Fan asks stranger to take his picture at Tool show… has no idea it was Eddie Van Halen

Eddie Van Halen
Eddie Van Halen (Image credit: Gabriel Olsen/FilmMagic - Getty)

Eddie Van Halen and his son Wolfgang attended Tool’s show at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Monday night.

And while the guitarist and bassist were there to see Maynard James Keenan and co play tracks from their new album Fear Inoculum, Eddie got a surprise when a fan approached the guitar wizard for a photograph.

The man wanted Eddie to take his picture, but had no idea he was asking one of rock’s most famous guitarists.

Wolfgang captured the moment on camera and uploaded it to Twitter explaining: "A guy asked my dad if he could take a picture of him with the stage behind him, having no idea who he just asked. That was my favourite moment from the Tool show last night.”

Wolfgang later posted several shots of the show saying: “Tool was phenomenal as always last night.”

There’s been much speculation surrounding Eddie’s health recently, with some online reports suggesting he’s undergoing treatment for throat cancer, although there’s been no official news from the guitarist’s camp.

Earlier this month, Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth caused a stir when he said he thought the band was “finished” with the vocalist adding: “Van Halen isn’t going to be coming back in the fashion that you know. That being said, Eddie Van Halen’s got his own story to tell – it’s not mine to tell.”

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Scott Munro
Louder e-commerce editor

Scott has spent more than 30 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in the summer of 2014 before moving to the e-commerce team in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, scouts out the best deals for music fans and reviews headphones, speakers, books and more. He's written more than 11,000 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog and has previous written for publications including IGN, the Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from daily news and weekly features, to video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.