The Dutch-American guitarist, who formed Van Halen with his brother Alex in 1972, was famed for his energetic live performances and inventive, self-taught guitar techniques. The glam metal band secured a gold certification in Britain for their eponymous debut album, and notched up a clutch of UK hit singles including Jump and Why Can’t This Be Love.

Queen guitarist Brian May, who collaborated with Eddie Van Halen on Brian May + Friends’ 1983 standalone album Star Fleet Project,  described the metaller as “probably the most original and dazzling rock guitarist in history” in a emotional Instagram post.

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Completely gutted to hear the sad news. This wonderful man was way too young to be taken. What a talent – what a legacy – probably the most original and dazzling rock guitarist in History. I think of him as a boy – an innocent prodigy – always full of joy, always modest – and those truly magical fingers opened a door to a new kind of playing. I treasure the moments we shared. His passing leaves a giant hole in my heart. RIP Ed Van Halen. Bri

A post shared by Brian Harold May (@brianmayforreal) on Oct 6, 2020 at 3:08pm PDT

Yorkshire rock stalwarts Def Leppard – who sparred with Van Halen for metal supremacy in the 1980s – were also keen to pay tribute to their genre stablemate on Instagram. Leppard frontman Joe Elliot said “I saw Van Halen destroy Sabbath at the Sheffield City Hall in 1977 … Eddie was a big part of that, having essentially reinvented guitar playing just like Jimi Hendrix had done a generation earlier …. I had the pleasure of being on the same bill as Van Halen 7 years ago when Kings Of Chaos were on the same bill at the Stone Music Festival in Australia. I’m happy to say that his playing that night was as good as it’s ever been, he certainly shook things up when he came on the scene …. Rest In Peace Eddie.”

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Very sad to hear about the passing of @eddievanhalen. You will be missed. #RIPEddieVanHalen “I saw Van Halen destroy Sabbath at the Sheffield City Hall in 1977 … Eddie was a big part of that, having essentially reinvented guitar playing just like Jimi Hendrix had done a generation earlier …. I had the pleasure of being on the same bill as Van Halen 7 years ago when Kings Of Chaos were on the same bill at the Stone Music Festival in Australia. I’m happy to say that his playing that night was as good as it’s ever been, he certainly shook things up when he came on the scene …. Rest In Peace Eddie” – Joe Elliott “I distinctly remember the first moment I heard Eddie play. A good friend, also a guitarist, had just bought the first Van Halen album and came by my house and told me that I urgently needed to hear this. He wasn’t wrong; it was a moment that redefined everything that I thought was possible about playing the guitar. The goalposts had just been moved. I stayed up all that night trying to learn from Eddie. Many, many decades later, and I’m still learning from Eddie.” – Vivian Campbell Photo Credit: @markweissguy #EddieVanHalen @vanhalen

A post shared by Def Leppard (@defleppard) on Oct 6, 2020 at 2:10pm PDT

Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osborne paid his respects to Van Halen in an NME interview, saying “…one thing I loved about Eddie was he always had a big grin on his face, and he looked like he was enjoying every second he was up there. Whether it was showbiz bullshit or not — I don’t think it was — he always looked like he was having the best time of his life up there.”

There were also warm words from some more unexpected British sources. Elton John took to Instagram to call Van Halen “an amazing talent and a gentle, lovely man“; while legendary Leicester crooner Engelbert Humperdinck tweeted that the late guitarist was  a “wonderful entertainer”.

Van Halen’s death yesterday coincided with that of singer-songwriter Johnny Nash, who scored UK hit singles with I Can See Clearly Now, Tears On My Pillow and Hold Me Tight. Culture Club frontman Boy George was among those to pay tribute to the reggae star, tweeting that Nash was “one of the greatest“.