According to his brother Alex Van Halen, there’s a nickname that Eddie Van Halen hated, and that was actually what those outside their inner circle often called him – “Eddie.”
Talk Is Jericho host Chris Jericho referred to Van Halen as “Ed” as that’s how he was often addressed by his bandmates, though to the world he was often known as Eddie.
“He hated it,” admitted Alex Van Halen to Jericho. “He’s lucky they didn’t call him something else.”
“He didn’t like it, but it was something that just sort of became his name so to speak,” said the drummer. “He preferred Edward.”
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Just prior to the discussion of Edward Van Halen hating “Eddie,” Alex admitted there was even some trepidation early on about using their family name as the moniker for the band. Today it’s a well established brand that conjures up a good time party vibe thanks to the music, but it wasn’t necessarily a slam dunk to be chosen.
“You can give credit to that to Dave [Lee Roth], believe it or not. He’s the one who had suggested it,” revealed Alex Van Halen.
“A few years after we had started getting some kind of recognition in the area, Gene Simmons said, ‘It sounds like a shirt company.’ He wanted Virus or something, but with all due respect, he’s been there. You take his opinion with a little more weight than someone who’s not done it before. But it just didn’t sound right. We stuck with Van Halen.”
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Speaking to how it initially felt using the Van Halen name, Alex explained, “It sounded awkward in terms of being egomaniacal. That just wasn’t who Ed and I were. But we kind of warmed up to it and the rest is history.”
Offering a little background on the name, Alex commented, “The actual name means that you came from a town called Halen. If you go through genealogical searches, the Van is just a preface. It’s the equivalent of Mac in Scottish names. It’s son of or from so and so. So we are from Halen.”
“I tried to get the coat of arms so we could add one more dimension to the way we’re perceived, but Holland wouldn’t do it,” the drummer added. “You have to live here for a while. You can’t mail it in. So that’ll have to wait.”
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Gallery Credit: Jordan Blum