Van Halen Primed to Tour

Wed., Mar. 24, 2004 11:15 PM PST by Sarah Hall

Right now it looks like Van Halen is headed out on tour this summer.

The band's official Website listed 11 cities where concerts would be performed, though no official dates had yet been scheduled.

Nor had Van Halen announced whom their lead singer will be on the tour. Three men have held the slot--original frontman David Lee Roth, Sammy Hagar and Gary Cherone.

Though nothing had been confirmed, all speculation point to Hagar, who replaced Roth in 1985.

Hagar left the band in 1996. By his account, he was fired for balking at plans to make a greatest-hits album.

After Hagar's departure, Roth rejoined the band to record two songs, but did not collaborate further. In 1998, Cherone fronted the band for the underwhelming Van Halen III and the subsequent tour--the group's most recent to date--but ended his tenure soon thereafter.

In 2002, Roth and Hagar shared headlining duties on the Song for Song: The Heavyweight Champs of Rock and Roll tour. Hagar said the Van Halen brothers had been approached about touring with both frontmen, but rejected the idea.

"I think if they could do anything right now they would have done it," Hagar said at the time. "No one has heard anything, they don't have a record deal, they've just fallen completely apart. Why, I don't know. I think it's the worst thing that could have ever happened to one of the greatest rock bands in the world."

However, in another interview that year, Hagar called a reunion with the band "inevitable."

Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony has made guest appearances at several of Hagar's concerts with the band Waboritas. Hagar also claims to have recently reconciled with Eddie and Alex Van Halen.

In a Dec. 26 interview with USA Today, Hagar discussed mending fences with Alex over dinner.

"We had a lot of fun together," he said. "So, years after carrying anger around on both sides, it was really nice to feel like we were one again."

Eddie Van Halen, meanwhile, seems to be ready to move on after facing some recent rough times. In 2002, he successfully battled oral cancer and then split up with wife Valerie Bertinelli.

The long-anticipated tour is expected to kick off in June and carry through to the end of summer.