Van Halen, it was actually discussed as a rebrand for the band upon Hagar's arrival in the mid-'80s. An executive at Warner Bros. first suggested Van Halen change its name to Van Hagar during a band meeting in 1986, presumably with an eye on capitalizing on Hagar's notoriety as a solo artist and possibly hedging their bets in case 5150 was a commercial flop. Hagar recalled the discussion in a recent radio interview. It started with Warner Bros. executive Mo Ostin after the band played "Why Can't This Be Love" for him for the first time. "Mo Ostin went, 'Oh, I smell money' — he thought it ...