Alex Van Halen

In this intimate and open account – nothing like any rock-and-roll memoir you’ve ever read – Alex Van Halen shares his personal story of family, friendship, music and brotherly love in a remarkable tribute to his beloved brother and band mate. ‘A remarkable memoir’ Classic Rock ‘A highly emotional read’ Guardian In his rough yet sweet voice, Alex recounts the brothers’ childhood, first in the Netherlands and then in working class Pasadena, California, with an itinerant musician father and a very proper Indonesian-born mother – the kind of mum who admonished her boys to “always wear a suit” no matter how famous they became – a woman who was both proud and practical, nonchalant about taking a doggie bag from a star-studded dinner. He also shares tales of musical politics, infighting, and plenty of bad-boy behaviour. But mostly his is a story of brotherhood, music, and enduring love. "I was with him from day one,” Alex writes. “We shared the experience of coming to America and figuring out how to fit in. We shared a record player, an 800 square foot house, a mom and dad, and a work ethic. Later, we shared the back of a tour bus, alcoholism, the experience of becoming famous, of becoming fathers and uncles, and of spending more hours in the studio than I’ve spent doing anything else in this life. We shared a depth of understanding that most people can only hope to achieve in a lifetime." There has never been an accurate account of them or the band, and Alex wants to set the record straight on Edward’s life and death.

"[...] en känslosam, gripande och intim biografi [...] ett måste för alla oss som älskar bandet Van Halen."- Henric Ahlgren, BTJ, betyg 4 av 5 Intimt, ärligt och öppet om syskonkärlek, sorg och rock n roll. Alex Van Halens Bröder liknar ingen annan rockbiografi. För första gången kommer hela berättelsen om de nederländska bröderna Edward och Alex och Van Halen och det legendariska bandet de startade efter den tidiga flytten till USA. Den nu 71-årige trummisen Alex Van Halen delar med sig av sin personliga historia om familj, vänskap, musik och kärlek i en hyllning till sin älskade bror och bandmedlem, Edward (1955-2020). Skriven medan han fortfarande sörjde sin brors för tidiga död. I samarbete med den hyllade The New Yorker-skribenten Ariel Levy vill Alex sammanfatta sin brors liv, gärning och död. Alex berättar om brödernas barndom, först i Nederländerna och sedan i arbetarklassens Pasadena i Kalifornien, med en kringresande musiker till far och en mycket proper indonesiskfödd mor. Han delar också med sig av berättelser om musikpolitik, inbördes strider och en uppsjö av dåligt manligt beteende. "Jag var med honom från dag ett", skriver Alex om sin bror. "Vi delade erfarenheten av att komma till det här landet och fundera på hur man skulle passa in. Vi delade en skivspelare, ett hus på 800 kvadratmeter, en mamma och pappa och en arbetsmoral. Senare delade vi baksätet på en turnébuss, alkoholism, erfarenheten av att bli känd, att bli pappa och farbror och att tillbringa fler timmar i studion än jag har gjort med något annat i det här livet. Vi delade en djup förståelse som de flesta människor bara kan hoppas på att uppnå under en livstid." Bröder innehåller också aldrig tidigare visade foton från Alex Van Halens privata arkiv. "En riktigt bra historia som inget Van Halen-fan har råd att missa." - Peter Johansson, Rocknytt

In this intimate and open account - nothing like any rock-and-roll memoir you've ever read - Alex Van Halen shares his personal story of family, friendship, music and brotherly love in a remarkable tribute to his beloved brother and band mate.

In this intimate and open account - nothing like any rock-and-roll memoir you've ever read - Alex Van Halen shares his personal story of family, friendship, music and brotherly love in a remarkable tribute to his beloved brother and band mate.

In this intimate and open account – nothing like any rock-and-roll memoir you’ve ever read – Alex Van Halen shares his personal story of family, friendship, music and brotherly love in a remarkable tribute to his beloved brother and band mate. ‘A remarkable memoir’ Classic Rock ‘A highly emotional read’ Guardian In his rough yet sweet voice, Alex recounts the brothers’ childhood, first in the Netherlands and then in working class Pasadena, California, with an itinerant musician father and a very proper Indonesian-born mother – the kind of mum who admonished her boys to “always wear a suit” no matter how famous they became – a woman who was both proud and practical, nonchalant about taking a doggie bag from a star-studded dinner. He also shares tales of musical politics, infighting, and plenty of bad-boy behaviour. But mostly his is a story of brotherhood, music, and enduring love. "I was with him from day one,” Alex writes. “We shared the experience of coming to America and figuring out how to fit in. We shared a record player, an 800 square foot house, a mom and dad, and a work ethic. Later, we shared the back of a tour bus, alcoholism, the experience of becoming famous, of becoming fathers and uncles, and of spending more hours in the studio than I’ve spent doing anything else in this life. We shared a depth of understanding that most people can only hope to achieve in a lifetime." There has never been an accurate account of them or the band, and Alex wants to set the record straight on Edward’s life and death.