Genesis co-founder and Mike + the Mechanics' Mike Rutherford has revealed that he owns a tape of songs he recorded with Eddie Van Halen back in the mid-1980s. Reflecting on this perhaps unlikely collaboration, Rutherford discusses his relationship with Van Halen and sheds light on how these recordings – never released publicly – came to be.
"I think Eddie heard a song from my second solo album [1982’s Acting Very Strange], which I sang – God knows how I thought of this! – and he rang me up and said, ‘Will you do some writing?’ I mean, my voice for God’s sake!” he says on My Planet Rocks.
Rutherford and his gear made their way to Los Angeles, ready to get to work. However, Van Halen had other plans. “He says, ‘Hey Mike, come over about 1:30.’ And I thought, ‘Well, that’s going to work for me, a little lunch.’ [Eddie says] ‘a.m.’ He starts at nighttime and works through the night. I just couldn’t really do that.”
As for what exactly emerged from these nocturnal studio sessions, Rutherford remains vague. “We had some sessions. We wrote some songs. Bits. I’m not quite sure… I can’t find the tape. Quirky stuff, but it was fun to do.”
And if any Van Halen fans are expecting these lost tracks to come out anytime soon – well, don't get your hopes up. As Rutherford explains, “I’ve got two boxes of cassettes. I’m not sure I’m mad enough to go through them! Lots of cassettes.”
He concludes, “But it was fun. I mean, he was a great player. We did some good time (in the studio) but it’s that starting at 1:30-2 a.m. in the morning. It’s not my mode!”
