OZZY OSBOURNE Recalls Eddie Van Halen Asking Him To Sing For VAN HALEN

Ozzy Osbourne had a conversation with Billy Morrison for a new episode of “Ozzy Speaks” on SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard.

In this episode, Ozzy talked about Eddie Van Halen:

“You think you’ve seen it all. Then out of the blue, somebody comes out with such a revolutionized way of playing. To watch Eddie play was, like — his hands would turn into a spider. It was remarkable. He always made it look like it was so easy.”

Asked if he and Eddie ever had a chance to work together beyond just sharing the stage on various tours and festivals, Ozzy said

: “No, no, no. He phoned me up one time and asked me if I wanted to sing in his band — way after Sammy [Hagar had left the band]. I think he was a bit drunk. We’ve all done one of them — calling at four o’clock in the morning, going, [makes unintelligible sound].”

One day after Eddie‘s passing, Ozzy told Rolling Stone:

“The last time I spent any serious time with Eddie was on the last official Black Sabbath tour I did in ’79, when they opened up for us. They were such good guys to be around. We had such fun. Every time I ever saw Eddie Van Halen, it was fun.

“I remember seeing Eddie do that finger-tapping thing, and that was the first time I’d ever seen anyone do that. Just when you think nobody can make guitar playing exciting, somebody like that comes out. He was one of them.

“That thing with finger-tapping in the 80s, with the hair bands, everybody was doing that finger tapping. Once you’ve seen the master do it, everyone else comes second. Anybody after Eddie Van Halen was in second, as far as I’m concerned.”