Ozzy Osbourne's death has rattled his friends and family, who've been memorializing the rock legend. Osbourne died last week, after a Parkinson's Disease diagnosis that had significantly reduced his public presence. Earlier this month, Osbourne performed with his band Black Sabbath in Birmingham, England, at the place where it all started for him. Osbourne's close friend and guitarist Zakk Wylde joined them onstage. In a new interview, he revealed his last exchange with Osbourne and the heartbreaking text he received from him.
Wylde and Osbourne performed together on July 5th of this year, at Osbourne's final ever performance. In an interview with Guitarist, Wylde opened up about spending time with Osbourne and sharing the stage after decades of knowing each other and working together.
"It was definitely pretty amazing. Seeing Oz onstage when Sabbath got done, that's the last time I saw him," said Wylde.
When discussing their final verbal exchange, Wylde shared that he wanted to give Osbourne his space. "Everybody and their mother were in the backstage dressing room and I just wanted to give him a break. I figured we'd see him later on – the next day or whatever. But no," he said.
Wylde then shared their last text exchange. "The last text I got from Oz was saying, 'Zakky, sorry, it was like a madhouse back there. I didn't see you.' He goes, 'Thanks for everything.' It was just us talking, saying, 'I love you, buddy.' That was it."
More details about Wylde and Osbourne's bond
Osbourne was one of the founding members of Black Sabbath, a band that changed lineups several times over the years. While Wylde was never an official member of the band, he had a personal relationship with Osbourne, being the lead guitarist of his solo act and joining him on various tours through the '90s and early aughts. Wylde was a part of Osbourne's final solo tour, the "No More Tours II," which took place in 2017.
Wylde opened up about their friendship and mentorship, with Osbourne serving as an older figure for him throughout most of his life.
"Oz was just the best," he said to Guitarist. "I have my father, who was a World War II veteran, and then Ozzy, who was almost like an older brother. There was almost a 20-year age gap between us. With our relationship, there was the fun drinking – but if I ever needed advice, I could talk to him.'