Ozzy Osbourne puzzled by Rhoads
Ozzy Osbourne Ozzy was sacked from his band Black Sabbath in 1979 and so started making music on his own. He was introduced to Randy when he began putting his new group together, and at that time Ozzy was famously taking a lot of narcotics.
He couldn’t believe how talented Randy was when they were introduced, and began to suspect there were other forces at work.
“[Bassist Dana Strum] would go on and on about this guy like he was f**king Jesus,” Ozzy recalled. “I was smoking dope and getting tanked and f**ked up on powders and I just wanted to go home, but he said I had to see this guy. So Randy came in, five foot f**king two and so skinny, I thought he was a fairy. When he played my brain went, 'Either this is the greatest gear ever or this guy really is the best guitarist in the world.’”
Ozzy and Randy then began working together, even sharing living quarters for some time. Their appearances couldn’t have been more different though. While Randy was small and slight, Ozzy was rather overweight – so much so people didn’t used to realise he was actually a rock star.
“Randy's mum came to see us once. I had a big fat beer belly, the other guys had moustaches and his mum went, 'So, when do the band get here?' She was f**king sitting next to me!” he laughed to British newspaper The Guardian.
