Ozzy Osbourne and Billy Morrison recently featured in a new episode of “Ozzy Speaks” on SiriusXM’s Ozzy’s Boneyard.
During their discussion, Ozzy reminisced about VAN HALEN opening for BLACK SABBATH in 1978 during the European leg of the “Never Say Die!” tour.
“I just couldn’t believe it,” Ozzy recalled. “[Eddie Van Halen] made it look so fucking easy. They outshone us. They blew us off the stage.”
He further praised Eddie, saying, “He was a great guy… a lovely man to be around. I took all of them down to my local pub… That was fucking great.”
Ozzy had previously shared his memories of touring with VAN HALEN in an October 2022 interview with Revolver, where he highlighted Eddie’s character, noting, “They came to our local pub and it was good fun.”
However, he also mentioned David Lee Roth’s eccentricity, stating, “He’s lost a couple of nuts and bolts. When you meet him, it’s like, ‘What’s wrong with him?’ He’s like somewhere else, you know?”
Ozzy also addressed the rumored rivalry between Randy Rhoads, his first guitarist post-BLACK SABBATH, and Eddie Van Halen. “They were arch enemies,” Ozzy remembered.
“Randy didn’t have a lot to say about Eddie. They were very, very similar guitar players. Eddie took that tapping thing to another level. Randy could do that, but he liked people like Leslie West.”
Reflecting on the impact of both guitarists, Ozzy remarked, “It amazes me that you get Eddie, you get Randy, and you go, ‘No one’s ever gonna top that.’ But there’s a new thing round every corner.”
Rhoads’s pre-Ozzy band, QUIET RIOT, was performing on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood simultaneously with VAN HALEN.
Although both guitarists later became two of the most influential figures in rock music, with a shared flair and finger-tapping techniques, Eddie gained commercial success ahead of Randy, largely because VAN HALEN secured a record deal before QUIET RIOT.
The rivalry between Rhoads and Van Halen is explored in the documentary Randy Rhoads: Reflections Of A Guitar Icon, released in May 2022.
The film features archival audio of Van Halen discussing Rhoads, acknowledging, “He was one guitarist who was honest, anyway. Because he said everything he did he learned from me.
He was good… but I don’t really think he did anything that I haven’t done. And there ain’t nothing wrong with it. I’ve copied some other people, you know?”
