That time Alex Van Halen told me how ideas for Van Halen songs sprang from Eddie just noodling around

By Steve Newton

When I interviewed Alex Van Halen on August 9, 1995, Van Halen was in the midst of a North American tour in support of its tenth album, the Bruce Fairbairn-produced Balance.

As on all Van Halen albums, the songwriting credits on Balance were shared between all four members.

At one point in the conversation I asked Alex how much input he had personally into the writing of the band’s tunes, which led to some interesting commentary on how Van Halen creates its music.

Have a listen:

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