HENRY ROLLINS Recalls Opening For OZZY OSBOURNE In 1996: “He Was Always Afraid Nobody Would Show Up”

In a heartfelt reflection during a conversation with Loudwire Nights, Henry Rollins looked back on the surreal experience of opening for Ozzy Osbourne during the Retirement Sucks tour in 1996 — a brief run that left him with a deep admiration for the heavy metal legend’s humility and spirit.

The offer came unexpectedly. Rollins recalled: “We got a call from my manager asking if we wanted to fly from New York to Florida to open a few shows for Ozzy. I answered so fast I nearly sprained my jaw.”

The Rollins Band was slotted ahead of Type O Negative, which even Rollins admitted seemed backwards: “They wanted Ozzy. And for some reason, Type O Negative opened for us — it should have been the other way around. We both opened, no one killed us.”

After their set, Rollins rushed to shower and immediately ran back to the side of the stage to witness Ozzy perform. There, he found himself alone with the man himself.

“I’m standing on stage right, audience left. It’s just me and Ozzy. I’d just met him — I wasn’t going to say anything. He’s about to go on, so I just kind of hover nearby to watch the man.”

Then came a moment Rollins would never forget: “Ozzy turns to me and says, ‘Hey, is there anybody out there, man?’ I’m thinking, what kind of crazy question is that? The place holds 22,075 people — I said, ‘Yes, sir, you sold it out.'”

Ozzy‘s response was one of genuine vulnerability: “He told me he still gets nervous before going on stage. He’s always afraid no one will show up. That’s pretty damn humble — and he wasn’t faking it.”

Moments later, Sharon Osbourne appeared with a simple cue: “‘Go,’ she says. And he just bolts out there. The second the crowd saw him, the place exploded. It was like the Earth ripped in half. The place rumbled with human approval.”

The Retirement Sucks Tour was Ozzy Osbourne‘s bold return to the stage in 1996, just a few years after what was initially billed as his farewell tour, No More Tours, in 1992. At the time, Ozzy had announced his retirement from touring due to a multiple sclerosis misdiagnosis (which was later found to be incorrect). But by 1995, he was feeling energized, creatively recharged, and ready to come back — and the Retirement Sucks Tour was his way of doing just that, with trademark irreverence.

Now, in the wake of Ozzy Osbourne‘s death on July 22, 2025, Rollins‘ story resonates more than ever. It underscores a legacy not just of metal greatness, but of humanity — a reminder that even the Prince of Darkness had stage fright and self-doubt, and met it with the same honesty and fire that defined his life.

In a separate heartfelt interview with CNN‘s John Berman, Rollins reflected on meeting Ozzy for the first time in the mid-1990s and it’s pretty damn funny.

“Ozzy comes barreling into the dressing room area. He says, ‘Which one of you guys is Henry?’ And he’s like, ‘My name is Ozzy Osbourne, man. Welcome to the tour. Play the PA as loud as you want. Blow it up if you want to. Have a great time.’ And he just kind of leaves in a trail of cigar smoke.”

That warm gesture stayed with Rollins for decades. He said they bonded over those two shows, and even shared a flight on the Ozzy family jet. “He was great to us, great to me,” Rollins added.

While Ozzy became infamous for his wildman reputation — from biting heads off bats to late-night hotel pool dives — Rollins saw it as a reflection of Ozzy‘s harmless, eccentric spirit.

“I think the fact that Ozzy might have found himself without his clothes wandering into the pool in a hotel in Tokyo at three in the morning — I’ll never do that, and so he did that for me… I love that kind of behavior. It’s not what I do, but when he did it, I just think it was incredibly cool. And so I think he’s just a wild guy who meant no harm.”