The guitarist Eddie Van Halen thought was better as a “heroin addict”
I vividly remember the first time rock music blew my mind. I was at my Dad’s house, likely face-first in a bag of Doritos as he reeled off some pointless (or what I thought was pointless at the time) fact about a band he was obsessed with. Like every young person, when their Dad is talking to them, I feigned interest, until I realised the band he was talking about was the kickass rockstars playing on the TV: Guns N’ Roses.
It feels uncool to say now, but the first time I watched the music video for Guns N’ Roses ‘November Rain’, I thought it was the most badass thing I’d ever seen. The part where Slash walks out of the church, leather trousers, Gibson Les Paul, and lets rip on one of the most heart-wrenching solos of his career, what’s a kid to do except be blown away?
I saw my Dad’s eyes light up the minute I showed an interest in rock. From that moment, he limped over to his CD rack (my dad had a limp) and picked out a selection of CDs that he thought I might be interested in. He started by grabbing every Guns N’ Roses album possible, Appetite For Destruction, Use Your Illusion I and II, even The Spaghetti Incident? He then grabbed records from the likes of AC/DC, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Black Sabbath and, of course, Van Halen.
Imagine my surprise, a kid who has only just discovered rock music, suddenly listening to CDs that night and experiencing ‘Eruption’ for the first time. Even then, with my limited knowledge of the genre, I knew I was hearing something special. The chaotic nature with which he played was truly inspired, and now, knowing more about Eddie Van Halen, I understand that that chaotic nature was reflected in his personality as well.
From driving a military tank to the lead singer of Limp Bizkit’s hours to picking bar fights with Geddy Lee from Rush, Eddie Van Halen was never one to shy away from controversy. That was equally reflected in his interviews as well as his antics, as he was always giving his honest opinion on different artists, even if that opinion could land him in hot water.
Arguably, one of his most controversial takes came when he was talking about Eric Clapton. Don’t get me wrong, Eddie Van Halen isn’t the first person to criticise Eric Clapton, as there are plenty of guitarists out there who have called him overrated and said that he peaked early in his career, but no one has ever put it as bluntly as Eddie Van Halen did when he suggested that Clapton would be a much better guitarist if he was still addicted to drugs.
“I hate to say it, but when he was a heroin addict, he was good,” said Eddie Van Halen, “After that, he was just trying to sound like BB King, but BB King has him beat because Clapton isn’t BB King.”
That guitar sound with its screeching feedback and chaos laced throughout seems to resonate in Eddie’s words, as he doesn’t hold his tongue when criticising guitarists who he doesn’t think cut the mustard.
