Watch Rare 1978 Video of Black Sabbath Performing With Former Fleetwood Mac Singer Dave Walker During Ozzy Osbourne’s Brief Departure

A Rare Look at a Short-Lived Lineup

In late 1977, Ozzy Osbourne stepped away from Black Sabbath during tense writing sessions for what later became the Never Say Die! album. His break left the band searching for a temporary frontman, and that led to the brief arrival of former Fleetwood Mac and Savoy Brown singer Dave Walker.

For decades, fans believed only audio existed of Walker performing with Sabbath. That recording came from the UK television program Look! Hear! and had circulated widely online, but no video had ever surfaced—until now.

New Footage Finally Emerges

Earlier this month, YouTube user Brian Schaefer uploaded the first known video of the Look! Hear! performance. The clip shows Sabbath running through the introduction of “War Pigs” and an early form of “Junior’s Eyes,” which would appear on Never Say Die! after Ozzy returned. The footage is the only confirmed video of the group during Walker’s brief role.

Walker joined the band in late 1977 after Ozzy stepped out. But by early 1978, Ozzy had reconsidered and rejoined, leaving Walker’s time with the group unusually short and sparsely documented.

Walker’s Musical Path

Born in Staffordshire, England, Walker began singing in the early 1960s with the rhythm-and-blues band The Redcaps. His next major move came in 1971 when he joined Savoy Brown, performing on three albums: Street Corner Talking, Hellbound Train, and Lion’s Share. He then entered Fleetwood Mac in 1972, appearing on two tracks from their 1973 album Penguin before leaving later that year.

Walker had known the Sabbath members since their early days, but he quickly sensed strain after joining. In a 2014 Classic Rock interview, he explained that personal issues made things harder, saying his wife “clashed” with drummer Bill Ward’s. He also described his firing as sudden.

Tension Behind the Scenes

“One day I turned up where they were rehearsing near Evesham and they were having a meeting, after which Bill told me, ‘We’re in, you’re out,’” he recalled. “No warning. I still don’t even know if Ozzy had agreed to come back then.”

Although Ozzy returned in early 1978, the reunion didn’t last long. He was dismissed again in April 1979. Guitarist Tony Iommi explained the situation in a Classic Rock interview earlier this year, saying, “We didn’t have an option. The record company were saying: ‘How’s the new album coming on?’ I said: ‘Oh yeah, it’s coming on okay.’ But we hadn’t done anything. We were putting riffs down, but Ozzy just wasn’t in the right frame of mind. He wasn’t into it any more.”

Aftermath and Later Years

Sabbath moved forward with Ronnie James Dio, while Ozzy began his solo career with 1980’s Blizzard of Ozz. He later reunited with Sabbath from 1999 to 2005, and again in 2011 and 2025. Ozzy died of a heart attack on July 22, only 17 days after Sabbath performed their final show, Back To The Beginning, in Birmingham.