Brian May blown away first meeting Eddie Van Halen ‘He was like Jimi Hendrix’

It was 40 years ago when Brian May called up Eddie Van Halen on a whim to record a mini-album called Star Fleet Sessions.

A remastered re-release of the special team-up of the guitarists with Phil Chen, Alan Gratzer and Fred Mandel is set to come out next month and the Queen legend has been reflecting on its creation.

In a new interview, the 75-year-old shared memories of first being introduced to the late Van Halen, who died in 2020, by Black Sabbath’s guitarist.

Sir Brian said: “Ed Van Halen was a phenomenon and I guess that hardly needs saying.

“I met him for the first time through Tony Iommi, my great friend from Black Sabbath, when I was watching the two of them and Van Halen were opening up for Black Sabbath. I mean, that was something to see.”

Sir Brian continued: “It was in the Circus Crone in Munich, and I hadn’t seen Tony for a while, and I’d never seen Van Halen.  

“Luckily, I got there in time to see him play, and I was just like, ‘Wow, what is this? What is this guy? What is he doing?’ I can’t even begin to, to figure out how his fingers are moving, what he’s doing.

“It was a bit like seeing Jimi Hendrix for the first time. I’m like, ‘How does anyone do that? What has he got that is so magical that we’ve never seen before?’”

Sir Brian added: “And Edward was incredible that night. And we all got together, Tony and me and Ed you know, and then I guess there was an instant bonding because Ed told us both that he’d been massively influenced by us, which is great. So we had lots to talk about and I guess we became friends.”

Brian May + Friends: Star Fleet Sessions 2-CD, Vinyl Single & LP Deluxe Box Set Gold Series Release is out on July 14, 2023 and can be pre-ordered here.