Ozzy Osbourne has revealed that he was speaking with Lemmy Kilmster on the morning that Motörhead's late frontman died. Lemmy passed away on December 28, 2015, four days after his 70th birthday. He passed away at his Los Angeles apartment from prostate cancer, cardiac arrhythmia, and congestive heart failure.
In a new interview with Classic Rock for the magazine's 300th issue, Ozzy talks about losing his friend.
"He was a good man, Lemmy was," says Ozzy. "All the guys from Motörhead have gone now, from the original band. It's hard to lose anyone you love. I was talking to Lemmy on the morning that he died, but I couldn't understand what he was talking about. I wanted to talk to someone else who was there, but they kept giving the phone to Lemmy."
Read more at Louder.
Late last year, Ozzy and Lemmy reunited one last time in the animated video for their mash-up duet of “Hellraiser”. The clip is an homage to their decades-long friendship.
Produced by Hey Beautiful Jerk and directed by Mark Szumski and Gina Niespodziani, the video opens with Ozzy and Lemmy hanging out at the infamous Rainbow Bar And Grill on Sunset Blvd. (Lemmy’s unofficial second home) surrounded by friends. The two are transported from a calm day playing video games in the bar to a post-apocalyptic world where they battle evil forces before ultimately returning to the bar, where they pick up their video game as if nothing had occurred. Watch the clip below.
“I’m so glad we were able to honor my dear friend Lemmy with this duet and now the video,” Ozzy said. “We immortalized him with a clip of the two of us being together, hanging out and getting into some trouble as we so often did.”
The song - which was co-written by the two and Ozzy’s longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde - originally appeared on the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee and Grammy-winning singer and songwriter’s 1991 No More Tears album; Motörhead then recorded their own version and released it as a single from their 1992 March ör Die album.
The never-before-released “Hellraiser” mash-up with Ozzy and Lemmy was included on the digital 30th anniversary release of Ozzy’s classic album No More Tears, released September 2021 via Sony. In addition, “Hellraiser” was issued as a stand-alone release on Ozzy’s birthday, December 3.
