In a recent interview with Metal Voice bassist Billy Sheehan revealed that he was asked three times to join Van Halen. “I was offered the position as bassist three times through the years, and I consider it a great honor. However, I am torn because I love Michael Anthony, and I think he is the best bass player for Van Halen. And as much as I would have love to do that, I want to see Michael in the band. I’m not sure why they asked me to join the band. Michael is an awesome player and singer and who knows what the situation was. The first time was the tour of Fair Warning,” Sheehan recalled. “We talked about it then. Then I spoke about it with David Lee Roth, but I mostly spoke about it with Eddie Van Halen in Toronto, Canada. And then the second time was 1984. Eddie showed me the stage setup. We talked about it then. Then the last time was when I got together with Eddie and Alex Van Halen at their house.”
