Producer Andrew Watt has revealed how a single phone call ended hopes for one last Black Sabbath record with Ozzy Osbourne. In a new interview, Watt explained that Ozzy wanted to keep making music after the two solo albums they made together, and that the idea of a Sabbath album came up instead.
Asked whether another Sabbath record was ever discussed, Watt said: “So what happened there was we had made these two Ozzy albums, and Ozzy wanted to keep making another album. Didn’t want to do exactly the same thing that we had done before, so he was into the idea of doing a Sabbath album.”
According to Watt, Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne asked him to call each member of Black Sabbath to see if they were interested. “So I called Tony, talked to him, and he said he was into it as long as Bill was there. That was everyone’s thing. Ozzy was like, ‘If Bill does it, we’ll do it.’ And Geezer said, ‘If the other guys are in it, I’m in to do it,’ right?”
The sticking point turned out to be drummer Bill Ward. Watt described a long conversation with him as one of the strangest and funniest calls he has ever had. “So I had this 40-minute call with Bill, which was one of the weirdest and funniest phone calls just ever of all time. He was on the phone, but it was personal things that we talked about on that phone call that made Ozzy and Sharon, like, crack up. It’s like an inside joke.”
In the end, Ward could not take part. “Long story short, ended up that Bill was not going to be able to make the record, like he wasn’t able to do it for a multitude of different reasons,” Watt said. “So that’s why that didn’t happen. But the other guys were all into doing it, and then Bill sent us all this long email, and then it was over.”
Ward’s absence is a familiar chapter in Black Sabbath’s later history. Ward’s participation in the band’s 2013 reunion album 13 was limited by a contract dispute and health-related concerns, and the reunion era was publicly marked by that dispute, which kept him out of parts of the comeback campaign and performances.
Watt, meanwhile, was the producer behind Ozzy Osbourne’s final two solo albums. The Grammy-winning producer made Ordinary Man (2020) and Patient Number 9 (2022), the latter of which earned Osbourne a Grammy for Best Rock Album. Osbourne publicly credited Watt with helping him focus and encouraging his songwriting during the Patient Number 9 sessions.
The larger story of a Sabbath reunion reached its conclusion on stage rather than in the studio. Black Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning concert took place on July 5, 2025 at Villa Park in Birmingham, reuniting Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time in more than 20 years.
Osbourne died 17 days later. The singer died on July 22, 2025, at his family home near Chalfont St. Giles in Buckinghamshire, England, at the age of 76. In later reflections, Iommi described the farewell show as “closure for the band,” while Butler recalled the audience’s response as “a wave of love.”
Iommi has spoken plainly about the loss since then. “I still can’t believe that he’s not with us. There will never be another Ozzy,” he said in a tribute shared on the first anniversary of Osbourne’s death.
