Eddie Van Halen dies of cancer aged 65 | Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen, guitarist and founding member of the hugely successful rock band named after him and his drummer brother, has died of cancer, his son said on Twitter on Tuesday. He was 65.

“I can’t believe I’m having to write this but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” Wolfgang Van Halen said in the tweet.

“He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift.

“My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss.”

Wolfgang, who became Van Halen’s bassist, added: “I love you so much, Pop.”

Van Halen, born in 1955 in Amsterdam and raised in Pasadena, California, formed the namesake rock band along with brother Alex, bassist Michael Anthony and singer David Lee Roth in 1974.

The group cut their teeth playing in West Hollywood clubs before bursting on the rock scene in 1978 with their self-titled debut album, which ultimately sold over 10 million copies.

The hugely successful rock band went on to sell more than 80 million records worldwide with five multi-platinum albums, their popularity spurred in part by Eddie Van Halen’s innovative and aerobic guitar playing.

The group weathered a split with frontman Roth in 1984 – the same year as their first and only number one single, Jump, was released – and numerous health and addiction issues.

Van Halen, plagued by joint pain exacerbated by antics on stage, underwent a hip replacement in 1999, and the partial removal of his tongue from cancer in 2000. Struggles with drug addiction and alcoholism contributed to his divorce from TV star Valerie Bertinelli in 2007, the same year he began a rehab stay, and reunited with Van Halen, with Wolfgang, 16 at the time, on bass.

He is survived by his second wife Janie Liszewski, the band’s former publicist whom he married in 2009, and his son Wolf.