CARMINE APPICE Speaks Out On "THE OSBOURNES" And Friendship With OZZY

Former OZZY OSBOURNE/BLUE MURDER drummer Carmine Appice still considers Ozzy his friend despite the fact that Sharon Osbourne fired him from the group under acrimonious circumstances back in 1984 (which eventually led to Appice suing the couple).

In an interview with Electribasement.com's David L. Wilson, Carmine stated that "When I first saw [The Osbournes], I thought it was sad too because, knowing Ozzy, it is just sad and everyone is just laughing at him being the way that he is. He is shaking and it is sad, but Sharon is brilliant, she is a brilliant person and she has turned everything negative about Ozzy into a positive and she made his career an institution—he is like General Motors now. It is ridiculous—the Ozzfest, the TV show… You know, I lived with Ozzy for months and months, but now when I talk with Ozzy, I can't understand a word that he is saying, nobody can. Everyone is making fun of him—Rolling Stone and all of these magazines—and then there are the contests on the radio, 'If you can understand what Ozzy is saying you can win this…' It is funny, but it is sad when you think about it, because he is not putting on an act, that is the way that he is. He always wanted to be an actor and he is a really nice dude. Someone said to me, someone who knows Ozzy, 'I can't believe what they are doing to Ozzy, doesn't he care what he looks like?' and then he said, 'Ozzy never cared about anything, you know that!' (laughs) 'I guess you are right,' I said. He was always in his own oblivious world and Sharon was always there to rescue him, no matter what happened but some of the stuff she did, you know, she fired me off of a tour. I had a contract [with Ozzy], and she fired me and I ended up suing them, but Ozzy was still my friend. He said, 'I know that you and my Mrs. have some disagreements…' but I didn't have any disagreements, she just fired me and said that my name was just too big and that I should start my own band. Then this thing with Bob Daisley suing him and everything…it speaks for itself really."

To read the entire interview, click here.

In other news, DROWNING POOL vocalist Dave Williams recently commented on the effect Sharon's absence has had on the mood of the Ozzfest. "It has a little bit. We're all very concerned. Sharon is the mother of all this. She keeps a pretty tight ship. She's a very smart business lady, and we've all grown to know her and love her. I mean she's a great lady. So we're definitely concerned, I mean I'm worried. I don't want anything bad to happen to her, for her and for her family. But I think in the grand scheme of things, being the business woman that she is, she'd want—the show must go on—and she would want it to go on for the fans and for everything to just run smooth.

"That's a strong lady," Williams added. "I have confidence that she's going to be alright, and there's enough people out here that love her that I think she's going to get through this. I think we're going to be OK."