Van Halen streams increase by over 1,300% following Eddie Van Halen’s death
Van Halen‘s music streams in the US have increased by over 1,300% since the death of the band’s guitarist Eddie Van Halen, figures have revealed.
Eddie’s passing was confirmed on Tuesday (October 6) by his son, Wolfgang, who revealed that the 65-year-old had lost his long battle with throat cancer.
“I can’t believe I’m having to write this, but my father, Edward Lodewijk Van Halen, has lost his long and arduous battle with cancer this morning,” he said in a statement on Twitter.
“He was the best father I could ever ask for. Every moment I’ve shared with him on and off stage was a gift. My heart is broken and I don’t think I’ll ever fully recover from this loss. I love you so much, Pop.”
It has now been revealed that in the days following the guitarist’s death, streams of Van Halen’s catalogue surged by over 1,300% in the US, according to initial reports from Nielsen Music/MRC Data (via Billboard).
The band’s collected songs songs earned 31.19 million streams from October 6-7 – up 1,369% compared to 2.12 million clicks on October 4-5.
Van Halen’s top five most-streamed songs during that same period were ‘Jump’ with 2.33 million streams (a gain of 554% compared to the previous two days), followed by ‘Panama’ (1.97 million, up 653%), ‘Runnin’ With The Devil’ (1.78 million, up 925%), ‘Hot For Teacher’ (1.51 million, up 1,044%) and ‘Eruption’ (1.37 million, up 2,662%).
As far as sales go, the group’s songs and albums grew by 4,896% to 112,000 (from 2,000 sold on October 3-5).
Meanwhile, fans have been sharing footage of Eddie Van Halen‘s final live performance with Van Halen, following the death of the legendary guitarist.
In addition to the thousands of messages, memories and photographs of the guitarist that have been shared, people have also been sharing videos of Eddie performing live, including his final performance with the band at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles on October 4, 2015.