Gus G. Was In Awe Of Ozzy's Cardio When He First Joined His Band

Former Ozzy Osbourne guitarist Gus G. has no doubt that Ozzy's recent lack of mobility is getting him down.

G., who was in Ozzy's solo band from 2009 - 2017, says despite what his reputation would suggest, The Prince of Darkness held himself to an extraordinary standard and took performing very seriously.

As far as G. can remember, Ozzy was never late to a show and was diligent about fully warming up before taking the stage. Onstage, Ozzy never took it easy.

"I was surprised by the stamina he had on stage. I mean, back then he was 60 or 61, and I was 29 or 30," G. recalls. "So we would roll through two-hour long — or longer — shows and I'm like, 'How the f--k does he jump up and down and keep doing frog jumps and, like, throwing buckets for two hours?' I needed to hit the gym seriously on days off just to keep up with him."

Beyond his inspiring work ethic, G. says Ozzy was encouraging and tried to bring the best out of him.

"Ozzy always told me, 'Just be you. Be Gus. Be yourself, man,' G. said. "It was really hard to understand what he meant back then. Now, I totally get it. But back then it was hard to understand."

G.'s band Firewind has a new album scheduled to arrive May 15.

Photo: Getty Images