In a recent interview, Alex Van Halen shared that there were times when Van Halen considered having Ozzy Osbourne or Chris Cornell as their lead singer. This is the first time Alex has spoken in-depth since his brother Eddie Van Halen passed away in 2020. A Metallica member also visited Ozzy Osbourne recently for good measure.
Alex said that in 2001, after their singer Gary Cherone left the band, he and Eddie met with Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon to talk about making an album together. However, the idea was dropped when Ozzy’s reality TV show, “The Osbournes,” became a big success. Ozzy confirmed the story, saying he was excited about the possibility, but the timing didn’t work out because of the show.
“When you get a dog, you don’t expect it to be a cat,” Alex told Rolling Stone. “When you get an Ozzy, you get Ozzy. Play the music, he’ll sing, and it’s gonna be great.”
Yes, we were discussing it. It is something that if it had come to fruition, would have been phenomenal. Eddie and Alex were great friends of mine for a very long time and it’s a regret of mine that we never got it together. ‘The Osbournes’ got in the way of creating new music at that time, unfortunately.”
Alex also talked about a jam session with Chris Cornell, the singer from Soundgarden, which happened not long before Cornell’s death in 2017. Chris played bass during their session and was so into it that he started bleeding. Alex thought Chris would have been a great fit for the band, but nothing happened after that because Chris passed away.
Ozzy also shared memories of when VAN HALEN opened for BLACK SABBATH in 1978. He said he was amazed by Eddie Van Halen’s guitar playing and admitted that VAN HALEN outperformed BLACK SABBATH during the tour. Ozzy described Eddie as a great guy and fun to be around, though he joked that David Lee Roth, VAN HALEN’s original singer, was always a bit eccentric.
Both Alex and Ozzy reflected on these missed opportunities and fond memories of their friendships with Eddie, offering a glimpse of what might have been if these collaborations had happened.
