Ozzy Osbourne Reunites With Guitarist Who Saved His Career

The man Ozzy Osbourne credits with saving him from obscurity in the '80s never actually recorded on one of his albums.

Bernie Tormé is known to diehard Ozzy fans as the man who succeeded Randy Rhoads in Ozzy's band on tour after Rhoads' tragic death in 1982. Because Rhoads died in a plane accident during the tour, Tormé had all of five days to get hired, learn the set and rehearse with the band in mourning before continuing the tour. 

Ozzy has said Tormé did him a huge favor by stepping up. 

"If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be doing it now. I'd have given up," Ozzy has said.

Some fans who recall seeing Tormé with Ozzy on that tour recall the guitarist being heckled with chants of "Randy!" But Tormé has maintained that Ozzy's fans were always good to him, and that he wouldn't have been bothered by "Randy!" chants if he heard them. At the end of the tour, Tormé and Ozzy's band mutually parted ways.

"Such a nice thing for me to see Ozzy at Sweden Rock Festival," Tormé wrote in a Tweet accompanied by a photo of Ozzy and himself. "36 years since that awful time after Randy passed away. We had a lovely chat & laugh, just like meeting up with an old make, nothing changed."

While Tormé never recorded with Ozzy, he certainly made an impression. Longtime Ozzy sideman Zakk Wylde was apparently thrilled to meet Tormé, having seen him perform with Ozzy at Madison Square Garden back in '82. 

Tormé added that he tried to persuade Ozzy into singing on his upcoming solo album, Shadowland. Tormé plans to release the album this fall. 

Ozzy is currently on his No More Tours 2 farewell tour. Get all the dates here.

Get Bernie Tormé's live dates here. 

Thumbnail Photo: Getty Images