MusicRadar

Sammy Hagar comes out swinging in his autobiography Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock. Eddie Van Halen, David Lee Roth, Ronnie Montrose, even himself - the ex-boxer and Red Rocker pulls no punches, landing glancing and knockout blows, all the while exposing truths that, he tells MusicRadar, "have been twisted over the years."

In the singer's view, "Writing about yourself is kind of easy. Well, not easy - some of the things weren't pleasant to recall, all the rough times I went through and the pitfalls. Writing about other people…different story. How much do you say? How much do you give up? Ultimately, I had to decide that my fans deserved to know the real deal. This was my one chance to set the record straight."

And he does just that, in a way that will have readers gripped from page one. Co-authored by noted Bay Area rock journalist Joel Selvin, Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock (in stores on 15 March) is a wild, unpredictable and riveting tale that chronicles Hagar's rough-and-tumble childhood and his hard climb to stardom. Local bands, the almost-huge Montrose, solo career success, the roller-coaster-like decade he spent in Van Halen and the happy ending that is named Chickenfoot - it's all here.

MusicRadar sat down for an extensive, no-holds-barred interview with Hagar to talk about the book, and he was as forthcoming during our conversation as he is on the printed page. "You know me," he says with a laugh. "Ask me a question and I'll go on and on, and you'll have to tell me to shut up. But I think that's what people want from me. You want fake? There's plenty of other people you can go to for that."

Win an autographed copy!

Before we get to our chat with Sammy Hagar, here's some exciting news: You can win one of five autographed copies of Red: My Uncensored Life In Rock (Grand Prize) or one of five unsigned copies (Runner-Up Prize) in a special competition/giveaway. All copies generously supplied by the publisher. Click here for details.

Why did you decide to write a memoir?

"I needed to give my fans something. I have amazing fans, and I wanted to give them an honest look at my life and where I'm coming from. They've been so loyal to me over the years and have given me so much, so they deserve to know everything I can possibly tell them about myself.

"Spreading around some of the trash of my life wasn't the reason for writing the book. I mean, yeah, those things did happen. [laughs] I can't lie and say they didn't. But sleaze wasn't the predominant idea. I wasn't going, 'Let's see how much I can shock people.'

"The book is for my non-fans, too. This is my manual for people who are going through rough times to tell them, 'It can be accomplished. If you can dream it, you can attain it.' I know that sounds trite, but I'm living proof that you can do anything if you just keep at it. So, in that way, it's an uplifting success story. I made sure to keep the tone inspirational while, at the same time, 100 percent factual."

The Van Halen years

Eddie Van Halen - you paint a pretty brutal picture of him in the book. Did you have second thoughts about exposing so much about him?

"Yeah, I did. But then I thought, How can I not? Eddie's always made me out to be the bad guy. He's always had the upper hand when it comes to the press and could tell the story and frame it the way he wanted.

"The [2004] reunion tour, for example: I just thought that story needed to be told so that fans know why everything's happened the way it has. I didn't like what was going on at the time and how everything went down. I didn't like the way Mikey [Michael Anthony] was treated and the way they tried to treat me. They - and I'm talking about Eddie and Alex here - really made the experience unpleasant. I tried to get out of that tour. After 40 shows, I tried to quit. That's how bad it was."

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