logo

Ozzy Osbourne: “I think about Lemmy all the fucking time, he was a great guy”

Ozzy has recalled his last interaction with the Motörhead frontman.

Ozzy Osbourne on Lemmy Kilmister

Osbourne Image: Alex Pantling/Getty.
Lemmy Image: Samir Hussein/Getty

When you purchase through affiliate links on Guitar.com, you may contribute to our site through commissions. Learn more.

In a new interview, Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne details what it was like when he met up with Lemmy Kilmister shortly before his death in 2015. Reflecting upon how the bassist had a new insight on life in his final moments, the vocalist also confirms what the Motörhead frontman thought of his solo work.

Speaking in the new edition of Metal Hammer, the Black Sabbath vocalist described how he spent time with Lemmy during the height of his cancer battle, stating that the bassist was almost unrecognisable at the time.

“I went down to South America and he was there on tour, but he was so fucked he couldn’t speak to anyone. He was sitting at the front, skinny as a rake,” he reflects. “He was riddled with cancer at the end, but mind you, he turned round to me and said ‘I’m probably going to die, I suppose. Never thought I’d make 70, so I did good.’”

Reminiscing over the interaction further, Osbourne states how the legendary bassist had somewhat of an optimistic outlook as the illness took its toll – even stating that when reflecting on his life choices, he still firmly believed that he had no regrets:

“His exact words were, ‘I could have lived a lot longer and taken care of myself, but I lived my life the way I want to live and I ain’t got no regrets’. Fair enough!”

Elsewhere in the discussion, Osbourne confirms that he had always had a light-hearted relationship with Lemmy, and confirms that the musician considered his 1991 solo album, No More Tears to be some of his favourite work.

“I think about Lemmy all the fucking time. He was a great guy” he says, going on to describe how the two discussed their views on each other’s music openly. “He’d go, ‘That record you just made was fucking shit’, or ‘I really like that one’. His favourite [line] was, ‘Your best record was No More Tears’ – [and I’d say] ‘yeah, because you wrote on it, you cunt!’”

This discussion with Ozzy Osbourne comes in light of the musician’s upcoming solo album Patient Number 9. Set to arrive on September 9, the release will feature an impressive host of guest stars, including Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, Duff McKagan and the late Foo Fighters’ drummer, Taylor Hawkins.

logo

The world’s leading authority and resource for all things guitar.

© 2024 Guitar.com is part of NME Networks.