The internet is abuzz with speculation this morning that David Lee Roth may soon be an ex-member of Van Halen again.
Roth has released a new solo single, Ain’t No Christmas, that appears to address a split, saying “Sure looked good on paper, once upon a lie. Happily never after, and I’m not okay to drive. / Let’s put the pin back in this one, and say we both survived. Last blank space on the map I think we’ve arrived. / Quittin’ while you’re ahead ain’t quittin’, and I’m quittin’.”
Initially, Roth said that the song was about his band, telling Van Halen News Desk “It’s poetry. It has nothing to do with Van Halen” but he later took to Twitter to say “On second thought, if all work is autobiographic, maybe this song is about Van Halen.”
Roth was asked to join Mammoth with Alex and Eddie Van Halen in the early 70’s, later to become Van Halen, and they released their self-titled debut in 1977. Roth was with the band for six albums before leaving in 1985 to go solo. His 1986 album Eat ‘Em and Smile became a major hit, selling over two million copies, and he followed with Skyscraper (1988), A Little Ain’t Enough (1991) and Your Filthy Little Mouth (1995) before a short reunion with Van Halen in 1996. Roth returned the the band again in 2006 and, after a couple of tours, they released A Different Kind of Truth in 2012.
The band’s last shows were last October 2 and 4 at the Hollywood Bowl.