In a recent interview with VRP Rocks, Vinny Appice talked about turning down a 1980s offer to be a part of Ozzy Osbourne’s band. Appice responded as follows when asked how he received the invitation to join Black Sabbath in place of Bill Ward, the band’s original drummer:
“I received a call from Sharon Osborne just before Sabbath, informing me that they were assembling Ozzy’s band.” She was attempting to set him straight, and now he’s in England recording his debut album. “Hey, this is Sharon,” they said when they called me. We are assembling a band. We’ll take you via air to England. See how it goes by hanging around with Ozzy.
Vinny’s Choice To Turn Down Ozzy. The musician continued to give an explanation for his decision to decline an offer from Osbourne. “Whoa, I was twenty years old.” With the exception of Canada, I had never left the nation. So I said to my brother Carmine, “Is Ozzy crazy? Should I really travel all the way over there and do this? “Yeah, he’s pretty crazy,” he replies, and I decline. After telling her I couldn’t handle it, Sabbath calls roughly a month later.
Taking Up The Chance To Perform With Black Sabbath. Next, Vinny discussed the reasons it was simple for him to agree to join Sabbath: “They are located in Los Angeles, California. They stated, “Bill Ward is missing in action, and we need to finish a tour,” and that’s where I reside. Come down tonight if you’re interested in meeting Tony Iommi. It was simple, so I responded “yes.” Actually, they were only over the street. Later in the chat, the drummer disclosed the duration of his band membership, saying:
“Until Bill Ward returned, I was a member of the band.” Appice’s Subsequent Interaction With Osbourne. Appice got the opportunity to play with Ozzy, though it didn’t happen at the time, when he took Ward’s place at multiple shows during Black Sabbath’s reunion of the original lineup in the late 1990s. In a 2022 Talkin’ Rock interview with 101WRIF, the rock star reminisced about his encounters with Osbourne.
“Ozzy may be crazy, but he’s a great time.” He is a content man. What he does, he enjoys. Later on, when he wasn’t nearly too drunk, I toyed with them. I believe that he continued to engage in the drinking behavior after leaving Sabbath. Later on, I played with him and the original Sabbath. He was simply having fun and, you know, getting cleaned up a little.
Together with singer Ronnie James Dio, Appice left Black Sabbath at the end of 1982, and the two of them went on to establish the band Dio. For the release of the album “Born Again,” Ward rejoined the group.
