In an interview with Ultimate Classic Rock, Black Sabbath’s bassist Geezer Butler discussed the release of his autobiography, ‘Into The Void.’ In this conversation, he shared the lack of contact with Ozzy Osbourne and named their wives as the cause.
The chat moved to the bassist’s relationships with the other members of Black Sabbath when the interviewer mentioned his descriptions of Tony Iommi in the book. Talking about the guitarist, Butler said:
“He’s always been there for me. You know, he’s a good friend. We can slag each other to death. It’s like marriage, really. You have terrible arguments, you fall out, and you come back together. But he’s always there. He always is. I hope he is after this book as well.
I still love Bill [Ward], but he’s not on the internet. If you want to talk to Bill, you have to email his wife, and she has to tell him. It’s really awkward. [Laughs] Ozzy, I don’t speak to at all.“
When asked if he might start talking to Osbourne again, he answered:
“I very much doubt it. We didn’t fall out; it was the wives.”
In his book, the bassist addressed this issue directly. He noted that the disagreement between their wives – Gloria Butler and Sharon Osbourne – was the main reason for the split with the former Black Sabbath vocalist.
His words in ‘Into The Void‘ read:
“Me and Ozzy are fine; it’s just that we’re both ruled by our wives. He’s got a big heart and was always there for me in times of trouble. […] We might not be as close as we were, but we’ll always be brothers. How could we not be, given everything that we went through together?”
Since Black Sabbath broke up in 2017, Butler rarely met up with the rest of the band at public events. His absence was noticeable when Osbourne and Iommi reunited to close the 2022 Commonwealth Games. The bassist didn’t join them, reportedly because of health issues.