Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth fronted two very different incarnations of Van Halen. Needless to say, the pair have an often contentious relationship with one another which was further complicated when they toured together in 2002.
In a new interview on “Steve-O’s Wild Ride” podcast, Hagar threw shade at Roth on a variety of topics.
“At that time he didn’t have a solo career, really,” Hagar said of Roth at the time of their 2002 tour. “I mean, he did, but he wasn’t selling out. I was selling out arenas. I was selling out amphitheaters as Sammy Hagar with the Wabos. And I had a solo career.”
“Ask Mick Jagger. Ask Robert Plant. You can be the biggest band in the world and you can’t necessarily have a solo career,” he continued. “But I had a solo career. So when I joined the big band, I went back to my solo career, I’m good. I still sell a lot of tickets.”
“Dave, he had that sort of a big album, one kind of a big album, but he didn’t have a solo career. He was playing small places. So when he came in with me, he was making, like, 25 grand a night, I was making 150 grand a night, and they said, ‘Oh, you guys are gonna make the same money. Dave gets to make 150.’ I said, ‘He ain’t f*cking made 150 in his life except in Van Halen.’ But I said, ‘I’ve gotta do this.’ So I bent over backwards. And he still always tried to f*ck with the rules. He’s not a fun guy. He doesn’t play well with others. I’m not sure what his problem is… He just always is about, ‘How can I make this guy look bad?’ And not just me — in life.”
“He’s a chest-beating m*therfucker. And God bless him, ’cause the early stuff is frickin’ great. I personally, I’ve tried to say… I thought he’d be a fun guy to know. But he ain’t like that. He ain’t like his persona. When you get around him, he ain’t that guy. He’s some other cat. [Laughs]”
Hagar praised Roth as a frontman, but then dissed his recent vocal performances.
“He’s a showman,” Hagar said. “Hey, listen, I’m a showman too. But that’s his gig. He doesn’t care about singing. If he did, he’d take care of his voice or he’d take voice lessons and get warmed up and do something. ‘Cause the guy sang so bad last time he was doing shows, it was embarrassing… But he’s a showman. Everything’s show, show, show, show, show, show, show. And he doesn’t care about his voice, which drives me nuts, man. I care more about my voice than I do my dick. If my dick didn’t work a couple of times, I’d be okay with it — I’d be bummed out — but if my voice f*cks up onstage, I’m f*cking bummed, man.”
Hagar replaced Roth in Van Halen in 1985 and recorded four studio albums with the band.
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