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Ozzy Osbourne's Black Sabbath bandmates have revealed how they had no idea that the legendary frontman had relapsed back into drug and alcohol abuse, saying they "didn't pick up on it at all".
Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler told Classic Rock Magazine that despite working closely with Osbourne on their latest studio album 13, they found out only shortly before the rest of the world that the singer had gone back to taking drugs and alcohol. Osbourne, 65, posted a message on his Facebook page earlier this year admitting he had relapsed but had stopped his "insane behaviour".
"You know what, I couldn't believe it," guitarist Iommi admitted. "He was working at my house and I didn't pick up on it at all. None of us did. He really hid that well. It was a shock, actually, when [Ozzy's wife] Sharon told me. I just couldn't believe he'd been drinking again. I didn't see any signs of it."
Bassist Butler added: "He was really good at keeping it secret. I thought he was talking a lot - he used to drive us nuts because he wouldn't stop talking - but we put that down to the excitement of doing the album."
"It certainly didn't affect his performance in the studio... to us, he'd worked better than ever," Butler continued. "Sharon told me and Tony, and by that time Ozzy had gone into rehab."
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