After Van Halen: Singers Hagar and Roth join forces without benefit of guitar man

Albuquerque

The two most-famous former Van Halen front men will soon show the world they can join forces for a co-headlining tour.

Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth will stop in Albuquerque on Tuesday, June 18, at the Journal Pavilion for a hard rocking concert. The two head-banging entertainers will begin their month-long tour on May 29 at the Blossom Center in Cleveland.

“We have two headlining acts, two complete headlining shows here,” Hagar said in an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine. “We’re playing the same amount of time. The stage belongs to Dave for that hour and a half, and then that stage will belong to me for the next hour and a half.

“We’re not going to co-mingle unless it just becomes that. We don’t know each other well enough for that,” Hagar joked, “I don’t trust him.”

Roth also told Rolling Stone he is excited about the tour, saying it was time for the two to come together to share the stage and show what they can do.

“The time is appropriate now because we have a whole busload of people out there who have been waiting way too long for something really good to happen with this music, and we’re going to serve it this summer,” Roth told Rolling Stone.

The news of the Hagar/Roth tour shocked and surprised many in the music industry because of the shots the two have taken at each other in their post-Van Halen years. When the tour was announced, Hagar made it clear all was forgotten and they were ready to let bygones be bygones.

“Diamond” Dave plans to perform material almost exclusively from his tenure in Van Halen (1974-1985) with a group of new recruits. Hagar said he will play music from his ’70s band, Montrose, through his term with Van Halen hits (1985-1996), to his recent solo material.

Hagar began his music career in the early 1960s when he met Ronnie Montrose in a bar. Montrose had been trying to form a band when Hagar applied for the job of lead singer.

The band’s self-titled album reached 133 on the charts and eventually went platinum. Its follow-up album reached No. 65 on the charts and received excellent reviews.

In 1975, Hagar had an itch to get out on his own and left the band. Hagar recorded his first solo album, “Nine on a Ten Scale,” with several members of his old band, Montrose.

As Hagar’s popularity rose, the California native traveled to Great Britain to record his second solo album, which eventually went gold. Hagar continued his solo career with several successful albums.

In 1984, Hagar was ready for something new. He decided to tour with guitarist Nick Schon of Santana, Journey and Bad English fame, in a band called HSAS. Their album hit No. 42 on the charts at the same time that Hagar released another solo album, “Voice of America.”

A year later, the legendary rock ‘n’ roller shocked the music industry when it was announced he would replace Roth as the front man of Van Halen. His 10-year career with the legendary band gave Hagar worldwide acclaim and added hits.

The Hagar/Van Halen collaboration scored several hit albums including, “5150,” “OU812,” “For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge,” “Right Here, Right Now” and “Balance.”

It was in 1996 that tensions between Hagar and the rest of Van Halen came to a boiling point. Hagar left Van Halen to pursue his solo career.

A year after his departure, Hagar released a solo album, “Marching to Mars,” and followed it up two years later with “Red Voodoo.” Hagar’s latest album, “Ten 13,” was released in 2000.

Other than his music career, Hagar developed a side job when he moved to Cabo San Lucas. In the small Mexican resort town, Hagar opened a club and began successfully manufacturing and marketing his own brand of tequila, called Cabo Wabo.

Rock vocalist “Diamond” David Lee Roth began his music career in the early 1970s with a group called Red Ball Jets, before joining forces with two brothers named Van Halen in 1974.

Van Halen was discovered in 1978 by KISS bassist Gene Simmons. The group was signed to a recording contract that same year with Warner Bros.

Roth, along with guitarist Eddie Van Halen, was the staple behind (or in front) of the band’s long- running success. Van Halen gained international fame over the next several years while Roth’s reputation as a hard-rocking party boy attracted as much attention.

Before leaving Van Halen, Roth released his first solo album, “Crazy From the Heat.” The album was a hit and talk about Roth’s future in feature films was brewing.

The camaraderie between Van Halen began to splinter, and Roth quit the band in 1985 over reported “professional disagreements.”

Although Roth quit the renowned rock band, his pursuit of fame and fortune didn’t falter.

He released a second album in 1986, “Eat ‘Em and Smile,” which sold over 2 million copies. Roth followed up is debut album with several others, including “Skyscraper,” “A Little Ain’t Enough” and “Your Filthy Little Mouth.”

After Hagar left Van Halen in 1996, rumors started circulating about Roth’s return to the band he had left more than a decade before.

The rumors proved to be false as Roth and Eddie Van Halen exchanged verbal attacks on national television.

Roth continued his solo career with two other albums, including a greatest hits package, “The Best.”

His latest single, “Look At All The People Here Tonight!” was singled out for being the first single released to radio through the Internet.

Tickets for the Sammy Hagar and David Lee Roth concert are on sale at Ticketmaster outlets.

Tickets are priced at $58, $40.50 and $25.50. Tickets can also be bought online through CC.com or charged by phone at (505) 883-7800.