In the wake of Ozzy Osbourne’s death Tuesday at age 76, drummer Zak Starkey is sharing his regret at turning down an offer to play with the Prince of Darkness.
In a post on Instagram, Starkey, who has worked with The Who and Oasis, shared a message he once got from Ozzy’s wife, Sharon Osbourne, offering him a gig backing Black Sabbath.
Sharon wrote at the time that they were looking for a drummer to back the band at Download Festival and Lollapalooza, which Sabbath played in 2012. The message also said they needed a drummer to play on an album they were working on with producer Rick Rubin, a reference to 2013’s 13. It would become Sabbath’s final album, which ended up featuring Rage Against The Machine’s Brad Wilk on drums.
Sharon ended the message by joking, “Also, Ozzy wants to have sex with you while he is singing Iron Man.”
“Regrets I’ve had a few -this is one – (not the sex part!),” Starkey shared in a caption to the post. “Ozzy will always be one of the greatest, natural, brilliant singers of all time. I send much love and strength to his family at this sad sad time.”
He added, “If u aren’t familiar with the never say die record – get into it – it’s so far out – X,” referring to Sabbath’s 1978 album.
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