In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Alex Van Halen revealed that Ozzy Osbourne was close to becoming the lead singer of Van Halen for an album. The idea was proposed in 2011 during a meeting with Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy’s wife and manager, to explore the possibility of a Van Halen album featuring Ozzy’s vocals. Alex recalls, “When Ozzy’s involved, you know it’s going to be incredible. We had everything lined up—our music and his voice would’ve been amazing.”
Unfortunately, the project was shelved when Ozzy and Sharon signed a deal with MTV to film their reality show, The Osbournes. Reflecting on the missed opportunity, Ozzy said, “It would’ve been phenomenal. I was close friends with Eddie and Alex, and I still regret not making that album. Sadly, working on The Osbournes left me no time to create new music.”
Alex also reminisced about a powerful jam session with Chris Cornell, which he believes had potential. “Chris was in a fragile state. We played for 45 minutes straight, and he was so into it that he started bleeding. That’s the kind of energy you want to create music with. But then, tragically, he passed away.”
After Eddie Van Halen’s death in 2020, there was talk of keeping Van Halen going. Alex discussed this with David Lee Roth, considering Joe Satriani on guitar and possibly bringing back bassist Michael Anthony. Inspired by Brian May’s experience with Queen, Alex suggested paying tribute to Eddie during concerts. However, this idea led to a heated disagreement with Roth, who reacted strongly to the suggestion.
In September, Alex shared a snippet of “Unfinished,” the last track recorded with Eddie, included in the audiobook version of his upcoming biography, Brothers.