Wolfgang Van Halen confirms Van Halen will never return without his father

News
By
published

The son of the late guitar hero once again shuts down rumors that he'll take Eddie Van Halen's place in the band

[L-R] Wolfgang Van Halen and Eddie Van Halen
(Image credit: Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Wolfgang Van Halen has said Van Halen will never return without his father, Eddie.

Replying to a tweet – which has since been deleted – from one of several commentators asking whether Wolfgang would ever reform the band, he said: “I can confidently say I will NEVER replace my father in Van Halen and tour around the world disrespecting my father’s memory.

“No EVH = No VH. Get the fuck over it, but if you can’t, just quit bothering me about it and demanding I do it when I’ve made it very clear how I feel.”

He then added in a follow-up Tweet: “And ESPECIALLY quit acting all high and mighty like this turkey like I would throw away my morals for the right price. Fuck off, bro.”

Eddie Van Halen tragically passed away this year at the age of 65 following a long battle with cancer. Wolfgang had played with Van Halen from their reunion in 2007 to the time of the guitar icon's death.

Last month, Wolfgang Van Halen dedicated Distance – the emotionally charged debut single from his solo project, Mammoth WVH – to his late father.

Wolfgang also recently warned fans “not to hold their breath” about the prospect of him releasing any of Eddie's old recordings. 

Speaking to The Oakland Press, he said: “That's not gonna happen for a long time. I have no idea what's in there that would be worth releasing; to a certain extent my dad released all the good stuff.

“Even without the intention to release I want to archive it properly and digitize it so everything is safe for years to come.”

The 29-year-old musician admitted he feels like releasing his father's archived recordings “just seems like a cash grab.”

Sam Roche
Sam Roche

Sam was Staff Writer at GuitarWorld.com from 2019 to 2023, and also created content for Total Guitar, Guitarist and Guitar Player. He has well over 15 years of guitar playing under his belt, as well as a degree in Music Technology (Mixing and Mastering). He's a metalhead through and through, but has a thorough appreciation for all genres of music. In his spare time, Sam creates point-of-view guitar lesson videos on YouTube under the name Sightline Guitar.