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Van Halen Reunion: Michael Anthony Says He Was Approached But “The Plug Got Pulled”

A rumored Van Halen reunion featuring all four original members has been the subject of a lot of speculation for months now. From what Michael Anthony said in a new interview,…

Van Halen Reunion: Michael Anthony Says He Was Approached But "The Plug Got Pulled"

MIAMI BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 22: Michael Anthony performs during Sammy’s Beach Bar Rum And Cabo Wabo Tequila Present Emeril Lagasse And Sammy Hagar’s Rockin’ Beach Party Sponsored By Del Monte Fresh Produce during the Food Network South Beach Wine & Food Festival at Beachside at Delano on February 22, 2014 in Miami Beach, Florida. (Photo by Larry Marano/Getty Images for Food Network SoBe Wine & Food Festival)

Larry Marano/Getty Images

A rumored Van Halen reunion featuring all four original members has been the subject of a lot of speculation for months now. From what Michael Anthony said in a new interview, that reunion just wasn't in the cards.

Anthony appeared on The Howard Stern Show today (April 9), and as transcribed by Blabbermouth, he said, "I was actually contacted by their management last October, to see if I would be interested in something." However, Anthony would continue, "And that's basically as far as it went. I think they were trying to put something together on their end, management was, and something broke down on their end and the plug got pulled."

Despite plans not coming to fruition, Anthony did express he'd be interested in a VH reunion "...if it was done the correct way. You know, four guys up there just doing their thing."

Rumblings of a Van Halen reunion tour first began thanks to an interview David Lee Roth gave to Vulture in December 2018. Diamond Dave was quoted as saying, “...You know, next time my rock band will be playing the same place that the Yankees play.”

When pressed for more details on playing Yankee Stadium, DLR initially said he “can’t say,” but he ended up stating, “Well, I don’t know how far this privacy actually goes. But the band is solvent. And I can say that I contacted colleagues about being part of the show —Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Jason Aldean, the Foo Fighters, [Eric] Church, and [Chris] Stapleton. And they all said that, if everything happens, they would certainly be involved.”

Whether all of this will lead to any tour whatsoever is still unknown. Either way, it's pretty safe to say fans won't be seeing the original Van Halen lineup on stage together any time soon.

Erica Banas is rock/classic rock news blogger that loves the smell of old vinyl in the morning.

Erica Banas is a news blogger who's been covering the rock/classic rock world since 2014. The coolest event she's ever covered in person was the 2021 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction ceremony. (Sir Paul McCartney inducting Foo Fighters? C'mon now!) She's also well-versed in etiquette and extraordinarily nice. #TransRightsAreHumanRights