Ozzy Osbourne’s sons recently disclosed details about a previously unknown collaboration between the rock legend and pop icon Madonna. Their statements were shared on Jack Osbourne’s YouTube channel.
The revelation centers on a duet that was originally written for Madonna and the band Was (Not Was). Ozzy was brought into the project, but an unexpected turn followed.
“Was (Not Was) did a duet with Madonna. It was written for Madonna and Was (Not Was) […then Ozzy was brought in] and she really fucking popped [in popularity] and then didn’t give approval on the record,” Louis Osbourne explained. “So that was canned. And then when Kim Basinger was having that big acting moment in the middle of her career in the ’80s, they decided they were going to try and make her a pop star, as well. So they tracked Kim Basinger on it instead.”
The final recording was marketed under Was (Not Was) and Kim Basinger’s names, with Ozzy’s contribution largely going unrecognized by the public, according to Jack Osbourne.
“No one really knows it because commercially it was promoted as Was (Not Was) and Kim Basinger. They didn’t really push that it was my dad as well,” Jack said. “They didn’t credit dad for being the other vocalist on there. I don’t know why. It might have been the record label just being like ‘Oh, let’s market it as Was (Not Was) with Kim Basinger.'”
This lost collaboration represents one of the most intriguing footnotes in 1980s music history. It reveals how creative decisions and marketing strategies sometimes obscure the true contributors behind recordings. The story sheds light on the complex dynamics between artists, record labels, and the commercial pressures that shaped the era’s music industry.
The song in question was “Shake Your Head (Let’s Go to Bed)” from Was (Not Was)’s 1983 album Born to Laugh at Tornadoes, as reported by X107.1. The track was recorded in the early 1980s when Madonna was still relatively unknown, before her meteoric rise to global stardom. The band, known for their eclectic and experimental approach to music, assembled an unlikely trio of vocalists for what would become one of rock and pop’s most mysterious collaborations.
Madonna’s decision to withhold approval for her vocals on the track remains one of the defining moments of this lost recording. Loudwire reported that Madonna refused to allow her vocals to be released, possibly due to concerns about her emerging image or artistic direction at the time. This refusal forced Was (Not Was) to seek an alternative vocalist, leading them to Kim Basinger, who was herself experiencing a career surge in Hollywood during the mid-1980s.
The official release of “Shake Your Head (Let’s Go to Bed)” featured Ozzy Osbourne and Kim Basinger. The song became a cult hit, particularly memorable for its distinctive music video. However, the original version with Madonna’s vocals remained locked away in the archives for years, becoming the stuff of music industry legend. Producer Don Was later discovered the original tracks in the early 1990s, as documented on YouTube archival sources. He created a remix that blended Ozzy Osbourne’s and Madonna’s vocals together, finally allowing the rare duet to see the light of day.
The unreleased Madonna version eventually surfaced on the 1992 compilation Now Dance 92 and later circulated online. This allowed devoted fans and music historians to finally hear the rare Ozzy/Madonna pairing. Rock 95 noted that this version has since become a sought-after piece of music history, celebrated for its unlikely pairing and the mystery surrounding its delayed release. The story exemplifies how the music industry’s commercial decisions and artist approvals can transform a simple recording session into a decades-long enigma.
