Ozzy: Sabbath drum situation 'wasn't dealt with professionally'

Osbourne reveals Tommy Clufetos was left in the dark
Osbourne reveals Tommy Clufetos was left in the dark (Image credit: Mike Segar/Reuters/Corbis)

Tommy Clufetos was left on hold while Black Sabbath decided who to recruit as drummer on their new album, Ozzy Osbourne has revealed.

Ozzy told Spin that his solo sticksman was left in the dark while Sabbath and producer Rick Rubin decided who should replace Bill Ward at the kit.

The frontman explained: "We had Tommy on hold. And it just didn't work out. The way it was dealt with was wrong, because you can't keep people waiting for nothing. We were going to use Tommy at the beginning, and Rick was against it. And then it turned out that it wasn't dealt with professionally and I got a bit pissed off. Anyway, Tommy's doing a great job on the road with Sabbath."

Sabbath eventually plumped for Brad Wilk, and 13 is out now.

Rich Chamberlain

Rich is a teacher, one time Rhythm staff writer and experienced freelance journalist who has interviewed countless revered musicians, engineers, producers and stars for the our world-leading music making portfolio, including such titles as Rhythm, Total Guitar, Guitarist, Guitar World, and MusicRadar. His victims include such luminaries as Ice T, Mark Guilani and Jamie Oliver (the drumming one).