Michael Anthony Reflects on Van Halen’s Quiet Farewell: ‘We Went Out with a Whimper’
via VanHalenVault / YouTube
A Regret That Still Stands Out
Michael Anthony recently opened up about one thing he still wishes had gone differently in his career.
“The only regret that I have is how things, unfortunately, turned out for Van Halen,” he said during an episode of Get on the Bus. “It should have gone out with a fricking bang that shook the world, and it was more like a whimper, the way everything ended.”
While Anthony admits that being in Van Halen at its peak felt like “living the dream, a fairy tale,” he also talked about how things got more difficult with time. Differences between band members caused tension, especially in later years.
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No Chance to Reconnect
“Unfortunately Eddie [Van Halen] and I never [made amends],” Anthony shared. He said they had some personal problems, but he believed they would have patched things up if Eddie hadn’t passed away. “I’m sure that if he had not passed when he did that we would’ve reconciled or we would’ve really calmed all that stuff down,” Anthony said.
He also mentioned conversations with Wolfgang Van Halen, Eddie’s son and his replacement in the band. “I did hear, and I’ve talked to Wolfgang about it, that they were planning on coming to all of us and putting together a big reunion tour with all of us.”
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Final Words Left Unsaid
Michael Anthony was Van Halen’s longest-serving bassist before leaving in 2006. Sadly, he never got the chance to speak to Eddie before his death in 2020. He believed Eddie had changed by then and was more open to moving forward.
“And at that point in Ed’s life, I think he was a little bit more, like, ‘Hey, the past is the past. Let’s all… fricking water under the bridge,’ that whole bit,” Anthony said. “But, unfortunately, it was not to be.”
