Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath bandmates say they had no idea that the singer had relapsed.
Earlier this year, Ozzy Osbourne revealed that he relapsed and had been taking drugs and drinking for the past 18 months. The singer posted a frank statement on his Facebook page which confirmed that he had stopped his “insane behaviour” and that he was 44 days sober.
However, his fellow bandmates, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler, have now revealed that they were shocked to learn that Ozzy was back drinking and taking drugs, especially since the singer was at Iommi’s house during his period of heavy abuse to record the band’s latest album, ’13’.
Speaking to Classic Rock Magazine, Iommi said: “You know what, I couldn’t believe it. He was working at my house and I didn’t pick up on it at all. None of us did. He really hid that well. It was a shock, actually, when [Ozzy’s wife] Sharon told me. I just couldn’t believe he’d been drinking again. I didn’t see any signs of it.”
Butler added: “He was really good at keeping it secret. I thought he was talking a lot – he used to drive us nuts because he wouldn’t stop talking – but we put that down to the excitement of doing the album.”
The pair also admitted that they didn’t notice the signs as Ozzy had been working hard in the studio. Butler said: “It certainly didn’t affect his performance in the studio… to us, he’d worked better than ever. Sharon told me and Tony, and by that time Ozzy had gone into rehab.”
