People love connecting dots and finding resemblances between iconic fathers and their sons; after all, we have the famous saying, ‘like father, like son.’ However, many wished for Wolfgang Van Halen to be more than just like Eddie; they wanted the younger Van Halen to become his dad and not let him take a step out of his father’s mighty shadow. So, Justin Hawkins had a few things to say about this while chatting with Rick Beato.
If your father’s a famous rocker, there might be this distinct possibility that people will want to associate and compare your dad’s every move to yours, wish that you never step out of their shadow and turn into little, less significant versions of them. You see, due to all of the comparisons, Julian Lennon had to make an entire name change to feel like he was finally free from John’s image.
There’s also the possibility that people might accuse you of nepotism, as Noel Gallagher’s children had been blamed for. And, when you’re the son of a legend such as Eddie Van Halen, all of these comparisons and accusations might come as a starter pack as people wish Wolf to carry on his dad’s legacy, and he’s been doing his best. However, the problem is that they didn’t want the younger Van Halen to have his own identity but only to mimic Eddie. So, Justin Hawkins had to address the controversy.
“There’s a strange community, though. I’ve seen a lot of the stuff that Wolfgang’s had to deal with,” started Justin as he discussed the ‘strange community’ that wanted Wolfgang to mimic Eddie at every chance he got. “I just, I can’t understand how this culture around that band makes people think they can speak to him like that.”
The singer continued by stating that Van Halen wished to find his own musical identity rather than playing his dad’s songs or reuniting Van Halen. Hawkins said, “I mean, after everything that he’s contributed and been through and how brilliant he is in his own right… because he wants to do his own stuff, and it’s the whole thing of all, but you know, [they say] ‘You should do your dad’s licks,’ and [sing] ‘your dad’s songs’ and everything else.”
So, Justin felt that it was not fair for people to ask Wolf to imitate Eddie when all he wanted to do was to carry on his father’s legacy, not through becoming him but through finding his own musical identity and making a name for himself with his talent. Surely, Eddie would have wanted the best for his son.
