Nuno Bettencourt says that Eddie Van Halen was “super excited” about the prospect of reuniting with Michael Anthony for a proposed VAN HALEN stadium tour

The EXTREME guitarist made the revelation while recounting the last time he met the legendary VAN HALEN axeman.

On Thursday night (October 8), Nuno took to his Instagram to write: “As a kid who’s life was forever altered when the needle dropped on the fade in of Running With The Devil, I dreamed that one day I could earn my own stripes. But those stripes are only and forever Edward‘s. Today, 40 years later, I can only mourn those Stripes.

“Once upon a time in Hollywood, recently, while recording the latest EXTREME album in my home studio I got a call to come down to the front of my house, that someone is asking for me. I was like, damn that’s annoying as I was in the zone cutting a guitar solo to a new song called RISE. I dropped my guitar and headed down. I walk out and… I was being summoned by the one and only… Edward. As usual I got a warm hug and kiss from Eddie. Even as a God, he always made you feel important.

“He was in great spirits. A proud dad, bragging about how Wolfie’s new solo album is gonna blow minds, etc… What’s cool though, was the last thing Eddie talked about. He said he was super excited about reaching out to Michael Anthony to finally put the original VH lineup back together. Saying that he wanted to do one final tour and have VAN HALEN go out the way they came in…Together… Guns Blazing!

“Finally as Eddie said his goodbye, he asked about the new EXTREME album that we were recording up in the house. As we hugged, he says: ‘I’ll be back to listen to it when you’re done,’ and with a sinister raspy laugh, adds ‘it better be good’.

“Finished it. Then. PANDEMIC.

“Man, I was like a kid, counting the Covid Days down to when I could blare the new EXTREME album in the studio, sitting side by side with My Hero, the GOAT, selfishly wanting to play him all the new guitar work that shamelessly, but with pride has his DNA all over my playing. I guess that moment wasn’t meant to be…

“It’s incredible how as a young player, your guitar chord, is the umbilical chord that intimately connects you to someone you may never meet, moreso than even someone in your own family. At the drop of a needle or the touch of a space bar. They are there for you 24/7. As Eddie was… and forever will be.

“Thank you for shaping who I am today.

“Love you, Edward. You are the ONE.”

Earlier this week, VAN HALEN manager Irving Azoff confirmed to Pollstar that a reunion of the band’s classic lineup — featuring Anthony — very nearly happened for a 2019 stadium tour. Special guests like FOO FIGHTERS and METALLICA were tentatively scheduled to join VAN HALEN in select cities. Unfortunately, due to Eddie Van Halen‘s cancer-related health complications, the trek never materialized.

“We had lots of stops and starts, but there was every intention of doing a summer stadium tour [in 2019], and as the cancer moved around, [Van Halen] was physically unable to do it,” Azoff said.

In early 2019, a rumor surfaced that the classic VAN HALEN lineup would reunite that summer for a run of stadium shows. This would have been the first time that the four founding members of the band, including Michael, Eddie, Alex and singer David Lee Roth, performed together since 1984.

The rumors originally started with Roth, who hinted to Vulture that VAN HALEN would be playing stadiums with Anthony back in the lineup.

VAN HALEN and Anthony had not been on good terms for more than a decade, with Anthony not invited to join the reunion with Roth that began in 2007. The subsequent two tours and studio album, “A Different Kind Of Truth”, featured Wolfgang on bass.

Anthony‘s THE CIRCLE bandmate Hagar — himself a former VH member — was the first to publicly confirm that Michael was contacted in 2018 by VAN HALEN‘s management about reuniting with the group for a tour.

Anthony took a pay cut and signed away all of his rights to the band name and logo in order to participate in VAN HALEN‘s 2004 tour, which featured Hagar.

During a June 2019 appearance on SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, the former VAN HALEN bassist — who spent much of the last few years on the road with SAMMY HAGAR & THE CIRCLE — confirmed that he was approached by VAN HALEN‘s management two years ago about re-teaming with the group.

“I spoke with Irving Azoff [in] October [2018] — that’s when I first heard from him — and he asked if I would be interested in any kind of a reunion, and I told him, I said, ‘Yeah.’ I was finishing up a couple of shows with Sammy and I said, ‘Yeah, I’d be interested to hear what you guys have going on,” Michael recalled. “I’ve got these few dates left, and give me a call.’ And I never heard a call back. And then, right after the first of the year, I got… David Lee Roth‘s, Dave‘s business manager or lawyer, or something, got ahold of me about a meeting or something. And so at that point, I gave it over to our manager, because I didn’t wanna start getting in this whole thing — I wanted to do it the correct way, especially after the way things went for me in 2004.

“From what I’ve heard, and I haven’t spoken to any of the guys, they were gonna try to plan a thing for [that] summer,” Anthony added. “And for whatever reason… I was never… My people were never… They never got in touch with us about any kind of a contract or any kind of a meeting to discuss or whatever. And the next thing I knew, the plug got pulled on it.”

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