Rock icon Eddie Van Halen is baffled by former band mate Michael Anthony's allegation he was fired from Van Halen - insisting the bassist left of his own accord.

Anthony claims he found out on the internet that he had been excluded from the band's 2007 reunion and replaced by Van Halen's own teenage son Wolfgang. But Van Halen insists Anthony jumped long before Wolfgang was hired.

He tells MetalHammer.co.uk, "The funny thing is that everyone who quits the band always claims they got fired by me. Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. When (Sammy) Hagar left the band, Mike (Michael Anthony) went with him. Then we get back together with Dave (Lee Roth) and all of a sudden he wants back in. Its like, 'No, dude, you quit the band.' So my son became the bass player. But we didn't give Mike the boot to have my son play. He was around. We didn't have a bass player. 'Hey Wolfie, you want to play?'"

Anthony has since teamed up with Hagar to form new band Chickenfoot.

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