AC/DC rocker Angus Young has paid tribute to music legend Eddie Van Halen, who died on Tuesday, October 6th at the age of 65 following a long battle with throat cancer.
After Eddie’s son, Wolfgang Van Halen confirmed the sad news over social media, Young penned a touching homage to the Van Halen star, saying in a statement on AC/DC’s official social media accounts:
“Eddie was a guitar wonder, his playing pure wizardry. To the world of music, he was a special gift. To those of us fortunate enough to have met him, a very special person. He leaves a big hole in a lot of hearts. To the Van Halen family my heartfelt sympathies.”
It’s not the first time Young has voiced his respect for the late rocker, with the AC/DC guitarist speaking in Neil Zlozower’s photo book, titled Eddie Van Halen, where he dubbed Eddie an “innovator”.
“AC/DC played on a bill with Van Halen back in 1978 or 1979 for a Bill Graham ‘Day On The Green’ show. I didn’t know much about Van Halen then except that I remember seeing film clips of them, especially the one of Eddie playing the solo piece, ‘Eruption’, and I was very impressed,” Young explained.
“I didn’t meet Eddie until years later when there was a Monsters Of Rock open-air festival in England. I was shocked to hear he liked my playing because I’ve never rated myself as a guitarist.”
Young continued: “Eddie is an innovator. When I grew up we had a lot of guys from England who were great players, like Jimmy Page, Eric Clapton and Jeff Beck. And then, of course, when Jimi Hendrix came along, he changed the game. I’d put Eddie in that category of being an innovator like Hendrix.”
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“He changed the game for his style of playing. When Eddie came along, he spawned so many imitators. Like Hendrix, suddenly you started to see people wanting to buy the same guitars he played and also play his licks. He turned the rule book upside down in terms of his approach. There was a lot of experimentation to his playing. Eddie also crosses into that avant-garde thing, which puts him in the same category as Hendrix.”
“When Jimi Hendrix came along it was like, ‘Where did this guy come from?’, and I think that was the same feeling with Eddie. When Eddie appeared on the scene, every guitarist I ran into said, ‘You’ve gotta hear this guy!'” he added.
Check out ‘Eruption’ by Eddie Van Halen:
