18 November 2020
Newsdesk
Wolfgang Van Halen says Van Halen fans need to come to terms with the fact that the band is "impossible" without his late father Eddie Van Halen.
Since the guitar legend's passing following a battle with cancer last month, his son - who played bass in the band from 2007 - is often asked if he will step in his father's shoes and replace him on guitar.
However, the 29-year-old musician has admitted he believes his dad would be annoyed with him if he did Van Halen instead of his own music, while he insisted the band is no more.
Asked if he will fill in for his dad, he said: “No way. That’ll never happen.
“I think a message to the Van Halen fans [would be that] some things just really suck. I don't have a dad anymore and I have to figure out how to process that and deal with it. And, that's the process that Van Halen fans need to go through and realise that you can't have the band anymore without Eddie Van Halen. The music will live on forever, but you can't have [the band] without him. Impossible.”
On why his dad wouldn't want him to do it, he added to 'Entertainment Tonight': “My dad would probably be really p***** off at me if I [took his place,].
“He'd probably be like, ‘What are you doing playing my stuff? Go do your stuff.’ He would've been really upset, like, ‘You have all this music you're sitting on. Why wouldn't you go forward with that?’”
This week, Wolfgang paid tribute to his late father with his new single, 'Distance', from his solo band Mammoth WVH's upcoming album.
The music video for the track also features a touching voicemail left from Eddie to his son and home footage.
Wolfgang said in a press release about the song: “As my pop continued to struggle with various health issues, I was imagining what my life would be like without him and how terribly I’d miss him. While the song is incredibly personal, I think anyone can relate to the idea of having a profound loss in their life.”
Eddie, who was 65 when he died, battled a brain tumour and stage four lung cancer before he passed away.
