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Van Halen’s David Lee Roth and Alex Van Halen Reunite Onstage for the First Time Since 2015
Rock legends David Lee Roth and Alex Van Halen reunited publicly for the first time since 2015, appearing together at a TEDxFargo conversation on 30 July alongside artist Robert Vargas. The event, which will be released on YouTube, marks a notable thaw between the pair, whose last on-stage appearance together was at the Hollywood Bowl before guitarist and band co-founder Eddie Van Halen died in 2020.
Following Eddie's death, Alex and David had reportedly been planning a Van Halen reunion tour, but the project collapsed after a bitter dispute over how to honour Eddie during the shows, with Alex telling Rolling Stone that Roth reacted furiously when asked to include a tribute. Alex subsequently suffered a broken back, an injury he says would have scuppered the tour anyway, and he has since suggested the fallout was for the best, arguing that performing old songs without Eddie would amount to little more than "a jukebox".
In short
- Roth and Alex Van Halen reunited publicly at TEDxFargo, their first since 2015.
- A planned post-Eddie reunion tour collapsed after a bitter dispute.
- Alex says skipping the tour was probably for the best.
Steelman: both sides, in good faith
The strongest fair case each way — we don't pick a winner.
The case for
Performing Van Halen's music honours Eddie's legacy by keeping it alive for audiences and future generations, and most bands continue after member losses in ways the departed would have appreciated. The surviving members are best positioned to control how the music is presented respectfully, and fans deserve access to the art that shaped their lives.
The case against
Eddie Van Halen was the band's irreplaceable creative core, and performing without him fundamentally misrepresents what Van Halen was to fans. As Alex argued, reproducing the songs without Eddie's creative presence reduces them to a jukebox, and the surviving members' inability to agree on how to honour him respectfully suggests reunion would compromise rather than celebrate his legacy.
Explained simply
Van Halen is an American rock band formed by brothers Eddie and Alex Van Halen, with David Lee Roth as its original lead singer. Their energetic sound and songs such as “Jump” made them one of the best-known rock acts of the late 1970s and 1980s.
Eddie played guitar, while Alex was the band’s drummer; Roth left and rejoined the group at different points. Eddie died in 2020, leaving the surviving members to consider how, or whether, Van Halen’s music could be performed without him.
The band’s legacy is closely tied to its original members, and their relationships have sometimes been strained. That history helps explain why questions about a reunion and how to honour Eddie matter to fans.