Myles Kennedy has reflected on the lasting impact Ozzy Osbourne had on him as both a fan and a fellow performer, recalling formative listening moments, time spent touring together, and the pressure of paying tribute to the metal icon on a global stage.
Speaking in a new interview with iHeartRadio Canada’s JD Lewis, the Alter Bridge frontman — who also leads Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators — described the first time he encountered Ozzy’s music and how it immediately left a mark.
He said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth):
“Obviously, [Ozzy] had a profound [effect on me]. The first time I heard Diary Of A Madman, it was just, like, ‘What is happening? This is amazing.’”
Kennedy also looked back on touring alongside Ozzy roughly 15 years ago, when his band joined Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators in supporting Osbourne on an arena run. According to Kennedy, witnessing Ozzy’s connection with audiences night after night proved to be a defining experience.
“I do have fond memories of [touring with him with] Slash and The Conspirators. We toured with Ozzy — I think it was 15 years ago. We supported him on a record and did an arena run, and that was really cool, just getting to watch that night after night. And I think what I learned — his superpower was just his ability to connect with the audience and how much the audience just adored him. And you could tell he fed off that. And I think a lot artists will probably say the same thing about why they do this. They love that energy. But there’s just something that was really profound about watching him every night. It was kind of beautiful, and it was really inspiring for me. And I think that was his superpower — other than, obviously, his great melodic sense and he had a thing that was very unique to him. But there was something just so endearing that people loved about him.”
Kennedy also revisited a particularly high-pressure moment from 2014, when he performed “Crazy Train” with Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators at the MTV Europe Music Awards in Glasgow. The performance served as a tribute to Ozzy, who was honored with the Global Icon Award during the ceremony.
“I remember rehearsing — even though I knew the song well, and I’d heard it a billion times, but I remember practicing it just over and over and over, knowing that [Ozzy] would be sitting in the audience,” Kennedy said.
He explained that the circumstances demanded a higher level of preparation than usual.
“Sometimes people, when they do covers, they’ll run it one or two times. I was, like, ‘Ozzy is gonna be sitting there. I really wanna do this justice.’ So I remember spending two weeks, just every day, just running it just over and over and over again. So, yeah, it was really fun, but it was also kind of intimidating, knowing he was sitting there.”
Alter Bridge released self-titled eighth studio album on January 9 via Napalm Records.
Alter Bridge Track Listing:
- “Silent Divide”
- “Rue The Day”
- “Power Down”
- “Trust In Me”
- “Disregarded”
- “Tested And Able”
- “What Lies Within”
- “Hang By A Thread”
- “Scales Are Falling”
- “Playing Aces”
- “What Are You Waiting For”
- “Slave To Master”
