ALEX VAN HALEN Celebrates First Birthday Without His Brother: 'The View From My Drum Set Will Never Be The Same'

May 9, 2021

VAN HALEN drummer Alex Van Halen turned 68 on Saturday, May 8. It was his first birthday since the death of his brother, iconic VAN HALEN guitarist Eddie Van Halen.

Alex commemorated the occasion by sharing the following statement: "First birthday without you, Ed. The view from my drum set will never be the same. VH forever!"

Eddie passed away last October at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. Alex was by his side, as were Eddie's wife, Janie, and son, Wolfgang.

The axeman died from complications due to cancer, his son confirmed.

Eddie's final Instagram post was a tribute to Alex. On May 8, 2020, the guitarist shared a black-and-white photo of him and his brother to his followers to wish the drummer a happy birthday.

He captioned the picture: "Happy Birthday Al!! Love Ya!! #vanhalen #alexvanhalen #birthday #may #drummer #musician #musicians #family #rock #classicrock #rockband #love".

Eddie and Alex formed VAN HALEN in 1972 in Pasadena, California, with David Lee Roth on lead vocals and Michael Anthony on bass.

VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

After undergoing hip replacement surgery in 1999 due to a chronic joint problem, Eddie was diagnosed with mouth cancer in 2000 and had to have part of his tongue surgically removed. He later battled throat cancer and reportedly had been receiving radiation treatment in Germany. It is believed that his heavy smoking over the years led to his long battle with cancer.

Find more on Van halen
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).