Glenn Hughes Says He Discussed Joining Van Halen With Eddie

Glenn Hughes has been one of the crucial sought-after vocalists in onerous rock for many years, performing with the likes of Deep Purple, Black Sabbath and the Dead Daisies all through his profession. The singer and bassist lately revealed that he was additionally thought of for an additional A-list rock band: Van Halen.

Hughes, who sang and performed bass in Deep Purple from 1973-76, confirmed within the newest episode of The Classic Rock Podcast that he had spoken to Eddie Van Halen about probably becoming a member of his band. “Well, you know, Eddie was newly sober at that time,” he mentioned. “This would have been … I don’t know, 22 years ago.

“We spoke about it. I had no concept as a result of Eddie had been [a friend] of mine from the start,” Hughes continued. “Would it have labored? I’m undecided. Unless I used to be fully sober, and I’ve been sober now for nearly 24 years. Yeah, it could have been fascinating, would not it? You by no means know.”

Hughes previously discussed the prospect of joining Van Halen in a 1996 interview with Swedish journalist Mike Eriksson. “Eddie Van Halen informed me final yr … he mentioned to me that, after they had been auditioning Sammy Hagar, that if I might’ve been clear and sober I might’ve gotten the gig!” he said. Hughes, who was in the throes of drug addiction in the mid-’80s, instead linked up with Tony Iommi around that time and lent his vocals to the 1986 Black Sabbath album Seventh Star.

Van Halen was not shy about his Deep Purple admiration. “Ritchie Blackmore I favored due to his vibrato bar use on [1970’s] Deep Purple in Rock,” the late guitar hero told Rolling Stone in 2011. “Also, they arrive out with nice riffs. I imply, come on, ‘Smoke on the Water’ is one for the historical past books.” He also cited Deep Purple’s “Burn” as one of his favorite riffs in a 2015 Billboard interview.

Hughes is about to embark on a joint U.S. tour with guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen. The former will celebrate the 50th anniversary of Deep Purple’s Burn, while the latter will deliver a greatest-hits set.