Legendary rock drummer Tommy Aldridge has finally addressed why he was absent from the historic “Back To The Beginning” concert in Birmingham last July. The show served as the final farewell performance for Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath before the singer’s death in 2025.
In a new audio update posted to his YouTube channel, Aldridge—who played a pivotal role in Ozzy‘s solo band in the early 1980s—clarified that his non-appearance wasn’t due to a scheduling conflict or a refusal.
“Well, I don’t wanna cast dispersions. I don’t want to shade anyone,”Tommy said. “I wasn’t invited to be at Ozzy‘s last show. That’s as much as I need to say. I wasn’t invited. And I’m not gonna crash someone else’s party.
Despite being left off the guest list, the drummer emphasized that he holds no grudge against his former frontman.
“I will say, but that has no reflection on Ozzy. I have so much admiration and love for Ozzy. Ozzy was someone I spent a lot of time with, and it was by no means any disrespect intended on my part — certainly not — and the powers that be. I pay my highest regards and respects to Ozzy Osbourne on any opportunity I get to do that.”
Aldridge originally joined the solo band in 1981, appearing on the live albums Speak Of The Devil and Tribute, as well as the 1983 studio record Bark At The Moon. Reflecting on that era, he admitted that his primary reason for joining was the chance to play alongside guitarist Randy Rhoads.
“What motivated me to start with Ozzy was a gentleman by the name of Randy Rhoads and being able to go on stage with that gentleman every night and be in close proximity to his guitar playing. That was my motivation in working with Ozzy. Unfortunately, that was very short lived, ’cause Randy was tragically taken from us and the plane crash, and the trauma of that and everything, that was a very bittersweet time in my career,” he said.
He described the period as emotionally conflicting, marked by both musical brilliance and personal tragedy:
“The high watermark from a musical perspective was working with Randy, and the low watermark, from a personal perspective, was Randy. So it was a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ time in my career. Working with Randy was indescribably inspirational and devastatingly depressing at the same time with his loss. We’re made up of our past, present, and future, and your past helps you deal with what comes at you around the corner. Life is a learning experience. So everything that I’ve done in my career has prepared me for what’s ahead. But that was one of them, certainly, working with Randy.”
Aldridge also noted that his history with Ozzy goes back much further than the solo years. He first met the singer when his previous band, Black Oak Arkansas, toured with Black Sabbath.
“I knew Ozzy before other people knew Ozzy, so I met Ozzy way before he met his wife, and so forth and so on. So we had a relationship that superseded Randy Rhoads, and I have a lot of respect and appreciation for what Ozzy has done, not just in my career, but what he’s done musically.”
In a previous audio clip released earlier in February, Tommy said he knew Ozzy “ever before he met his wife”.
“My first tour abroad was with Black Oak Arkansas, and my first dates outside the U.S. were supporting Black Sabbath. That’s when I met Ozzy back in 1773,” he joked. “It was a long, long time ago. We spent a lot of time together, and I knew him before most people did, even before he met his wife. I have a lot of respect and appreciation for what Ozzy has done, not just in my career, but musically. There are experiences we shared that few people know about.”
Aldridge is a member of the supergroup Iconic, alongside Michael Sweet (Stryper) and Joel Hoekstra (Whitesnake). The band has completed work on their sophomore album, which is set for release in the summer of 2026.
He also recently reunited with former Ozzy Osbourne bandmates Rudy Sarzo and Brad Gillis to record a cover of The Who‘s “The Real Me” for singer Rick Hughes‘ solo album, Redemption, released last October.
