Ex-VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony has reacted to the passing of Eddie Van Halen. The legendary VAN HALEN guitarist died earlier today (Tuesday, October 6) at the age of 65. His death was confirmed by his son, and VAN HALEN bassist, Wolfgang Van Halen.
Anthony took to his Instagram to share a few onstage photos of him and Eddie, and he included the following caption: “No words…Heartbroken, my love to the family”.
VAN HALEN and Anthony had not been on good terms for more than a decade, with Anthony not invited to join the reunion with singer David Lee Roth that began in 2007. The subsequent two tours and studio album, “A Different Kind Of Truth”, featured Wolfgang on bass.
Anthony took a pay cut and signed away all of his rights to the band name and logo in order to participate in VAN HALEN‘s 2004 tour, which featured Hagar.
Back in June 2019, Michael — who spent much of the last few years on the road with SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE — confirmed to SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation” that he was approached by VAN HALEN‘s management in 2018 about re-teaming with the group.
The rumors originally started with Roth, who hinted to Vulture that VAN HALEN would be playing stadiums in the summer of 2019 with Anthony back in the lineup.
Anthony‘s THE CIRCLE bandmate Sammy Hagar — himself a former VH member — was the first to publicly confirm that Michael was contacted by VAN HALEN‘s management about reuniting with the group for a tour.
