Night Ranger guitarist Brad Gillis recently revealed why he turned down an invitation to perform at Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert, sharing his explanation during an appearance on The Metal Voice.
Gillis, who served as Randy Rhoads’s replacement in Ozzy’s solo band following a short stint by Bernie Tormé, explained that he was unable to attend Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s final show, “Back to the Beginning,” in 2025 due to touring commitments with Night Ranger.
“I got an e-mail inquiring if I was interested in coming,” Gillis said. “And I thought about it. And I thought, ‘I can’t do this.’ I’d wanted to. We [Night Ranger] were on tour. And the place we were playing the night of the actual show was a big festival. We had 8,000 people there. It’s what it was. And I would’ve loved to make it and been a part of that, but that’s what it was.”
He further explained the financial and logistical difficulties of canceling his band’s tour dates to attend the event.
“I couldn’t go,” Gillis continued. “I was on tour with my band [Night Ranger]. I couldn’t put everybody out of work. And everybody wanted you to pay your own way, whatever, but here I’m paying my own way, I’m on tour. What do I do? Do I cancel the tour and put 15 people out of work? So I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t do it.”
This decision allowed Gillis to honor his commitments to his band and crew. Gillis’s comments carry added weight because of his earlier chapter in Ozzy Osbourne’s history and the lasting significance of the farewell event he was forced to miss.
