In a new interview with Classic Rock, Yngwie Malmsteen has looked back on his near-meetings with Eddie Van Halen – and claimed the late electric guitar legend felt threatened by him.
Van Halen had burst onto the scene in the late 1970s, with the likes of Eruption rapidly setting the guitar world alight. Malmsteen, who got his big break thanks to Guitar Player, was hot on his tail, with the pair of six-string speed merchants flipping the industry on its head across a flurry of releases in the ensuring decades.
While taking an in-depth look at his career in the new issue of Classic Rock, Malmsteen says his attempts to meet his fellow shredder were foiled on multiple occasions, as Eddie allegedly did everything he could to avoid him.
“I never said a bad word about him. I never will. Because I think he was amazing,” he says. “But I used to know a guy that worked in the grocery store where Eddie would shop, and the guy would ask him: ‘Hey, what do you think about Yngwie Malmsteen, the new Swedish kid?’ And Eddie would say: ‘I don't know who that is.’
“Meanwhile,” he continues, “Dave Roth told me that Eddie would have his ghetto blaster, playing my shit on it all day long!”
Of course, Roth has a track record of making questionable claims about the Van Halen camp, so it might be wise to take that particular anecdote with a pinch of salt. The same goes for the second-hand tale from the grocery store worker. But Malmsteen's recollection doesn't stop there.
“There's one time I remember when I was nominated for a Grammy [in 1986], and I go to the show – I had my tux on and everything – and I see Eddie there,” he goes on. “I’m waving at him, trying to get his attention, and he sees me... and he runs away. He literally ran away!”
Malmsteen just wanted to chat with another guitarist with a reputation as hot as his.
“I have an even more incredible story,” he then says. “I was doing a concert festival in Holland, and Van Halen was headlining. I'm like: ‘Great, I finally get to meet Eddie and give him my concerto’. Because I'm proud of my concerto, you know?
“But I find out they canceled the show. They said Alex Van Halen had broken his little finger or something. And then I hear that the promoter got a phone call from Eddie himself, who said: ‘Just to let you know, if Yngwie Malmsteen is playing, I'm not playing. And I will never fucking play the same stage as Yngwie Malmsteen.’
“I'm like: ‘What?’ He obviously felt threatened. Which is crazy to me. You're fucking Eddie Van Halen! Nobody could threaten you!”
The guitarist was asked about comparisons between him and Van Halen early on in their careers when speaking to Aftershocks TV in 2021 but was quick to dismiss the value in drawing parallels.
“I don't believe in comparing anybody with anybody, because it's supposed to be an artform,” he said. “However, in art, in any art, there will be trendsetters – people who come around and turn everything upside down, and Edward was definitely one of them. And I brought something different to the table also.
“I personally loved Eddie Van Halen – I thought he was amazing. I loved everything he did since the first time I heard him. But I don't think it's a logical thing to compare artists. It's like Picasso and Da Vinci, which are completely different styles, but they're very well-regarded artists in their own right. It's a crazy thing to do.”
Grab a copy of Classic Rock from Magazines Direct to read Yngwie Malmsteen’s interview in full. The issue also features stories on Mike Campbell, Pearl Jam, and Fleetwood Mac.
