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Jul 11, 2026 By Adrian Peel Photography by Adrian Peel Web Exclusive

The impressive new venue that is the British Airways ARC at Olympia came alive to the sounds of Sammy Hagar’s good time rock ‘n’ roll when the former Montrose/Van Halen/Chickenfoot frontman - also a hugely successful solo artist and entrepreneur in his own right - brought his Best of All Worlds tour to town.

Joining him onstage was an amazing band comprising fellow Van Halen member Michael Anthony on bass, Joe Satriani on guitar, drummer Kenny Aronoff, and keyboard player Nathan Mercado.

But before the main event, we were treated to the rousing rock stylings of West Midlands quartet, Jayler. Looking every inch the rock stars with their long hair and flared trousers - from where we were seated, singer James Bartholomew even resembled a young Robert Plant - the boys were later praised by Hagar who said he loves to see young bands playing 70s and 80s-style rock music.

It had been a long time since Sammy Hagar last performed in the UK - it was June 1995, when Van Halen opened for Bon Jovi - so it was a real pleasure to see him back on these shores, and sounding in fine form. And the pumped up crowd greeted him and the other musicians - the very animated Michael Anthony in particular - accordingly.

The Van Halen-heavy set began with the glorious “Why Can’t This Be Love”, a synth-led 80s classic from the rock legends, and continued with the equally explosive “Top of the World”.

This exhilarating, ‘hit-the-ground-running’ start was further augmented by the driving rock of VH’s “Runaround” and the hip-swaying groove of “Best of Both Worlds”, which got the audience enthusiastically singing along on the anthemic chorus. The catchy “Summer Dreams” served as yet another reminder of how many great songs Van Halen Mk II had in their repertoire.

“I wanna talk to them,” said Sammy - also known as The Red Rocker - to Joe Satriani after addressing the crowd. “It’s been 31 f****n years!” The star reflected on coming to London for the first time with his former band, Montrose, in 1973, calling the city “intimidating”. There followed the only Montrose tune of the evening, the spirited “Bad Motor Scooter.”

The hits kept on coming. “Let’s go to Mexico!,” announced the energetic and charismatic artist who, to be honest, looks like a lot of fun to be around, ahead of VH’s “Cabo Wabo” and “Mas Tequila”, a joyful, ‘fun-in-the-sun’ number by Sammy Hagar and the Wabos.

Videos of Sammy’s Cabo Wabo Cantina in Mexico, along with shots of Cabo San Lucas and the Baja California peninsula, played in the background - and Sammy even offered out tequila (I assume it was his own Cabo Wabo brand) to people sitting at the front, saying “Let’s get this party started!”

My favourite VH with Sammy Hagar-era song, “Right Now”, was truly electrifying, and then, in a deviation from the planned setlist, the band played a Chickenfoot song - “Big Foot” - after somebody from the audience handed Sammy a Chickenfoot T-shirt.

Michael Anthony took over vocal duties on “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘bout Love”, a Van Halen staple from 1978 - back when the group was fronted by David Lee Roth.

The storming “Heavy Metal” and the thrilling “I Can’t Drive 55”, one of Sammy’s best-known solo singles, brought the main set to an end. The singer joked that he was too old to go backstage and sit on a couch before deciding whether to come back out for an encore. “If I sit down, I’m not getting up again!,” he laughed.

The encore consisted of the gorgeous “Eagles Fly” and then “Encore, Thank You, Goodnight”, a moving tribute to the late, great Eddie Van Halen, whose unmistakable image flashed up on the screen behind.

“Are y’all happy?,” asked Sammy towards the end of the show. He’d earlier said that he and the band were going to do their best to please everyone, noting that there’s always one person who says “they didn’t play my favourite song!”.

The answer was a resounding yes. “And so are we,” said the star. Tonight was a night when it seemed everyone went away happy.