Zakk Wylde discusses his last moments with Ozzy Osbourne
o be as weak as he was. “It was just, ‘You carry on,’” he says. “It was like, let him have his peace, let him get ready for the show.”
Despite the circumstances, the gig itself was a triumph. “It was just great seeing everybody. Just the family of the Sabbath camp, between K.K. Downing, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward,” Wylde recalls. “There’s a lot of history between us all, so it was definitely great getting onstage and playing with everybody. It was more about the event and the occasion.”“I talked with Tony like, ‘How did he sound? What do you think?’ And Tony goes, ‘I don’t know why they still talk about singing like he’s 30. He took his career very seriously. He made sure he could but if he was having a rough day now and then and his voice was cracking, who gives a shit?”
Wylde went offstage to make way for surprise guests like Dave Grohl, Rob Halford and Judas Priest. But before he left, he made sure to capture the moment; “I remember I was like, ‘Wait a minute! I have to take a selfie with everybody,’” he laughs.
Wylde believes that, despite the physical toll his health takes on him, Osbourne’s spirit is as strong as ever. “He’s constantly listening to music and watching videos,” he says. “He’s in a great place where he can have an iPad and can watch all the Van Halen concerts or documentaries on Deep Purple. He’s living in his time period and enjoying it.”
The experience was emotional for everyone involved. Wylde recounts one moment that broke his heart. Recalling Osbourne introducing him onstage, he says, “He yelled to the audience that I was ‘the best fucking guitar player I’ve ever played with! My son! I know his wife and I know his children! Zakk fucking Wylde!’ I was like, ‘Mommy, no!’ I was crying.”In the end, Wylde explains why he needed to be there for that final show. “We just wanted to make sure that it was the best day possible for the boss,” he says. “That’s all that mattered, really. If you see the boss getting up there and kicking ass and taking names, just give him his cape and stick.”
As much as Wylde knows what Osbourne means to him, it’s evident that Osbourne feels the same way about him. Wylde remembers a message he received from Osbourne after the show. “The last text I got from him said, ‘Zakky, sorry, it was like a madhouse back there. I didn’t see you. Thanks for everything,’ he reflects. “I looked at that and I laughed. But so is the outlook on what we did. We just have so much fun being together.”