24-07-2025
- Entertainment
- The Advertiser
'Just so surreal': the moment this Aussie was asked to tour with Ozzy
"Do you want to go on tour with Ozzy Osbourne?"
It is a phone call Chris Rand is still shocked he received, even though it happened 27 years ago.
Back then, in 1998, the singer and bass player for metal band Segression was busy working as a tattoo artist in Wollongong, and his wife Karen was heavily pregnant with the couple's first child.
But, one phone call from Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne changed everything.
"We had a tattoo shop in Corrimal at the time, and the phone rang, and it was actually Sharon Osbourne, wanting to speak to my mum because my mum managed the band," Chris recalls. "I was personally invited from Sharon and Ozzy."
Segression had already toured with US metal bands Machine Head and Fear Factory, and those bands, who were friends with Ozzy, recommended Segression to him as a support act.
But, with Karen pregnant, Chris worried he'd miss the birth of his first child. So, after much discussion, she was induced and had baby Kiara five days before the tour started.
Chris is among a legion of fans and music industry insiders who are reeling after the death of Ozzy Osbourne on July 23 following a battle with Parkinson's disease.
It was just weeks after the 76-year-old performed with metal pioneers Black Sabbath for the last time at a star-studded charity benefit show titled Back to the Beginning in the United Kingdom.
"I've got shivers, I've got tears, I've got everything this morning. He was probably one of the nicest people I've ever met," Chris said through tears.
"I'm devastated, absolutely devastated. I've never really felt much with a celebrity death before, but because of the personal connection that I had with him ... because I toured with him and met him and knew him as a person briefly, it really hit hard, to be honest."
At Segression's first gig on that tour back in 1998, the pressure on them was enormous as they hit the stage before Ozzy, who was known as the Prince of Darkness.
People have "paid a lot of money to go and see Ozzy Osbourne" and back then crowds were well known to "give a little bit of curry" to support bands.
"I walked out on stage and it was, I wouldn't say completely hostile, but it was certainly not warm," Chris remembers.
"I walked up to the microphone and before the band started, I got them to light up the crowd and I said, 'I know that everyone's here to see Ozzy, but we're a young Australian band that's been given an opportunity, so we think it's appropriate to start our set showing Ozzy Osboune what Australia is like. So, Aussie Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi,' and then we're into it.
"The crowd, they turned completely on its head, and we had an amazing tour ... it was just so surreal."
During another moment on tour, Ozzy was chatting to one of Segression's roadies who had a "full body suit of tattoos".
"Ozzy was just so fascinated. He said, 'Can I see you without your shirt on again?'. He took his shirt off and he said, 'it's like a road map to your life'," Chris said.
"And then, funnily enough, just after that tour, Ozzy went back home and got his arms tattooed, full sleeves."
The tour and getting to meet Ozzy were so significant in Chris' life that he still holds dear the backstage pass he wore each night during the tour.
"My Dad [Dave] was a massive Black Sabbath fan, so it's like one of my life's proudest moments when I got to introduce my dad [to Ozzy]," Chris said of a moment on that tour.
"My dad's quiet at the best of times, so he just sort of walked up and shook hands, and that was about it. They just stared at each other."
He recalls everyone was starstruck around Ozzy at that time, it was the height of the Osbourne's reality television show, The Osbournes, and Ozzy was a massive star thanks to his Black Sabbath days and then successful solo career.
Ozzy's reputation is huge - he was the lead singer of Black Sabbath until he was kicked out in 1979 after a long run of erratic drink and drug-fuelled behaviour, and when he bit the head off a bat onstage, he made rock history.
But, underneath all the bravado, the rumour and the reality TV show, Chris simply remembers Ozzy as just being a good bloke.
"When you got to be in his presence, you just felt like you were the only one there. He just had that magic about himself," he said.
"He's done so many things that he's notorious for, but the person that I met was just funny and warm.
"He's probably the biggest rock star on the planet, and I don't think he ever thought of it that way. He just liked playing music and enjoying himself. I don't think he was dwelling on his success at all."
"Do you want to go on tour with Ozzy Osbourne?"
It is a phone call Chris Rand is still shocked he received, even though it happened 27 years ago.
Back then, in 1998, the singer and bass player for metal band Segression was busy working as a tattoo artist in Wollongong, and his wife Karen was heavily pregnant with the couple's first child.
But, one phone call from Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne changed everything.
"We had a tattoo shop in Corrimal at the time, and the phone rang, and it was actually Sharon Osbourne, wanting to speak to my mum because my mum managed the band," Chris recalls. "I was personally invited from Sharon and Ozzy."
Segression had already toured with US metal bands Machine Head and Fear Factory, and those bands, who were friends with Ozzy, recommended Segression to him as a support act.
But, with Karen pregnant, Chris worried he'd miss the birth of his first child. So, after much discussion, she was induced and had baby Kiara five days before the tour started.
Chris is among a legion of fans and music industry insiders who are reeling after the death of Ozzy Osbourne on July 23 following a battle with Parkinson's disease.
