“We left a lot unfinished,” Alex Van Halen told journalist Tonya Mosley in a brand new interview with NPR.
Alex was the featured guest on NPR’s Fresh Air segment to discuss his book Brothers. He discussed what it was like with he and brother Edward growing up in Pasadena, how Edward found his voice as a guitar player, David Lee Roth’s contribution to Van Halen, Edward’s decision to contribute a guitar solo on Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”, and what could have been if Roth remained with the band.
“[Eddie’s collaboration with Michael Jackson] really was not the single thing [that broke up the band] because things were already starting to unravel,” said Alex. “When we named the album 1984, it had nothing to do with the year. It had to do with George Orwell and the dystopia of what was going on. This band was so fractured, we barely ever played together anymore. And unfortunately, MTV became the predominant way of conveying all this. And Dave being the visible guy naturally opted for more visual stuff. I don’t blame him for any of it, but it’s just too bad [because] we were on the cusp of something really, really big. … Nobody fights better than friends.”
Alex Van Halen’s NPR Interview
Brothers is OUT NOW! Fans who order directly from Van Halen Store will receive our Exclusive Photo Print Collection (pictured above) of the young Van Halen brothers!