Sammy Hagar On The Downfall Of Van Halen

Sammy Hagar laid out the "dysfunction" within Van Halen that led to the demise of his very successful run with the band, saying that other members of the band began changing.
Hagar joined the band in 1985 to replace original frontman David Lee Roth and the band had a string of hit albums, "5150," "OU812," "For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge" and "Balance", before leaving the group in 1996.
He then returned for an ill-fated reunion in 2003. Sammy discussed the downfall of his original time in the band in a recent feature Planet Rock. He reflected, "We had eight years of (huge success), and then suddenly people in the band started changing... and it wasn't me and it wasn't Mike (Anthony.
"The Balance record was like pulling teeth, things got very dysfunctional by then. Drugs and alcohol and insecurity and bad management killed that band."
Wolfgang Van Halen Drops by Ola Englund's Studio
Sammy Hagar Launching 2026 Las Vegas Residency
Wolfgang Van Halen Shares 'Really Wanna' Video
Why Wolfgang Van Halen Pulled Out Of Ozzy's Final Concert