In a moving new interview, Extreme guitarist Nuno Bettencourt has recounted the incredible, 40-year full-circle story of his relationship with his “godfather,” the late Ozzy Osbourne. The remarkable journey began with a failed audition tape as a teenager, included turning down a personal offer to join Ozzy‘s band in the ’90s, and culminated in a final, poignant conversation where Osbourne laughingly acknowledged their unique history.
Speaking with Page Six following his performance in the star-studded MTV VMAs tribute to the rock icon, Bettencourt shared the tale that started when he was just a 15-year-old aspiring guitarist in the wake of Randy Rhoads’ tragic death.
“I believed when I was 14 that I was gonna replace him,” Bettencourt recalled. “And there was an ad to send a cassette in. So I did — I put a cassette together at 15, sent it in. ‘This is my gig. I’m gonna get it.’ Of course, I didn’t. Nobody ever called.”
Over a decade later, in the mid-1990s, Bettencourt was a global rock star himself with his own successful band, Extreme. It was then that he received the phone call he had dreamed of as a teenager. He was on tour opening for Aerosmith when he was told, “Sharon [Osbourne] just called. Ozzy wants you. He wants you to be in the band.” But this time, out of loyalty to his own band, he had to say no.
The story came to a perfect and emotional conclusion at the “Back To The Beginning” farewell concert on July 5. As Bettencourt was saying his final goodbyes to his hero, Ozzy pulled him in close.
“He pulls me in by the hand and he goes, ‘You were the only guitar player who said no to me.’ But he laughed,” Bettencourt recounted. “He goes, ‘I love you.’ And he laughs. He goes, ‘Thank you for being here’ to honor him.”
That feeling of love and respect, he said, permeated the entire farewell event, which he described as a “heavy metal summer camp” where all egos were checked at the door. “It was a hug fest. There was so much love… I’ve been doing this for 40 years. I’ve never seen that on a tour anywhere else where everybody was just like a big community and big rock family. And that’s what Ozzy does to everybody for us.”
The journey came to a final, public epilogue this past Sunday night at the MTV VMAs, where Bettencourt joined Steven Tyler, Joe Perry, and Yungblud on stage to perform a medley of Osbourne’s hits.
