Van Halen Ends Feud with Former Singer, Sets Tour

03/26/2004 7:40 PM, Reuters
Dean Goodman

One of pop music's messiest feuds has come to an end with the return of vocalist Sammy Hagar to rock band Van Halen after an eight-year absence, the veteran group said on Friday.

Additionally, Van Halen will return to the road this summer for the first time in nearly six years, launching a tour of indoor North American arenas in Greensboro, North Carolina on June 11.

With Prince and Madonna also preparing concert tours and promising to play their golden oldies, nostalgic fans will soon have plenty of opportunities to party like it's the eighties.

The Van Halen reunion brings the band back full circle to 1985, when Hagar first joined the foursome after original vocalist David Lee Roth quit for a patchy solo career. With Hagar on board and guitarist Eddie Van Halen wowing fans with his flashy riffs, the band maintained its hit streak with such tunes as "Why Can't This Be Love" and "Dreams."

Amid growing tensions, Hagar left Van Halen in early 1996 claiming that he was fired by his bandmates; they countered that he quit. He resurrected his solo career and even toured with Roth. Van Halen hired a new singer, Gary Cherone, and saw its fortunes plummet, ultimately losing its deal at Warner Bros. Records. The band has been inactive in recent years.

Warner Bros., a unit of Time Warner Inc. which owns the rights to the band's back catalog, will release a second hits compilation in June, featuring the new Hagar-sung track "It's About Time."

In addition to Eddie Van Halen, aged 49, the band includes his older brother, drummer Alex, 50, and bass player Michael Anthony , 49.

The Van Halen brothers were born in the Netherlands and emigrated to the United States with their parents in 1962. They formed Van Halen in the mid-1970s and ultimately sold about 75 million records worldwide.

Reuters/VNU