Mike Rutherford says he recorded music with Edward Van Halen in the mid-80s and has the tape to prove it. He just needs to find it.
“I think Eddie heard a song from my second solo album (1982’s Acting Very Strange) which I sang,” Rutherford [Genesis, Mike + The Mechanics] said during an appearance on My Planet Rocks. “And he rang me up and said, ‘Will you do some writing?’ I mean, my voice for god’s sake! Anyway, I get to LA, and we arrive there and bring some gear with me and go into his studio. And he says, ‘Hey Mike, come over about 1:30.’ And I thought, ‘Well, that’s going to work for me, a little lunch.’ (Eddie says) ‘am.’ He starts at nighttime and works through the night. I just couldn’t really do that.
“We had some sessions,” Rutherford continued. “We wrote some songs. Bits. I’m not quite sure… I can’t find the tape. Quirky stuff, but it was fun to do. I’ve got two boxes of cassettes. I’m not sure I’m mad enough to go through them! Lots of cassettes. But it was fun. I mean, he was a great player. We did some good time (in the studio) but it’s that starting at 1:30/2am in the morning. It’s not my mode.”