Zakk Wylde, longtime friend and guitarist of Ozzy Osbourne, has revealed the final texts between them before the music legend died at the age of 76.
Wylde toured as Osbourne's lead guitarist for years after hearing in 1987 that he was looking for someone new to fill the role and the two performed together for a long time, with the 58-year-old American playing on the albums No Rest For The Wicked, No More Tears and Ozzmosis.
Ozzy was also godfather to one of his children.
He performed for Osbourne's induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame last year, and he was present at the Back to the Beginning concert which was the last time Ozzy performed before his death.
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Speaking to Guitar World, he said memories of that last show were 'ingrained in my head' and spoke of the moment they played together for one final time.
"With 'Mama, I’m Coming Home', when we got the acoustic out, I had to be like, ‘Keep the guitar away from the microphone so I can sing,’ because Oz’s voice was having trouble at certain notes," he explained.
"I was like, ‘I need to make sure I’m always there so I can double him.’ I was like three feet away from the microphone when I started playing the song.
"I was like, ‘I gotta get near the microphone,’ so I had to almost stop playing, lift the guitar up and put it over the mic."
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Once the show was over he gave Ozzy some space as 'everybody and their mother were in the backstage dressing room' and he thought he'd get a chance to see him later.
Sadly, he never got that opportunity to have one last personal meeting, but they did text each other afterwards as Wylde said Ozzy messaged him to say: "Zakky, sorry, it was like a madhouse back there. I didn’t see you."
The guitarist said Ozzy messaged him 'thanks for everything' and said they messaged back and forth a bit to say 'I love you, buddy'.
Ozzy was today (31 July) laid to rest in the grounds of his Buckinghamshire mansion after he expressed a wish to be buried in a garden, ideally with a tree planted above his head which could grow crabapples his children could make into wine.
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That private ceremony attended by friends and family follows a procession through the streets of Birmingham in which thousands of people turned up to pay their respects to the Black Sabbath star.
Proceeds from Ozzy's final concert, some £140 million, will be donated to Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice.
Topics: Ozzy Osbourne, Music, Celebrity
Joe Harker