Rediscovered After 31 Years: Eddie Van Halen’s Long Lost “Canadian Flag” Guitar

This is Eddie Van Halen’s “Canadian Flag” guitar, it’s a 1993 Ernie Ball Music Man electric guitar that was used by Van Halen in a famous Canada Day concert in on July 1st, 1993. It would disappear from public view after the concert and remain tucked away for over three decades.

The guitar was recently rediscovered by specialists at Julien’s and it’s now due to be offered for sale with its black hardshell case, an original 1993 concert ticket, and photographs of the performance. The proceeds from the sale will go to City of Hope, a leading research and treatment center for cancer and other life-threatening diseases.

Above Video: This is the full Canada Day concert filmed in Barrie, Ontario, Canada on July 1st, 1993. It’s some of the shakiest footage ever recorded but it does show the event and the audio isn’t quite as bad as the video.

Eddie Van Halen is regarded by many as one of the greatest guitarists in rock history, if not the greatest outright. He founded a band called Mammoth in 1972 with his brother Alex Van Halen, two years later the name would change to the eponymous “Van Halen” and David Lee Roth joined as the lead singer.

The album, also named “Van Halen” was released in 1978 and quickly became a major success, it’s now regarded as one of the greatest debut albums in rock music.

The band and its members would become some of the most iconic rock stars of the era, and their influence would help shape the future of both rock and pop music across the United States and around the world. David Lee Roth would leave the band in 1985 to embark on a solo career and would be replaced by Sammy Hagar.

With Hagar on lead vocals, Van Halen would release four US number one, multi-platinum albums over the course of 11 years, forever cementing themselves as one of the greatest rock bands in history.

Eddie Van Halen’s origins were more humble than most, he was born in Amsterdam to a Dutch father and a Dutch/Indonesian mother. His parents faced repeated racism due to their interracial relationship, and moved the family to California in 1962 in the hopes of a better life.

“We came here with approximately $50 and a piano, and we didn’t speak the language. Now look where we are. If that’s not the American dream, what is?” – Eddie Van Halen

Tragically, Eddie Van Halen would struggle with alcoholism and drug addiction for much of his life, having started smoking and drinking at the age of 12. He suffered from a number of health issues later in life and was diagnosed with tongue cancer in the year 2000. Years later he would be diagnosed with both throat cancer and lung cancer, and he died at the age of 65 in 2020.

Van Halen’s own years-long battles with cancer are the reason the proceeds from the sale of this guitar are going to be donated to City of Hope, one of the most advanced cancer research and treatment organizations in the United States.

The instrument shown in this article is a 1993 Ernie Ball Music Man Eddie Van Halen Signature guitar, it was co-developed by the team at Ernie Ball with Eddie Van Halen, which has made it a popular model due to the guitarist’s reputation as one of the greatest to ever pick up a six string.

As noted in the introduction, this is the Canada Flag custom guitar that was memorably played by Van Halen in the 1993 Canada Day concert in Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Though he wasn’t Canadian himself, it was a sign of respect to nation, and the crowd absolutely loved it (as you can see and hear in the footage above).

The guitar is now due to be sold through Julien’s in late November as part of the “Played, Worn, & Torn” auction. You can read more about it here, at the time of writing there is no price guide.

Images courtesy of Julien’s