Legendary drummer Alex Van Halen celebrated his 68th birthday on Saturday, May 8th, and it was the first birthday since he was three years old, that he celebrated without his brother Eddie.
Eddie, of course, died late last year at 65 from complications with his cancer. The Van Halen news desk tweeted a great photo of the brothers with a message from Alex that read “First birthday without you, Ed. The view from my drum set will never be the same. VH forever!”
According to multiple sources, Van Halen was plotting a massive farewell tour a few years back that unfortunately never came to fruition due to Eddie's health. Eddie's son Wolfgang has also made it super clear the band will not carry on without Eddie, though there may be a tribute concert in the future.
In December, Eddie's official cause of death, according to the certificate, was revealed to be cerebrovascular accident, or CVA – the scientific term for a stroke. The certificate stated Eddie was also suffering from lung cancer, pneumonia, and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), a bone marrow disorder.
TMZ noted that Eddie was cremated and his ashes were delivered to his son, Wolfgang. The article notes that Eddie's wishes were that his ashes be spread in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Malibu.
