Tool’s Adam Jones Recalls Emotional Memories With Ozzy Osbourne And Sharon, Calls Final Show A ‘Historical Moment’

In a new interview, Tool guitarist Adam Jones shared his personal reflections on the band’s participation in the “Back To The Beginning” concert, which marked Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath‘s final performance. Speaking with Dave Lawrence of Hawai’i Public Radio’s “All Things Considered,” Jones discussed the influence of Black Sabbath on his own playing and recalled a memorable dinner with the Osbourne family.

Jones said that Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has been a major influence on his music, in part because his playing style felt attainable. “Not only is he just an amazing player, but his playing was obtainable,” Jones said. “It’s not like Eddie Van Halen where you go, ‘Oh, I’m not even gonna try. That guy is just this crazy wizard.’ So to have that as an inspiration—to me, an obvious inspiration, in at least my playing…”

Jones went on to share a personal memory of dining with the Osbourne family at a hotel in the U.K. during a festival. The invitation, he said, came from Sharon Osbourne, who along with Ozzy and their family, has been “incredibly supportive” of Tool. Jones described the dinner as a “core memory,” recalling how Ozzy would secretly sneak drinks from the hotel bar while Sharon would repeatedly leave the table after eating foods she wasn’t supposed to have after stomach surgery. “They were very open,” Jones said. He also praised Ozzy and Sharon‘s son, Jack Osbourne, who Jones said has been a “huge supporter” of Tool for years.

The guitarist admitted that he didn’t get to see Ozzy much at the “Back To The Beginning” show, only catching a glimpse of him as he was being wheeled to the stage. This made the experience emotionally difficult for Jones, but he said the good outweighed the bad. He was particularly moved by Ozzy‘s final message to the crowd. “I mean, everyone was crying…” Jones said. “Those were really heavy words. And you’d think about growing up, listening to all that music and how it affected you, and you don’t hear a lot of people express that. I mean, they might say ‘thank you’ at the end of the night. They might say, ‘We really appreciate our fans,’ but I just don’t think that cuts as deep.”

Jones described the day as “really overwhelming being able to perform and then watch the show at the same time,” calling it a “quite a day.” He said that Ozzy‘s death a week later was a shock, but that the entire experience felt like a “historical moment.” He reflected on his own journey as a fan of Black Sabbath, from listening to their music while skateboarding to now sharing a stage with them. “I can’t think of anything I’ve done that’s been like this,” Jones concluded.