They Blew Us Off The Stage

Legendary rocker Ozzy Osbourne not too long ago sat down with Billy Morrison for a brand new episode of “Ozzy Speaks” on SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard. Throughout their dialog, Osbourne reminisced concerning the time Van Halen opened for Black Sabbath in 1978 on the European leg of the latter band’s “By no means Say Die!” tour.

“I simply could not imagine it,” Osbourne mentioned. “Eddie Van Halen made it look so fucking simple. They outshone us. They blew us off the stage.”

Osbourne additionally shared fond reminiscences of Eddie Van Halen, describing him as a “nice man” and “pretty man to be round.” He recalled taking all the band to his native pub and having a good time.

In a earlier interview with Revolver in October 2022, Osbourne mentioned his reminiscences of touring with Van Halen. He mentioned on the time: “Eddie Van Halen was such an important man. They got here to our native pub and it was good enjoyable. However David Lee Roth, he is misplaced a few nuts and bolts. Whenever you meet him, it is like, ‘What’s flawed with him?’ He is like some other place, you realize?”  

Osbourne additionally touched on the rivalry between his guitarist Randy Rhoads and Eddie Van Halen, noting the aggressive nature between the 2. “They had been arch enemies,” Osbourne mentioned, explaining that whereas each had been distinctive guitarists, they took totally different influences. ” They had been very, very related guitar gamers. Randy didn’t have lots to say about Eddie… Eddie took that tapping factor to a different degree. Randy might try this, however he favored individuals like Leslie West.”

Ozzy concluded by marveling on the steady evolution of rock music, stating, “It amazes me that you’ve Eddie, you could have Randy, and also you assume, ‘Nobody can ever surpass that.’ However then one thing new all the time comes alongside.”