Van Halen Covers Queen In 1975, Eddie Outshines Them All

Even Van Halen Had To Start Somewhere!

Before Van Halen took over the world with their rowdy, party boy approach to rock and roll, the boys got their start as a cover band. Instead of shredding hits like ‘Panama’ and ‘Hot For Teacher,’ their humble beginnings included tributes to the music of their youths that made them want to play music in the first place. This mega rare, previously unreleased recording from 1975 features the boys performing a rowdy rendition of Queen’s ‘Now I’m Here’ that’s equal parts Van Halen and equal parts Queen; California meets the UK in the best of ways!

Fun Fact: This is where Eddie Van Halen honed his skills as a lead guitarist and developed a lead voice in the band.

As early as 1975, Eddie Van Halen was still playing power chords but still showed incredible promise; while he wasn’t playing the blistering solos he’d later become a legend for, this audio of ‘Now I’m Here’ lets you hear the beginnings of such a phenomenal skill. He easily slides right into one of Queen guitarist Brian May’s iconic solos not once but twice, but you can still hear Eddie in it – an amazing feat for someone so young, and in a cover band no less!