During a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen confirmed that the band were considering the possibility of doing a tour in honor of his late brother Eddie Van Halen. However, he claims the idea was ultimately scrapped after frontman David Lee Roth refused to pay tribute to the legendary guitarist.
Roth and Alex were rehearsing for the tour and were planning to bring on bassist Michael Anthony and guitarist Joe Satriani. The intent was there, but nothing came to fruition due to conflicts with Roth. On top of that, Alex was also suffering from peripheral neuropathy. He said the following:
“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.’ And the moment I said we gotta acknowledge Ed, Dave fuckin’ popped a fuse.… The vitriol that came out was unbelievable.”
He also added:
“I’m from the street. ‘You talk to me like that, motherfucker, I’m gonna beat your fucking brains out. You got it?’ And I mean that. And that’s how it ended.
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, motherfucker. It’s not you alone anymore.”
Alex went on to admit that he was probably physically incapable of touring anyway:
“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. That’s just like a jukebox, in my opinion.… To find a replacement for Ed? It’s just not the same.”
Metal Anarchy 
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