Sammy Hagar said Van Halen's management contacted the band's former bassist Michael Anthony to gauge his interest in a possible reunion.

During an interview with Eddie Trunk on SiriusXM Volume yesterday, Hagar said Anthony "got the call six months ago from management, saying, 'Are you interested?' He said, 'Yeah, you know, I'm doing a record with Sammy right now, it depends. We're booking shows, so you know you'd have to work around it.' And they said, 'Okay, we'll get back to you,' and that was it."

Hagar gave his unreserved approval to any potential Van Halen reunion with Anthony, noting he's "totally cool with it. Absolutely." He also insisted, despite the increasing swirl of rumors about Van Halen's possible summer tour plans, both he and Anthony are in the dark.

"I'm not trying to hide anything, like I know something but don't know something," he said. "Michael and I have had the conversation. I'm telling you, Mike don't know shit. Eventually, somebody's going to have to give the guy a call. Mike totally has my blessing. ... For the fans, he needs to do it. He is the missing element right now, if you want my opinion. Without Mike, it just doesn't seem quite the same."

Anthony joined Van Halen in 1974 and remained with the group for more than 30 years, through their ill-fated 2004 reunion tour with Hagar. When the band reunited with original singer David Lee Roth in 2007, Anthony was replaced by Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang.

He's spent much of the past decade performing alongside Hagar in Chickenfoot and the Circle. The latter group will release its debut album, The Space Between, on May 10; they've already shared the lead single, "Trust Fund Baby."

The Circle, which also includes drummer Jason Bonham and guitarist Vic Johnson, will launch a North American tour on April 19 in Reno. "I can't wait to go out and play these shows, and get this record out here and let the people hear what we did," Hagar said. "We fucking killed it."

Van Halen's most recent tour concluded in October 2015. As a band, they haven't confirmed, commented on or even hinted at any future recording or tour plans. But during a recent series of interviews to promote his new line of tattoo and skin care products, Roth said group's live return was "around the corner."

 

 

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