Ozzy Osbourne wants to work with Tony Iommi again but not in Black Sabbath
Ozzy Osbourne has said that he’d be happy to work with Tony Iommi again but not on any new Black Sabbath music.
The pair formed the iconic metal band in Birmingham in 1969 and played together intermittently until 2017. Even after the band’s break-up Osbourne and Iommi have worked together, most recently on the former’s new solo album ‘Patient Number 9’, which was released this year.
Osbourne was speaking as part of his Ozzy Speaks series on Sirius XM when he was asked by co-host Billy Morrison whether he envisaged working with Iommi again in the future as part of Black Sabbath.
“No, not more Black Sabbath,” Osbourne responded. “But I wouldn’t say no to do some more with Tony. Black Sabbath is a completely different music to what I’m into now.”
Asked whether Sabbath is dead forever, Osbourne said: “Well, it’s kind of, like, how many times do you wanna do the same… it’s the same format, you know? It was very successful for a lot of years, and people wanted to see us. I did that farewell tour. And the only thing about that which was sad [was that original Sabbath drummer] Bill Ward wasn’t there.”
“But I’ve spoken to Bill since. He’s all right,” he added. “I would work with any of them individually. But as Black Sabbath, I think it’s [over]. We couldn’t really beat what we’ve already done.”
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Elsewhere, Osbourne has said that he is reconsidering his and his wife Sharon’s move to the UK from Los Angeles, saying that he’d rather “stay in America”.
The couple who have lived in LA for over 25 years plan to settle into a new life in Buckinghamshire early next year. Ozzy and Sharon are set to document the return to England for a new reality TV series on the BBC.
Over the summer the former Black Sabbath singer explained that the concerning amount of mass shootings in the US was a reason behind the planned move. “Everything’s fucking ridiculous here,” he said. “I’m fed up with people getting killed every day.”
The singer continued: “I don’t want to die in America. I don’t want to be buried in fucking Forest Lawn [a famous celebrity cemetery in Los Angeles]. I’m English. I want to be back… It’s time for me to come home.”
The decision also came amid a series of ongoing health problems for Ozzy. Earlier this year, Sharon landed a new role presenting her own show The Talk at the London-based channel TalkTV.
During a new interview with Consequence, the Prince Of Darkness revealed that he’d had a change of heart about moving back to the UK permanently. “To be honest with you, if I had my way, I’d stay in America,” he told the outlet. “I’m American now.”