Alex Van Halen confirmed that discussions took place regarding a potential album featuring him and Eddie Van Halen alongside Ozzy Osbourne, but a significant aspect of pop culture history hindered the collaboration.

In a recent conversation with Gastão Moreira of Brazil’s KazaGastão, the drummer validated the often-mentioned rumor about a possible Ozzy-Van Halen brothers collaboration. It progressed to the discussion stages, but ultimately, Ozzy’s life took a different direction at that time, preventing the partnership from materializing.

Why Didn’t the Ozzy Osbourne-Van Halen Brothers Album Ever Happen?

There had been mutual respect between Ozzy Osbourne and Van Halen over the years, especially since Black Sabbath had famously taken Van Halen on one of their earliest tours. A friendship developed over time, making it reasonable for the Van Halen brothers to reach out.

During the chat, Alex explained, “Ed and I met with Sharon because we were kind of at a loss about which direction we wanted to go. That was probably around 2000, because it was right before the TV show. The next day they had that TV show.”

Van Halen praised Sharon as “a lovely lady” and shared that by the end of their meeting, they concluded it was something they both wanted to pursue. However, there was one obstacle.

READ MORE: What Eddie Van Halen’s Favorite Black Sabbath Riff Was

“We got together and the final thing we talked about was she says, ‘Ok, sounds like a good idea. Let’s do that. Let’s make a record together. Only one thing. I have a meeting tomorrow with some people about a television show,'” says Alex. “And the rest is history. That’s how close it got.”

The Osbournes reality series was eventually approved for television, leading to busier schedules for Ozzy and preventing the collaboration with the Van Halen brothers from coming to fruition.

Alex Van Halen Speaks With Brazil’s KazaGastão

What Else Has Been Said About the Ozzy-Van Halen Brothers Pairing?

The frequently rumored potential collaboration has surfaced in discussions previously. Back in 2024, Alex Van Halen told Rolling Stone, “When you get a dog, you don’t expect it to be a cat. When you get an Ozzy, you get Ozzy. Play the music, he’ll sing and it’s gonna be great.”

“It is something that if it had come to fruition would have been phenomenal. Eddie and Alex were great friends of mine for a very long time and it’s a regret of mine that we never got it together. The Osbournes got in the way of creating new music at that time, unfortunately,” he added.

In 2020, Ozzy himself mentioned on an episode of SiriusXM’s Ozzy Speaks that Eddie had once drunk dialed him asking him to sing for the band.

“He phoned me up one time and asked me if I wanted to sing in his band — way after Sammy [Hagar had exited the band]. I think he was a bit drunk,” recalled Osbourne. “We’ve all done one of them — calling at four o’clock in the morning, going, [intentionally slurs speech].”

This potential meeting regarding a possible collaboration would have taken place between Ozzy’s Ozzmosis album (1995) and before his 2001 album Down to Earth. As for Van Halen, they had parted ways with Gary Cherone in 1999 after the Van Halen III album and were still a couple of years away from reuniting with Sammy Hagar in 2003.

While Ozzy and the Van Halen brothers never collaborated, explore some of the great rock and metal collaborations of the 1990s that did happen in the gallery below.