Yngwie Malmsteen claimed Eddie Van Halen avoided him and pretended not to know about him in the ’80s, arguing that the late guitar hero felt “threatened”.

When Van Halen erupted in 1978 with their self-titled debut album, Eddie Van Halen was hailed as the next-gen virtuoso who would carry rock guitar to new heights. It didn’t take long for the “Eruption” mastermind to do just that, and by the early ’80s, he was already considered a living saint of electric guitar, alongside the late Ozzy Osbourne icon, Randy Rhoads. Although he too eventually became known as one of the hottest players to come out of the ’80s scene, Yngwie Malmsteen was slightly later to the game, having debuted in the US scene with Alcatrazz in 1983, before establishing himself as a solo artist with 1984’s “Rising Force”.

Speaking to Classic Rock in a new interview, however, Malmsteen claimed Van Halen pretended like he hadn’t heard of him, while allegedly listening to his music “all day long” (via Guitar.com):

“I never said a bad word about him. I never will. Because I think he was amazing. But I used to know a guy who worked in the grocery store where Eddie would shop, and the guy would ask him: ‘Hey, what do you think about Yngwie Malmsteen, the new Swedish kid?’ And Eddie would say: ‘I don’t know who that is.'”

“Meanwhile, Dave Roth told me that Eddie would have his ghetto blaster, playing my shit on it all day long.”

According to the Sweden-born guitarist, Van Halen allegedly went out of his way to avoid contact with Malmsteen at the 1986 Grammys, where Malmsteen was in the running for Best Rock Instrumental Performance:

“I go to the show – I had my tux on and everything – and I see Eddie there. I’m waving at him, trying to get his attention, and he sees me… and he runs away. He literally ran away!”

Malmsteen claimed that Van Halen went as far as cancelling their headlining set at a festival in Holland, only to avoid sharing the stage with him:

“I was doing a concert festival in Holland, and Van Halen were headlining. I’m like, ‘Great, I finally get to meet Eddie and give him my concerto.’ Because I’m proud of my concerto, you know?'”

“But I find out they cancelled the show. They said Alex Van Halen had broken his little finger or something. And then I hear that the promoter got a phone call from Eddie himself, who said: ‘Just to let you know, if Yngwie Malmsteen is playing, I’m not playing. And I will never fucking play the same stage as Yngwie Malmsteen.'”

“I’m like, ‘What?’ He obviously felt threatened. Which is crazy to me. You’re fucking Eddie Van Halen. No one could threaten you!”

During an appearance on the March 19 episode of SiriusXM‘s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk”, legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen was asked about his decision to step into the world of health and wellness with his latest creation: the Yngwie Malmsteen’s Force multivitamin supplement gummies. He said: “ Well, in order for you to be in good health, you need to take supplements. And I’ve always done that. And so the reason I put my line out is because I want other people to do it too. And it really works. I highly recommend it.

When host Eddie Trunk noted that it’s a “nice move” for Yngwie to go the “health-conscious” route instead of doing what many other rock musicians have done by releasing their own lines of liquor or beer or weed, Malmsteen said: “Well, because that’s what I do. I don’t drink. I don’t do drugs. I don’t believe in it. Listen, if you wanna do that, go ahead. Be my guest. But I prefer not to do it. And also I think it’s great to let people know — take your vitamins, and it really works.”