From 1982 to 1987, Jake E. Lee served because the guitarist in Ozzy Osbourne’s band, with Lee’s run with the legendary singer coming to an finish after he was fired through phone by Ozzy’s spouse and supervisor Sharon Osbourne.
Since then, Lee hadn’t seen Ozzy in nearly 40 years. That modified, nonetheless, when Lee carried out at Ozzy and Black Sabbath’s farewell present “Again to the Starting” final month.
In an interview with Guitar World following Ozzy Osbourne’s dying on July twenty second, Lee spoke about his firing and the way he hoped to someday reconcile his relationship with the steel icon.
“I did all the time need to reconnect with him on no matter stage. Not essentially musically, however that might have been good. I didn’t need it to finish with getting fired and feeling like there was unhealthy blood,” he mentioned.
Lee continued, explaining how being fired made him really feel: “I by no means actually took it personally. He mentioned some issues about me, however I by no means mentioned something unhealthy about him. I said the information – I obtained type of screwed over on the ‘Bark on the Moon’ report. However I knew it was a enterprise transfer, and that it wasn’t primarily based round f*cking me over.”
When requested why he thinks he was fired, Lee clarified that he believes all of it got here right down to cash.
“Getting as a lot cash as he may! And when he fired me, the sensation I obtained from individuals within the business was shock,” he mentioned. “He talked some sh*t about me; however I all the time assumed he did it as a result of he wanted to have a superb purpose for eliminating me.”
Regardless of this, the guitarist says he tried to keep away from publicly feuding with Ozzy.
“I by no means actually fired again as a result of I knew I’d by no means win. Getting right into a battle with Ozzy Osbourne by way of the press, he’s gonna win. And I nonetheless preferred him, and I nonetheless preferred Sharon.”
Even all of those years later, Lee doesn’t maintain a grudge.
“Cash has by no means been necessary to me. Folks don’t imagine that; they are saying, ‘Yeah, proper!’ Nevertheless it actually doesn’t… Cash corrupts so many individuals. I by no means let it corrupt me. If I wanna do one thing I’ll do it, and I’ll see if I can receives a commission for it.”
