In a raw and revealing audio interview captured backstage at Ozzy Osbourne’s farewell concert “Back to the Beginning” on July 4, 2025, legendary guitarist Jake E. Lee stripped away decades of rock ‘n’ roll armor to share unvarnished stories from his turbulent tenure with the Prince of Darkness. Titled “Jake E. Lee Unfiltered: ‘Back to the Beginning Interview,'” the conversation—now circulating widely on platforms like YouTube and Reddit—offers a poignant glimpse into Lee’s complex relationships with both Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne, while touching on his personal battles with health and the profound closure he found just months before Ozzy’s passing in late July 2025.
The interview, conducted amid the electric chaos of the star-studded event at the Forum in Los Angeles, arrives as a timely artifact of heavy metal’s bittersweet evolution. “Back to the Beginning” was more than a concert; it was a valedictory spectacle featuring Ozzy’s past collaborators, including Zakk Wylde, Randy Rhoads’ bandmates, and Black Sabbath originals, all gathered to honor the icon’s 55-year career. For Lee, who served as Ozzy’s guitarist from 1982 to 1987 and helmed the platinum-selling albums Bark at the Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986), the night represented a long-overdue homecoming—and a chance to rewrite a narrative marred by business disputes and personal estrangement.c63f6eab58ea
Lee, 68, doesn’t mince words about the Osbournes. He recounts how a young, ambitious version of himself was “green” and pressured into signing a contract that stripped him of songwriting credits—and substantial royalties—for much of Bark at the Moon, a move he attributes to Sharon’s shrewd management style rather than malice. “Sharon brought me over to Ozzy [at a pre-show photoshoot],” Lee recalls in the interview. “There’s no ill will; there has never been any on my part. Business is business. I don’t think anything they ever did was to try and fuck over Jake; it was always about business.” This sentiment echoes a broader industry critique: Sharon, the Osbournes’ formidable matriarch, has long been credited with salvaging Ozzy’s solo career post-Black Sabbath but accused by former bandmates of ruthless tactics that prioritized the family’s empire.
Yet, Lee’s tone is one of reconciliation, not resentment. After 38 years apart, the guitarist describes a heartfelt reunion facilitated by Sharon herself. “I always wanted to reconcile, tell him there weren’t any hard feelings and end things on a friendly note. I got to do that,” he says, his voice cracking with humility.048e63 The moment culminated onstage, where Lee joined Extreme’s Nuno Bettencourt for a blistering rendition of “The Ultimate Sin,” met with chants of his name from a crowd that included Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler. “I walked out and Nuno had the crowd chanting my name. It was overwhelming. I’m surprised I didn’t trip and fall down,” Lee admits with a laugh, underscoring the hero’s welcome he received despite years of being sidelined in Ozzy lore—most notably, his glaring omission from the 2024 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame induction.
The interview also delves into Lee’s grueling path to that stage. In 2024, he survived multiple gunshot wounds during a home invasion, an ordeal that compounded his struggles with arthritis in his fretting hand—a condition that had sidelined him from guitar for years. “I hadn’t been playing guitar for a couple of years because this wrist was killing me,” he tells interviewer SiriusXM’s “Ozzy’s Boneyard,” crediting rigorous physical therapy and sheer willpower for his return. Poignantly, Lee shares the last text he received from Ozzy, sent two weeks before the singer’s death: “Hi, Jake, I’m so sorry I couldn’t spend more time with you on the weekend, it was really chaotic.” Lee’s response? A simple acknowledgment of the finality: “Still processing it. The finality of it hits me in waves.”
Fans have hailed the discussion as a masterclass in grace under pressure. On Reddit’s r/hairmetal and r/OzzyOsbourne communities, users praise Lee’s humility, with one commenter noting, “Dude is humble af,” while lamenting the Osbournes’ historical treatment of collaborators like Lee, Randy Rhoads, and Bob Daisley. Guitar World, which published extended excerpts, positions the interview as a testament to Lee’s enduring influence, from his Charvel-endorsed shredding on “Bark at the Moon” to his post-Ozzy ventures with Badlands and Red Dragon Cartel.
As Ozzy’s legacy solidifies—bolstered by a forthcoming documentary and his memoir Last Rites, completed just 48 hours before his death—Lee’s words serve as a reminder of the human cost behind the spectacle. “Ozzy made me a better guitarist with a single comment,” Lee reflects, recalling how the singer once challenged him to elevate his playing. In an era where heavy metal icons are increasingly few, Jake E. Lee’s unfiltered candor bridges the past and present, honoring a bond forged in fire and tempered by time.
