Zak Starkey once turned down the chance to join Black Sabbath.
The 59-year-old drummer – whose father is The Beatles legend Sir Ringo Starr – has revealed a message from late rock icon Ozzy Osbourne’s wife and manager Sharon offering him a spot in the group for a festival run and some time in the studio.
In the email shared on Instagram, Sharon wrote: “Zak,
“Black Sabbath is headlining Download on June 10 and then Lollapalooza in August.
“The guys need a drummer for their album, which will be recorded in September with Rick Rubin producing. We would probably need you for 2-3 weeks for the album.
“Also, they need a drummer to play at Lollapalooza which is on August 3 in Chicago.
“Also, Ozzy wants to have sex with you while he is singing Iron Man.
“Big Kiss, Sharon.”
Zak has shared the note after Ozzy’s tragic death on Tuesday (22.07.25) aged 76, and he described his decision to turn down the offer as a “regret”.
He captioned the post: “Regrets I’ve had a few -this is one – (not the sex part!)
“Ozzy will always be one of the greatest, natural , brilliant singers of all time. I send much love and strength to his family at this sad sad time.
“If u aren’t familiar with the never say die record – get into it – it’s so far out – X (sic)”
At the time, Zak was with The Who as their drummer, although he was out of action from touring with the group due to a “tendon problem”.
He didn’t confirm whether or not that was the reason for declining the offer.
Instead, former Rob Zombie percussionist Tommy Clufetos – who previously worked on Ozzy’s solo
project – stepped in for the live performances.
Rage Against The Machine drummer Brad Wilk joined Sabbath in the studio for their final album 13, which was released in June 2013.