Van Halen drummer Alex Van Halen recently discussed his bandmates’ memoirs, refusing to read Sammy Hagar’s book and calling him an idiot, in an interview with Roadie Crew.
While promoting his own book, Brothers, he was asked about his opinions on Sammy Hagar’s 2011 book, Red: My Uncensored Life in Rock, and David Lee Roth’s 1997 book, Crazy From the Heat.
“I don’t know what he wrote, I don’t wanna know,” Alex Van Halen said. “In my opinion, Sammy Hagar is a complete idiot.”
He then shared his thoughts on David Lee Roth’s memoir. “It’s quite fun and accurately reflects his sense of humor,” he continued. “Although the text is somewhat abstract and loses its train of thought at times, it’s still a very interesting perspective on that era.”
These comments come amid long-standing tensions between the former bandmates. The remarks add another chapter to a long-running split that has followed Van Halen for years. The tensions have only grown as each side has continued to revisit the band’s legacy in public.
Alex Van Halen’s memoir Brothers was published on October 22, 2024, and it was written with New Yorker contributor Ariel Levy. The book focuses on Alex’s bond with his late brother Eddie Van Halen and avoids a tell-all approach.
Brothers is framed as a tribute to Eddie and includes intimate stories from the brothers’ shared past. The book also reflects on Van Halen’s rise and Alex’s grief after Eddie’s death in 2020.
Hagar spent two major stretches with Van Halen, from 1985 to 1996 and again from 2003 to 2005. During that period, he served as lead singer and helped steer some of the band’s biggest commercial successes.
Alex and Hagar have not spoken for more than two decades, and Alex’s Brothers memoir largely skips Hagar’s era in the band. That omission has helped keep the feud alive well beyond Van Halen’s active years.
Hagar publicly criticized the book’s focus on the Roth years and called the omission of his tenure “blasphemy” to Eddie Van Halen’s legacy. The dispute has become a familiar flashpoint in the ongoing arguments over how the band’s history should be told.
