Recently both Sebastian Bach and Steve Perry revealed they could have ended up singing for Van Halen. The latest to join the growing list of could-have-been VH frontmen is “The Prince of Darkness” himself: Ozzy Osbourne.
In a recent episode of his SiriusXM show “Ozzy Speaks“, Osbourne said the offer came during an unexpected late night call from Eddie.
“He phoned me up one time and asked me if I wanted to sing in his band — way after Sammy [Hagar had exited the band]. I think he was a bit drunk,” said Osbourne. “We’ve all done one of them — calling at four o’clock in the morning, going, [intentionally slurs speech].”
Osbourne didn’t say whether he’d be interested or not but judging by his opinion of Eddie’s skills there’s a good chance he would have taken him up on the offer.
“You think you’ve seen it all … out of the blue someone comes out with such a revolutionized way of playing,” said Osbourne, who saw Van Halen open for his band Black Sabbath back in 1978. “To watch Eddie play was, like — his hands would turn into a spider. He was remarkable. He always made it look like it was so easy.”
You can hear the entire segment below: