Mammoth frontman Wolfgang Van Halen has expressed his deep disappointment over having to cancel his appearance at Ozzy Osbourne‘s final farewell concert, explaining that a last-minute schedule change made it “literally impossible” for him to attend. In a new interview, he revealed that the sting of missing the historic event is softened by the cherished memories he made with the rock icon just last year, including a special moment sharing old tour stories about his late father, Eddie Van Halen.
Speaking with Sweden’s 106.7 FM Rockklassiker, Wolfgang detailed the frustrating logistical nightmare that led to his last-minute cancellation from the “Back To The Beginning” tribute on July 5.
“We had the flights purchased, the hotels ready to go,” he explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth). “And then the rehearsal schedules moved. So, at that point… we literally couldn’t make it.” He cited a direct conflict with rehearsals for his own upcoming tour with Creed, and noted that the sudden change made it impossible to rebook travel and accommodations on such short notice. “One, I had to rehearse for the Creed tour that I was about to go on [with Mammoth]. And then two, even if we wanted to go out there, there was no way to get a hotel or a flight that quickly after it changed. So, we couldn’t do it, unfortunately.”
“I was very bummed about that,” he admitted. “Sometimes things just sort of happen that way.”
While he missed the final farewell, Van Halen is profoundly grateful for the time he was able to spend with Osbourne during his 2024 induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist. Wolfgang was part of the all-star band that performed “Crazy Train” that night.
“Oh, it was amazing. It was a dream,” he said of the experience. “Being a massive Tool fan, being able to play with Maynard [James Keenan] was an insane thing I never thought I’d be able to do… Very, very happy to have been a part of it, and being able to, to see Ozzy after it and give him a hug and chat with him a bit really stuck with me.”
It was during this period that Van Halen was able to forge a unique, personal connection with the Black Sabbath legend. Their first real conversation happened at a photoshoot before the Rock Hall ceremony, where he found Ozzy to be “very, very lovely… very funny and very, very kind.” He used the opportunity to ask Ozzy about some of the legendary tour stories his father had told him from the days when Van Halen and Black Sabbath toured together.
“I just kind of asked him about, like, ‘Did this happen? Did this happen?'” Wolfgang recounted. “And, yeah, a lot of those stories, which were very, very funny, I got him to giggle a bit, I got him to laugh about it… I was very happy to know that my dad wasn’t pulling my leg on some of those stories.”
While Wolfgang Van Halen was forced to miss one historic moment, he is clearly grateful for the unique, personal ones he was able to have. As he continues to forge his own legacy, his band Mammoth is set to release its third album, The End, on October 24.
