Van Halen’s reunion tour was canceled because David Lee Roth refused to pay tribute to Eddie

Van Halen rockers David Lee Roth and Eddie Van Halen had a fraught relationship for decades, and that’s what torpedoed a planned reunion tour following Eddie’s death, the band’s drummer Alex Van Halen, who’s Eddie’s brother, told Rolling Stone.

“The thing that broke the camel’s back, and I can be honest about this now,” Alex explained, “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.’ And the moment I said we gotta acknowledge Ed, Dave f—in’ popped a fuse.… The vitriol that came out was unbelievable.”

Alex Van Halen had spoken to Brian May, of Queen, about how that group manages to continue touring without its late, former lead singer Freddie Mercury. Eddie Van Halen died of cancer in October 2020.

To him, Roth appeared to be offended by such a suggestion, and Van Halen wasn’t having it.

“I’m from the street,” Van Halen said. “‘You talk to me like that, motherf—er, I’m gonna beat your f—ing brains out. You got it?’ And I mean that. And that’s how it ended.”

Roth declined to comment for the magazine. EW has reached out to a representative for him.

“It’s just, my God. It’s like I didn’t know him anymore,” Van Halen said. “I have nothing but the utmost respect for his work ethic and all that. But, Dave, you gotta work as a community, motherf—er. It’s not you alone anymore.”

He said he wasn’t too disappointed the tour didn’t work out, though, because he’s still suffering the effects of a 2022 back injury.

“It’s too bad on one hand, but it’s fine on the other. Because now, in retrospect, playing the old songs is not really paying tribute to anybody,” Van Halen said. “That’s just like a jukebox, in my opinion. … To find a replacement for Ed? It’s just not the same.”

Still, Van Halen told the magazine that he and his former bandmate keep in touch.

He writes about his time with Eddie in his new memoir, Brothers, which comes out Oct. 22.