Alex Van Halen ‘Angry’ Over Eddie & Michael Jackson

While Eddie Van Halen’s solo on Jackson’s 1982 hit “Beat It” is considered by some to be one of the greatest of all times, his brother Alex thinks it was a “mistake” and the beginning of the end of Van Halen.

In a new interview with Rolling Stone in promotion of his upcoming memoir “Brothers,” Alex recalled Eddie’s collaboration with the pop-icon and how he urged him not to do it. Even to this day, Eddie’s decision to work with Jackson irritates him.

“Why would you lend your talents to Michael Jackson? I just don’t f*cking get it,” he said. “And the funny part was that Ed fibbed his way out of it by saying, ‘Oh, who knows that kid anyway?’ You made the mistake! Fess up. Don’t add insult to injury by acting stupid.”

Alex’s disapproval of Eddie’s work on “Beat It” seems to stem from the fact that he believed Van Halen’s members shouldn’t work on outside projects. So, when Eddie broke that rule in 1982, Alex sees it as the first in a chain of events that led David Lee Roth to pursue a solo career and eventually caused the original lineup to split.

Ironically, Eddie didn’t receive payment for his “Beat It” solo, opting instead for a case of beer. “I was not used. I knew what I was doing – I don’t do something unless I want to do it,” Eddie said in a previous interview about the song.

But, Alex see’s Eddie’s work with Jackson as something that cost the band greatly. He believes that creative energy is not something to be wasted, and that his bandmates should have instead focused all of their efforts on Van Halen. When Jackson’s album “Thriller” blocked Van Halen’s “1984” from topping the charts (with the original lineup disbanding shortly thereafter) Alex’s fears were confirmed.

Like many Van Halen fans, Alex believes they made their best music when the band consisted of him, Eddie, David Lee Roth, and bassist Michael Anthony.

“The heart and the soul and the creativity and the magic was Dave, Ed, Mike, and me,” he told Rolling Stone.

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