Eddie Vedder Finally Opens Up About Chris Cornell

According to The Pulse Of Radio, PEARL JAM frontman Eddie Vedder finally and poignantly addressed the death of SOUNDGARDEN's Chris Cornell during a concert in London on Tuesday night (June 6). While Vedder has indirectly referenced Cornell's death during the shows on his current European tour, this marked the first time that he spoke about it at length — although according to a transcript posted at a PEARL JAM fan forum, he never mentioned Cornell by name.

He said in part: "I want to be there for the family, be there for the community, be there for my brothers in my band, certainly the brothers in his band. But these things will take time, but my friend is going to be gone forever and I will just have to... These things take time and I just want to send this out to everyone who was affected by it, and they all back home and here appreciate it so deeply, the support and the good thoughts of a man who was a… you know, he wasn't just a friend, he was someone I looked up to like my older brother."

Vedder also admitted that two days after Cornell's death on May 18, he woke up in the middle of the night with memories filling his mind. He explained, "I couldn't stop the memories... And I didn't want to be sad — I wanted to be grateful, not sad. I'm still thinking about those memories and I will live with those memories in my heart and I will love him forever."

The audience at the show gave Vedder a standing ovation when he had finished his remarks.

Vedder got his first big break when he sang a duet with Cornell on the song "Hunger Strike" from the self-titled album by TEMPLE OF THE DOG. Vedder had just joined the band that soon became PEARL JAM, although he was still essentially an unknown at the time.