Wolfgang Van Halen missed Ozzy Osbourne show
Wolfgang Van Halen, son of legendary Van Halen guitarist Eddie Van Halen, was recently asked why he was forced to cancel his participation in the “Back To The Beginning” event, which marked Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath’s final performance.
In a new interview with the Swedish rock radio station 106.7 FM Rockklassiker, Wolfgang Van Halen explained that he had to cancel his planned appearance due to last-minute changes in rehearsal schedules. Despite having flights and hotels booked, the shift made it impossible to attend, especially since he also needed to prepare for Mammoth’s upcoming tour with Creed. The current Mammoth frontman said.
“We had the flights purchased, the hotels ready to go. We also, obviously, have ‘The End’, [Mammoth’s third] album, we were planning on that release, but we hadn’t announced it yet. And then the rehearsal schedules moved. So, at that point, with how many people had bought hotels and, and everything, we literally couldn’t make it, after that schedule changed. One, I had to rehearse for the Creed tour that I was about to go on [with Mammoth]. And then two, even if we wanted to go out there, there was no way to get a hotel or a flight that quickly after it changed. So, we couldn’t do it, unfortunately.”
He admitted he was disappointed but said he was glad he had at least been able to honor Ozzy Osbourne at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and give him a hug.
He added: “I was really happy I was able to do the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame thing for Ozzy, and I got to see him then. But yeah, I was very bummed about that. Sometimes things just sort of happen that way.”
Asked how the whole Rock Hall experience was for him, Wolfgang told 106.7 FM Rockklassiker: “Oh, it was amazing. It was a dream. Being able to play with everybody, and being a massive Tool fan, being able to play with Maynard was an insane thing I never thought I’d be able to do. I mean, if you told me five years ago I’d be playing ‘Crazy Train’ with Maynard, I’d be, like, ‘Shut up. What are you talking about?’ But, man, it was very, very cool. [I was] very, very happy to have been a part of it, and being able to, to see Ozzy after it and give him a hug and chat with him a bit really stuck with me.”
