Van Halen Reunites with Original Singer - Tour Announcement to Come

For many rock fans of the 1970s and 80s, this moment is a long time coming...indeed a dream come true.

It was announced last week, that famed American rock band Van Halen would be reuniting with original lead singer David Lee Roth for a Fall 2007 US tour. Now as many know, the band has had a dubious history with both Roth and their other singer Sammy Hagar (not to mention Gary Cherone...). Van Halen has tried on two separate occasions to reunite with Roth: once in 1996 at the MTV VMA awards and once again in 2001. Roth and the brothers VH, guitarist Eddie and drummer Alex, have traded insults in the press since Roth's exit in 1986.

That being said...this announcement is too good to be true for long-time fans. News about the band since the 1998 Van Halen III album and tour with Cherone, has been sketchy. A reunion with Hagar in 2004 seemed to do fairly well, but yield only three new songs and no new albums.

One name is conspicuously absent from this recent announcement. Apparently original bassist Michael Anthony has been replaced by Eddie Van Halen's (and Valerie Bertinelli's) 16-yr old son Wolfgang. Stories are that Eddie is displeased that Anthony has aligned himself with Hagar, while Anthony maintains that the brothers have been uncommunicative and stubborn. (Michael Anthony has said that he only played bass on three songs on Van Halen III and on none of the new songs of the 2004 Best of Both Worlds package. Furthermore, Anthony was forced to sign onto the 2004 tour for less pay than the other members of the band). Wolfgang Van Halen is reported by his famous father as being a prodigiously talented young musician.

Rumors were that the 2007 tour with Roth was going to happen this summer, but was shelved when Eddie went into rehab in Spring of 2004. He emerged in May, much healthier and happier in appearance. (Eddie Van Halen was the guest of honor at a NASCAR event that signaled the end of his stint in rehab).

So here we are...looks like we will get to see Eddie Van Halen and David Lee Roth back together again. But as music fans have come to find out, Van Halen is very unpredictable to say the least. (Roth referred to it as "fragile politics" in an earlier interview).

The Van Halen Press Conference is scheduled for Monday morning August 13^th in Los Angeles.