“They were sprawled out in their birthday suits, bottles all over the place... it was a scene!”: Rob Halford remembers the chaotic time Ozzy Osbourne visited Judas Priest in the studio

Rob Halford has looked back on the time Ozzy Osbourne visited Judas Priest in the studio and brought unmitigated chaos with him.

In the new issue of Metal Hammer, the self-anointed Metal God recalls his decades-long friendship with the Prince Of Darkness. One particularly anarchic moment was when the Black Sabbath frontman visited Priest as they were recording 1988’s Ram It Down album.

For starters, Ozzy insisted that he wouldn’t swing by without a helipad in the vicinity, forcing the studio’s owner to assemble one at the last minute.

“Ozzy dropped us a message: ‘Can I come check it out? But I’ll only come if you build a helicopter pad,’” Halford remembers. “The guy who owned the studio built it!”

The singer adds that Ozzy rocked up in a “pretty serious mood”. However, those blues didn’t last, with him and Priest guitarist Glenn Tipton going on to enjoy themselves in excessive fashion.

“Eventually, he ended up in a hot tub with some local girls and Glenn,” Halford continues. “Glenn and Ozzy were tighter than anybody. They were up all night, so I remember sticking my head round the corner at one in the morning, and they were both sprawled out in their birthday suits, bottles all over the place... it was a scene!”

Halford first met Ozzy at Henry’s Bluehouse, a late-60s club in their shared hometown of Birmingham. As both vocalists ascended the hard rock ranks and toured together, their friendship solidified.

“We toured with him a few times over the years, and something just happened when he was about to go on – he became Ozzy Osbourne,” Halford reflects.

“But then, Ozzy was always Ozzy in a way. I think that’s what we all love about him. There was nobody more genuine, loving and caring than Ozzy Osbourne. You hear, ‘Don’t meet your heroes.’ Ozzy was nothing like that – a pure magic bloke who never forgot his roots in Birmingham. He would give you the shirt off his back.”

Ozzy died at the age of 76 on July 22, 17 days after he played his blockbuster retirement show Back To The Beginning. The all-day event – held at Villa Park football grounds in Aston, Birmingham – saw Ozzy perform both a short solo set and a few songs with his fellow founding members of Sabbath. The supporting lineup was a who’s who of rock and metal, including Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Guns N’ Roses, Tool and Gojira.

Priest were one of the few high-profile heavy bands to not perform at Back To The Beginning, as they were already booked to play the 60th-anniversary festivities for German hard rockers Scorpions in Hannover the same day.

Halford told Hammer earlier this year that he was “gutted” to be missing out on Back To The Beginning, but his band still found a way to get involved. On July 2, they released a cover of Sabbath’s War Pigs; a second version featuring posthumous vocals from Ozzy was put out in September, proceeds from which went to charity.

Priest will tour Europe in the summer and are booked to headline Bloodstock Open Air in Derbyshire in August. The band will record their next album next year, following the release of Invincible Shield in 2024.

The new Hammer offers the essential breakdown of 2025 in metal, including interviews with the hottest stars of the year as well as our list of the best albums of the past 12 months. Order your copy online and get it delivered directly to your door.