In one of his last interviews, Eddie Van Halen shared a surprising revelation. During a conversation with The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History and Zócalo Public Square at an event focused on the topic of ‘Is Rock ‘n’ Roll All About Reinvention?’, Van Halen, alongside his son Wolfgang, revealed that the last album he bought with his own money was Peter Gabriel’s “So”. Although he stopped buying music in the mid-1980s, he continued to enjoy listening to AC/DC. This shows his enduring love for music, even after achieving legendary status in the rock world.
In particular, Eddie Van Halen had a deep appreciation for the guitarist Angus Young and AC/DC’s 1978 album, “Powerage”. This album, which came out just two months after Van Halen’s own debut, “Van Halen I,” was in the ideal timeframe when Eddie Van Halen was a budding guitarist, still impressionable, and gaining recognition in the rock scene. Among the tracks on the album, one that consistently resonated with Van Halen was the lesser-known ‘Down Payment Blues’.
Young also confirmed that Van Halen had discussed ‘Riff Raff’ with him before the guitarist’s untimely death in 2020. In an interview with Forbes shortly after Van Halen’s passing, Young discussed the friendship between Van Halen and the members of AC/DC. Specifically, Van Halen wouldn’t stop pestering rhythm guitarist Malcolm Young to add ‘Down Payment Blues’ to the band’s setlists.
“I remember that time because Eddie enjoyed spending time with Mal, Brian, and Cliff. They enjoyed going out, having drinks at the bar, and such,” Young elaborated. “But Malcolm would often say, ‘Eddie keeps asking me repeatedly, ‘Are you going to include ‘Down Payment Blues‘?”
“He adored that song. In fact, the last time I saw him was when we were on tour,” Young stated. “Brian said, ‘Come down to the shows.’ And the first thing he said was, ‘You’ve got to perform ‘Down Payment Blues’. He really liked ‘Riff Raff’ and tracks like that.”
