty Images for Live Nation
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