Geezer Butler Says He and Ozzy Don’t Speak: “It Was the Wives”

Promoting his biography in a new interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, former Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler said that he keeps in touch with Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi but that he and Ozzy Osbourne no longer speak due to alleged issues between their wives.

“Yeah, he’s always been there for me. You know, he’s a good friend. We can slag each other to death. It’s like marriage, really. You have terrible arguments, you fall out and you come back together. But he’s always there. He always is. I hope he is after this book as well. I still love Bill [Ward], but he’s not on the Internet. If you want to talk to Bill, you have to e-mail his wife and she has to tell him. It’s really awkward. [Laughs] Ozzy I don’t speak to at all.”

In the interview, Butler confirmed that his and Ozzy’s wives are why the duo no longer speak. In his book, he wrote:

“Me and Ozzy are fine, it’s just that we’re both ruled by our wives. He’s got a big heart and was always there for me.”

In the same interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Butler also talked about revisiting Black Sabbath’s debut album and what he thought about its influence.

“I didn’t realize how naive it was until we did the 13 album. Rick Rubin took us down to his house in Malibu, he put the first album on and he says, “Listen to this, this isn’t metal. This is before the word ‘heavy metal’ or anything. This is Sabbath.” We listened, and I was blown away at how much we got accomplished in two days on that album. How raw it was and how it still stands up over all of the years. Because it was just a recording purely of us. There are hardly any overdubs, no technical tricks or anything like that. I think that’s why it stands the test of time.”