Classic Rock
Alex Van Halen talks about Eddie’s final minutes
Drummer Alex Van Halen is currently promoting the book Brothers, which tells the story of him, his brother Eddie, and their legendary band. In an interview with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the musician talked for the first time about his brother’s final minutes (Transcribed by Ultimate Guitar). The legendary guitarist passed away back in 2020 at the age of 65 after a long battle with cancer.
Advertisement
Alex Van Halen talks about Eddie’s final minutes
“We were in the room with him when he actually took his last breath. We just sat there and everybody was in their own head space. All I know is that when he stopped breathing, I didn’t hear anything. I didn’t see anything. There were no bells, there were no angels. It just stopped.”
“And then the room was empty. That was it. And then they pulled the plug because he was on a ventilator, and that was it. Because of COVID and the restrictions of the rules, they immediately carted the body off, and that was it, then we didn’t see him anymore. A very uneventful ending to an eventful life. But you know what? He fought until the very end. I want to think of life in terms of that he never gave up.”
About how he feels now that his brother is gone, Alex said:
“We travel through time, or we travel through existence if you will. And you come, and then you go. It’s part of the natural order of things. I think the real problem, at least from my perceptual standpoint, is that when it happens out of what is the norm, which is a full 75 or 80-year life, and to have it be shorter than that, it doesn’t make sense.”
“Am I angry at it? Yeah, there were times that I have a jealous scream, ‘Ed, what the fuck is wrong with you? What are you doing? Ed, if you stop doing all them damn drugs, you can’t do this to your body and expect to live a full life.'” Alex Van Halen said.
