“Oh, yeah, when Eddie kind of lost it out there,” the singer replied when asked if he knew that night on stage was the end for him. “I mean, he was in bad shape the whole tour. Not trying to bring up a sore subject, but he was not healthy and was very abusive to himself. That second night was such a disaster, the way he broke down.”
Sammy continued, “I just remember walking off the stage and Irving Azoff grabbing me, saying, ‘Get in the car.’ He threw me in a car with my wife, we went straight to the airport in wet clothes, jumped on our plane, and went home.”
“On the plane, I just sat there, shaking my head, going, ‘God, that was a terrible experience,'” Hagar further recalled. “It could’ve been so wonderful and so beautiful, but it wasn’t. I wasn’t interested in going back and doing more shows. I was like, ‘If anybody wants to continue this tour, don’t talk to me about it,’ you know? And of course, they went out and did something different.”
Hagar’s last show with Van Halen was on November 19, 2004. After the show, he left and never spoke to Eddie or Alex Van Halen again. The end was sad and not unexpected. Hagar returned in 2004 for a compilation album and tour, but EddieWs health problems, including drug addiction and cancer recovery, cut the plans short.
“As crazy it as it seems, the last time I spoke directly to them was after the last show on the 2004 reunion tour,” the Red Rocker told Classic Rock in 2019. “We played Tucson, Ariz., and we walked offstage and said, ‘See you later.’ We all got our private planes home, and we never talked again. I’ve tried. I’ve reached out a couple of times. About three or four years ago I wished Eddie a happy birthday on Instagram, and he got back to me – or his Instagram person did – and said, ‘Hope you’re doing well, thank you.’ And that was it. That’s the way it is.”
Hagar also revealed during the Arizona Republic interview that he felt it was important to resolve things with Eddie before he passed away. Hagar is glad they had closure and could be friends again.
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