Jimmy Page and Ozzy Osbourne stand as two of Britain’s biggest rock legends, yet surprisingly, their musical paths have never officially crossed. Despite their immense influence, a collaboration between the two heavyweights has so far eluded fans’ dreams—though Osbourne did make an attempt to change that, it unfortunately never came to fruition.
Before Jimmy Page became the iconic guitarist of Led Zeppelin, he had already built a formidable reputation as a sought-after session player in London, contributing to hits like Tom Jones’ “It’s Not Unusual” and Shirley Bassey’s “Goldfinger.” His early career was all about paying the bills, but nowadays, Page is much more selective, only interested in working with artists he can connect with deeply in the studio.
On paper, teaming up with Ozzy Osbourne would seem like a perfect match. But despite the obvious appeal, Page was not keen. The story came to light through Chad Smith, drummer of the Red Hot Chili Peppers, who helped Osbourne with his album Patient Number 9. Smith revealed that they had hoped to unite the legendary Yardbirds guitar trio—Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Jimmy Page—for the record. While Clapton and Beck jumped in, Page declined.
Smith explained on the Talk Is Jericho podcast, “We tried to get Jimmy Page, we wanted the holy trinity, but I don’t think Jimmy plays too much anymore.” Osbourne later confirmed this, admitting he never heard back and joked that maybe Page had lost his phone. Although Page no longer performs publicly or frequently features on guest records, he has not retired.
Page himself shed light on his decision in an interview with Classic Rock, revealing his reluctance to record remotely: “I will never be one of those people who’ll record alone and send someone a file. I never went into music in the first place to do that – it was for playing together.”
The logistics didn’t help either. With Osbourne recording in Los Angeles and Page based in London, plus the challenges of the global pandemic keeping them apart, the opportunity to jam in the same room simply wasn’t there. Page craves that live, human connection when making music, something impossible under those circumstances.
Given Osbourne’s ongoing health issues, it seems increasingly unlikely that this long-anticipated collaboration will happen anytime soon. Still, fans hold onto hope that one day Page might surprise everyone with a live appearance at Osbourne’s farewell concert at Villa Park, finally uniting these two rock icons on stage.
