Van Halen last toured in 2015 and has done nothing since. There was a rumor floating around in 2019 that Van Halen would reunite and tour with bassist Michael Anthony for the first time since 2006, but that never happened and they remained inactive. Though it does seem like Van Halen tried to do something a few years ago.
According to bassist Billy Sheehan in an interview with The Metal Voice, he was asked to join Van Halen a few years ago. Sheehan said he jammed with Eddie and his son Alex but nothing ever came of it. Sheehan adds that he was asked to join the band a few times over the years and always denied them because "I wanna see Michael in the band."
"However, I'm torn, because I love Michael Anthony, and I think he's the best bass player for Van Halen. And as much as I would have loved to do that, I wanna see Michael in the band. And I'm not even sure why they asked me in the band, 'cause I think Michael is an awesome player and a great singer. Who knows what the situation was? But it was just a great honor to be associated with them in any capacity."
"It was the tour after the Women And Children First tour. I think it was Fair Warning. We talked about it then. And then I spoke with Dave about it also. I mostly spoke with Eddie, and I [talked to] Dave about it too, I remember, in Toronto, Canada. I came up to see them play from Buffalo. And then, at the end, [on the] 1984 [tour], I remember Ed took me onstage to show me the stage setup, and we talked about it then. … The last time that it went down, I went up to Eddie's studio when I lived in L.A. a few years back, and jammed with him and Alex for a while. And we thought about doing something then. But it didn't happen."
Outlook for Van Halen is pretty dim at the moment. Vocalist David Lee Roth said Eddie "isn't doing well" health-wise and the band is not likely to get back together. Eddie himself has not yet commented on his health.
Sheehan has played in Roth's solo band, as well as with The Winery Dogs, Tony MacAlpine, Planet X, Jordan Rudess and way more over the years.
