Former Van Halen bassist Michael Anthony ruled out a summer return to the band, despite speculation that has linked him with a reunion in recent months.

The possibility of Van Halen returning to the road for the first time since 2015 was first mentioned by frontman David Lee Roth in an interview last year, when he said the group were planning a “reunion thing” for a stadium tour.

Later, former singer Sammy Hagar said that tentative discussions to include Anthony (but not Hagar) on that tour had taken place and, later still, reported that he was ready to put the Circle, his current band featuring Anthony, on hold if the Van Halen tour went ahead. Anthony last played with Van Halen's Hagar-fronted lineup in 2004, and with the Roth-fronted version of the group in 1984. Eddie Van Halen's son Wolfgang has played bass with the group since 2007.

Anthony offered an update via a comment on one of his Instagram posts. Asked by a fan if the Circle were going on hiatus, as many expected, he replied: “VH tour not gonna happen.” It was not clear whether he meant his own involvement or the entire project.

In 2017 Anthony said he could see “some kind of proper closure or something” in a reunion, adding: “I’m not sure. Everybody in the band is still relatively healthy and alive. So there’s one thing right there… I personally am through with all of the drama that comes with everything. I want to go out, play music and have a good time. I want to go to my grave a happy guy.”

Speaking before Anthony’s latest comments, Hagar said: “[I]f there was an opportunity for him to go play in Van Halen again, just to mend that up, just to keep that sour note from being in his head for the rest of his life, he has my blessings. … I can tell you straight-up right now – there has been nothing confirmed.”

 

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