Eddie Van Halen has died of cancer, aged 65.
Van Halen’s son, Wolfgang, who became the bassist of the band named after his father when they reunited in 2007, announced the news via Twitter on Tuesday (October 6). "I can’t believe I’m having to write this but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning," he wrote.
"He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss."
David Lee Roth, Van Halen’s vocalist, also paid tribute to the guitarist on Twitter, sharing a photo of the two of them alongside the caption: "What a Long Great Trip It’s Been."
Van Halen was born in 1955 in Amsterdam, and raised in Pasadena, California. It was there that he formed Van Halen with his brother Alex, bassist Michael Anthony and singer David Lee Roth in 1974, after the group met while attending Pasadena City College.
They played around a number of West Hollywood clubs before releasing their self-titled debut album in 1978, which would go on to sell more than 10m copies. Five more albums followed between the years of 1979 and 1984, with the final of those, 1984, featuring one of the band’s biggest hits in ‘Jump’. It was during this run that Eddie Van Halen also laid down the signature guitar solo that features on Michael Jackson’s 1982 hit ‘Beat It’.
Van Halen is survived by his second wife, Janie Liszewski, and son Wolfgang.
