Alex Van Halen Opens Up About Unreleased Album Project With Ozzy Osbourne
Society of Rock
A Meeting That Almost Changed Rock
Alex Van Halen has shared new details about a project that nearly brought his brother, Eddie Van Halen, together with Ozzy Osbourne. In a recent interview with Gastão Moreira of Brazil’s Kazagastão, as reported by Blabbermouth, Alex confirmed that talks once took place about Ozzy recording an album with the Van Halen brothers.
When asked whether Eddie had contacted Ozzy about singing for Van Halen, Alex replied, “Oh, yeah. No. Ed and I met with Sharon [Osbourne, Ozzy’s wife and manager], because we were kind of at a loss of which direction we wanted to go. That was probably in about 2000… I’m trying to remember, because it was right before [‘The Osbournes’] TV show; the next day they had that TV show. So we sat with Sharon.”
Sharon’s Role in the Discussion
Alex spoke warmly about Sharon Osbourne and her influence. “I mean, it was kind of an interesting evening because she’s a lovely lady. I don’t know what people would say about her, grousing and complain[ing], but she’s a lovely lady who really had to fend for herself in a male-dominated world.”
He added, “We played several times with Ozzy on the bill, and she was always there to support him, to guide him, to give him comfort because most performers are not as sure of themselves as they appear to be. So we got together and the final thing we talked about was, she says, ‘Okay, it sounds like a good idea. Let’s do that. Let’s make a record together. Only one thing. I have a meeting tomorrow with some people about a television show.’ And the rest is history. That’s how close it got.”
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Mutual Respect Between Musicians
Years later, Ozzy spoke about Eddie’s talent in a 2020 interview. Reflecting on the guitarist’s style, he said, “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.”
Despite that respect, the collaboration never moved forward. Ozzy recalled, “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]”
