The Police co-founder and guitarist Andy Summers talked in an interview with Johnny Beane about the late legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen. The musician praised the Dutch-American guitarist and said that his technique was incredible, but he never had the chance to watch him performing live.
The Police’s Andy Summers gives his opinion on Eddie Van Halen
“I do think Eddie Van Halen was a great player. Wonderful. So musical. Amazing. An absolute one-off. I never saw them (Van Halen perform), but of course, I was aware of his (Eddie’s) playing you know as they surfaced early on.
“(He was a) freak you know? This playing that he sort of invented. I mean, brilliant. (He was) heavily copied of course. It’s like the school of Van Halen but no one’s done it better than him as far as I’m concerned.
He continued:
“He was a soulful player, bluesy you know? He had his thing. He could really play as well as (doing) all the tapping stuff, which he was absolute virtuoso,” Andy Summers said.
Eddie Van Halen sadly passed away back in 2020 at the age of 65 after years battling cancer. Andy Summers will celebrate next December his 81 birthday and he already toured in South, Central and North America in 2023 with his project Call the Police, which plays material from The Police.
The Police was formed in 1977 and lasted until 1986, reuniting in 2007 and 2008 when the group made a successful reunion tour. They released five studio albums and have sold an estimated amount of more than 75 million records worldwide. Sting recently said that they band won’t reunite anymore.
After the end of the group, all the three members Sting, Andy Summers and Stewart Copeland started their solo careers and have collaborated with many artists over the decades.