The long-simmering, often-dormant feud between Van Halen‘s two iconic frontmen has been spectacularly reignited, as David Lee Roth took to the stage to viciously and comically mock Sammy Hagar‘s heartfelt story about receiving a song from the ghost of Eddie Van Halen. In a theatrical onstage monologue, Roth ridiculed his vocal successor, a move that shatters a recent period of public diplomacy and resurrects one of rock and roll’s most legendary rivalries.
The broadside was delivered during Roth’s solo concert in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire, on August 13. After feigning respect for Hagar as a “contemporary” with a “great voice,” Roth launched into an elaborate, sarcastic tale.
“Sammy, aloud, he described to the media about six weeks ago that the ghost of Eddie Van Halen visited him and graced him with a song,” Roth began, before delivering his own version of events. “I don’t know what the odds are, but last night the ghost of Eddie Van Halen visited me at the f**king hotel room… and he was laughing.”
Roth then claimed that Eddie‘s ghost confessed the song he gave Hagar was secretly “[Iron Butterfly‘s] ‘In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida’ backwards. Don’t f**king tell him.” He added details of sharing a “ghost Marlboro” before Eddie‘s ghost told him, “you should still go to hell,” to which Roth replied, “Save me a seat.”
Roth‘s cutting mockery is a stark reversal from the tone of recent months. Just a few months ago, Hagar had been publicly supportive of Roth‘s return to the stage, graciously stating: “I am happy that Dave is out there doing it… Supporting some of the greatest rock songs in history… The fans deserve it, good or bad.”
This latest salvo is another chapter in a bitter feud that has deep roots, most famously stemming from their disastrous 2002 co-headlining tour. Hagar has repeatedly described Roth as difficult and unpleasant to work with.
“He doesn’t play well with others. I’m not sure what his problem is… He just always is about, ‘How can I make this guy look bad?'” Hagar said in a 2023 interview. He also claimed that the flamboyant persona Roth presents on stage is a facade. “He ain’t like his persona. When you get around him, he ain’t that guy. He’s some other cat.”
While Hagar has recently made efforts to “be kind about the past” in order to preserve Eddie Van Halen‘s legacy, Roth‘s unprompted attack proves that the fundamental personality clash between the two frontmen is as potent as ever.
