Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert was a who’s who of heavy metal and rock icons. From the Pantera fellas to Tom Morello, to rising English rocker Yungblud, many folks from the industry turned up to celebrate the Prince of Darkness and his legendary bandmates in Black Sabbath.
There was one person from Ozzy’s past who was not present, however: the rocker’s former drummer, Tommy Aldridge. As he explained it, the rock ‘n’ roll skinsman “wasn’t invited” to participate in the “Back To The Beginning” concert. He was quick to make sure that it was understood that there is no bad blood, though.
“Well, I don’t wanna cast dispersions. I don’t want to shade anyone,” Aldridge said in a video on his official YouTube channel (at the time of this writing, it appears that the settings have been switched to private). “I wasn’t invited to be at Ozzy’s last show. That’s as much as I need to say. I wasn’t invited. And I’m not gonna crash someone else’s party.
“I will say, but that has no reflection on Ozzy. I have so much admiration and love for Ozzy,” Aldridge continued. “Ozzy was someone I spent a lot of time with, and it was by no means any disrespect intended on my part—certainly not—and the powers that be. I pay my highest regards and respects to Ozzy Osbourne on any opportunity I get to do that.”
Ozzy Osbourne died on July 22, 2025, just weeks after playing his final concert in England
Alrdridge is a longtime rock drummer who’s played with several high-profile bands since the 70s. Black Oak Arkansas, Whitesnake, Ted Nugent, Thin Lizzy, and Yngwie Malmsteen are just a few bands he’s performed with.
Over the years, he developed a friendship with guitarist Randy Rhodes, who went on to play with Ozzy. This led to Aldridge also playing with Ozzy from 1981 until 1984-85. During his time with the band, he played on two Ozzy projects. The first was 1982’s Speak of the Devil live album. The second was Ozzy’s iconic third album, Bark at the Moon (1983).
During his YouTube interview, Aldridge was asked what motivated him to join Ozzy’s band. He confessed that it was almost entirely because of the late Rhoads. “What motivated me to start with Ozzy was a gentleman by the name of Randy Rhoads, and being able to go on stage with that gentleman every night and be in close proximity to his guitar playing,” he explained. “That was my motivation in working with Ozzy.”
Aldridge played in Whitesnake three different times and was the band’s final drummer when they went inactive in 2022
“Unfortunately, that was very short-lived, ’cause Randy was tragically taken from us. The plane crash, and the trauma of that and everything, that was a very bittersweet time in my career,” Aldridge went on to say, per Blabbermouth. “The high watermark from a musical perspective was working with Randy. And the low watermark, from a personal perspective, was Randy. So it was a ‘damned if you do, damned if you don’t’ time in my career.”
He finally added, “Working with Randy was indescribably inspirational and devastatingly depressing at the same time with his loss.”
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