Rock fans who had a chance to see the original members of Van Halen perform in the mid-1980s had better hold onto those memories.
A reunion with former singer David Lee Roth might never take place, guitarist Eddie Van Halen told Maximum Golf magazine.
“Everything looked pretty positive about getting together but before you know it the attorneys are involved,” he said. “Everything seemed to fall apart after these guys got involved. I mean we used to do it on a handshake. At this point I don’t have a clue what’s going on.”
Van Halen said that he last spoke in September with Roth, who quit the band in 1985 after the 1984 album.
In April, Roth released a statement on his official Web site attempting to clear some of the rumors surrounding a possible reunion. He said he and Van Halen played together in 2000 “once or twice and it sounded amazing.”
He added that they had not talked since July 2000.
“But I am holding forth, I’m in the shape of my life and I got the high note–I’m ready to go,” Roth said.
Right now, getting a cure for his cancer is his top priority. Van Halen, 46, came clear that he was undergoing cancer treatment and has since removed a lesion from his tongue, his wife Valerie Bertinelli said.
Van Halen added that Roth referred him to his uncle, Jack Roth, a cancer surgeon and research specialist. Van Halen does not want to talk about his condition until he’s completely healed.
“I know I’m kicking its ass out … I’ve learned more in the last year and a half than I ever thought I’d learn in a lifetime … It seems simple but all that really matters to me is my son and my wife,” he said.
