Van Halen Veterans to Tour Together

By Stephen M. Silverman

Wednesday April 17, 2002 01:00 PM EDT

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David Lee Roth, 47, and his replacement as lead singer in Van Halen, Sammy Hagar, 54, told reporters on Tuesday that they would tour the U.S. together starting next month now that the hugely popular rock band has dispersed, reports Reuters. The tour is subtly titled "Song for Song: The Heavyweight Champs of Rock And Roll," which refers to Hagar's pugilist past and to Roth's bent for martial arts. More importantly, notes the news service, the tour will bring together two performers who sold a combined 70 million records worldwide with Van Halen, a 25-year-old band which went through three singers and has not released a new album in nearly four years. The band's founder, Eddie Van Halen, has been battling cancer, but is now reportedly cancer-free. "Between the two of us, what you have is quintessential Americana. You couldn't pick a more appropriate time for that. Whether you owned any of the records or the albums between the two of us . . . you've heard Sammy's or my voice tearing out of a pick-up truck in front of you in the driveway of a local Burger King for how many f-----' summers," Roth, also speaking for Hagar (whom he had only met once before), said at a Hollywood press conference Tuesday. Meanwhile, it was also announced on Tuesday that the Eagles are returning to the North American concert circuit for the first time since 1995 with a seven-week tour that will kick off May 31 in Reno, Nevada, and wrap up July 20 in Biloxi, Mississippi. A spokeswoman said ticket prices for all venues will be under $100, a relative bargain.