(CelebrityAccess) — Former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony has revealed that he was engaged in negotiations about a Van Halen reunion tour that was to have taken place this summer.
On Wednesday, Anthony told SiriusXM radio host Eddie Trunk that he was approached by Van Halen’s manager Irving Azoff in late 2018 about the reunion tour which ultimately went nowhere.
“I’m sure you know Sammy [Hagar] had made a statement saying I was offered [a role in the tour]. And I can tell you, I spoke with Irving Azoff last October — that’s when I first heard from him — and he asked if I would be interested in any kind of a reunion, and I told him, I said, ‘Yeah.’ I was finishing up a couple of shows with Sammy and I said, ‘Yeah, I’d be interested to hear what you guys have going on. I’ve got these few dates left, and give me a call.’”
However, Anthony says the follow-up call never came.
“And then, right after the first of the year, David Lee Roth’s business manager or lawyer, or something, got ahold of me about a meeting or something. And so at that point, I gave it over to our manager, because I didn’t wanna start getting in this whole thing — I wanted to do it the correct way, especially after the way things went for me in 2004,” Anthony told Trunk.
“From what I’ve heard, and I haven’t spoken to any of the guys, they were gonna try to plan a thing for this summer, And for whatever reason… I was never… My people were never… They never got in touch with us about any kind of a contract or any kind of a meeting to discuss or whatever. And the next thing I knew, the plug got pulled on it,” he added.
Anthony, who was a founding member of Van Halen, exited the band in 2004 in an acrimonious split and was replaced in the band by Eddie Van Halen’s son Wolfgang. Anthony has since gone on to become the bassist for the rock supergroup The Circle with Sammy Hagar, drummer Jason Bonham, and guitarist Vic Johnson.
“The reason the Circleis taking a break right now is that if things would have worked out as they were starting to go and was planned, we would have been in pre-production rehearsals with Van Halen right now,” Anthony told Trunk.
