In a candid interview with Guitar World, legendary Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi shared heartfelt memories of his friendship with Eddie Van Halen and the revolutionary impact Eddie had on the world of guitar playing. Van Halen‘s subject came into the conversation when Iommi was asked about the last guitarist to impress him on a technical level.
“The first one was Eddie Van Halen,” Iommi responded. “When they toured with us early on in their career, I thought he was really good and had come up with something very different for its time. Nowadays you can see how all the technical players have learned from Eddie. The funny thing about him was, much like me, he didn’t read music or anything. It was all from feel. He was inventing stuff just using his ears.”
Iommi also commented on the evolution of guitar techniques, contrasting today’s technical precision with his more intuitive approach: “Some of the guitar playing I hear these days is too technical. You have to be precise on this note or that note. I can’t do that – if I do a solo on a record, it’s never the same live. I can’t reproduce what I did in the studio. I’ll do something similar but not exact.”
Eddie’s admiration for Iommi was equally profound. Reflecting on their connection, Iommi recounted their time on tour together: “He was great. We became really close friends on that tour because we went out for eight months or something like that. He used to come round to my room in the hotel, because we’d often be staying at the same one, and we’d stay up for hours talking. It was lovely, and we stayed friends through the years until he passed. He was a great friend, such a nice guy who did so much for us guitar players. I really liked Eddie.”
When asked if they had ever jammed together, Iommi described a memorable moment during Van Halen’s visit to England: “Yes, we did. Van Halen came over to play in England, so he got in touch with me. He was in Birmingham and wanted to meet, but we were rehearsing that day so I didn’t think we’d get together. Then I suggested he came to rehearsal and he said he’d love to. So that’s what he did.”
“I picked him up at the hotel and we went by the guitar shop so he could bring one along and have a play. It was good. The other guys couldn’t believe it – at the time it was the [“Cross Purposes”, 1994] lineup with Tony Martin, Bobby Rondinelli, and Geezer. I turned up with Eddie and they were like, ‘What’s going on?’ We all ended up having a play together and it was a lot of fun.”
Iommi’s reflections not only honor Van Halen’s legacy but also offer a glimpse into the mutual respect and camaraderie that shaped the unique friendship between the two guitar legends.