STEVE STEVENS Talks About Writing Music For OZZY OSBOURNE's Next Solo Album

Guitarist Steve Stevens has spoken about his collaboration with Ozzy Osbourne on material for the BLACK SABBATH singer's upcoming solo album.

As previously reported, Osbourne and Stevens connected through their mutual friend Billy Morrison, who plays alongside Stevens in Billy Idol's band. Ozzy told SiriusXM last fall that they had made a "bluesy" song with the working title "Crack Cocaine", which will appear on the forthcoming release.

Ozzy, who played his final show with BLACK SABBATH earlier this month, said: "I'm not retiring, I'm gonna carry on. I've been writing with Billy Morrison and Steve Stevens. Steve is not gonna be in my band, he's with Billy Idol. But he's a friend of Morrison's and Morrison plays with Billy Idol.

"I said, 'I've got some ideas,' and we worked it out. There's one song that right now is called 'Crack Cocaine'. It's like a bluesy thing."

Stevens spoke about his sessions with Osbourne during a recent interview with All That Shreds. He said: "The rhythm guitar player in BILLY IDOL is Billy Morrison, one of Ozzy's best friends, so he asked me to do some writing with Ozzy. We spent about a week working on some tunes, and I haven’t heard anything, so I guess he's really happy with them. So, yes, I did some writing and recording with him."

Asked if he would step in and play with Ozzy in his solo band if he was offered the gig, Steve said: "If it's recording, I would. As far as touring, I'm really dedicated to Billy Idol."

In August, Ozzy said he planned to get into the studio to record the follow-up to 2010's "Scream" as quickly as possible once had completed his SABBATH duties.

Ozzy has not released an all-new solo album since "Scream", having spent the last few years touring with BLACK SABBATH and recording that band's "13" album.