It was just weeks after the 76-year-old performed with metal pioneers Black Sabbath for the last time at a star-studded charity benefit show titled Back to the Beginning in the United Kingdom.
"I've got shivers, I've got tears, I've got everything this morning. He was probably one of the nicest people I've ever met," Chris said through tears.
"I'm devastated, absolutely devastated. I've never really felt much with a celebrity death before, but because of the personal connection that I had with him ... because I toured with him and met him and knew him as a person briefly, it really hit hard, to be honest."
At Segression's first gig on that tour back in 1998, the pressure on them was enormous as they hit the stage before Ozzy, who was known as the Prince of Darkness.
People have "paid a lot of money to go and see Ozzy Osbourne" and back then crowds were well known to "give a little bit of curry" to support bands.
"I walked out on stage and it was, I wouldn't say completely hostile, but it was certainly not warm," Chris remembers.
"I walked up to the microphone and before the band started, I got them to light up the crowd and I said, 'I know that everyone's here to see Ozzy, but we're a young Australian band that's been given an opportunity, so we think it's appropriate to start our set showing Ozzy Osboune what Australia is like. So, Aussie Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi,' and then we're into it.
"The crowd, they turned completely on its head, and we had an amazing tour ... it was just so surreal."
During another moment on tour, Ozzy was chatting to one of Segression's roadies who had a "full body suit of tattoos".
"Ozzy was just so fascinated. He said, 'Can I see you without your shirt on again?'. He took his shirt off and he said, 'it's like a road map to your life'," Chris said.
"And then, funnily enough, just after that tour, Ozzy went back home and got his arms tattooed, full sleeves."
The tour and getting to meet Ozzy were so significant in Chris' life that he still holds dear the backstage pass he wore each night during the tour.
"My Dad [Dave] was a massive Black Sabbath fan, so it's like one of my life's proudest moments when I got to introduce my dad [to Ozzy]," Chris said of a moment on that tour.
"My dad's quiet at the best of times, so he just sort of walked up and shook hands, and that was about it. They just stared at each other."
He recalls everyone was starstruck around Ozzy at that time, it was the height of the Osbourne's reality television show, The Osbournes, and Ozzy was a massive star thanks to his Black Sabbath days and then successful solo career.
Ozzy's reputation is huge - he was the lead singer of Black Sabbath until he was kicked out in 1979 after a long run of erratic drink and drug-fuelled behaviour, and when he bit the head off a bat onstage, he made rock history.
But, underneath all the bravado, the rumour and the reality TV show, Chris simply remembers Ozzy as just being a good bloke.
"When you got to be in his presence, you just felt like you were the only one there. He just had that magic about himself," he said.
"He's done so many things that he's notorious for, but the person that I met was just funny and warm.
"He's probably the biggest rock star on the planet, and I don't think he ever thought of it that way. He just liked playing music and enjoying himself. I don't think he was dwelling on his success at all."
"Do you want to go on tour with Ozzy Osbourne?"
It is a phone call Chris Rand is still shocked he received, even though it happened 27 years ago.
Back then, in 1998, the singer and bass player for metal band Segression was busy working as a tattoo artist in Wollongong, and his wife Karen was heavily pregnant with the couple's first child.
But, one phone call from Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne changed everything.
"We had a tattoo shop in Corrimal at the time, and the phone rang, and it was actually Sharon Osbourne, wanting to speak to my mum because my mum managed the band," Chris recalls. "I was personally invited from Sharon and Ozzy."
Segression had already toured with US metal bands Machine Head and Fear Factory, and those bands, who were friends with Ozzy, recommended Segression to him as a support act.
But, with Karen pregnant, Chris worried he'd miss the birth of his first child. So, after much discussion, she was induced and had baby Kiara five days before the tour started.
Chris is among a legion of fans and music industry insiders who are reeling after the death of Ozzy Osbourne on July 23 following a battle with Parkinson's disease.
It was just weeks after the 76-year-old performed with metal pioneers Black Sabbath for the last time at a star-studded charity benefit show titled Back to the Beginning in the United Kingdom.
"I've got shivers, I've got tears, I've got everything this morning. He was probably one of the nicest people I've ever met," Chris said through tears.
"I'm devastated, absolutely devastated. I've never really felt much with a celebrity death before, but because of the personal connection that I had with him ... because I toured with him and met him and knew him as a person briefly, it really hit hard, to be honest."
At Segression's first gig on that tour back in 1998, the pressure on them was enormous as they hit the stage before Ozzy, who was known as the Prince of Darkness.
People have "paid a lot of money to go and see Ozzy Osbourne" and back then crowds were well known to "give a little bit of curry" to support bands.
"I walked out on stage and it was, I wouldn't say completely hostile, but it was certainly not warm," Chris remembers.
"I walked up to the microphone and before the band started, I got them to light up the crowd and I said, 'I know that everyone's here to see Ozzy, but we're a young Australian band that's been given an opportunity, so we think it's appropriate to start our set showing Ozzy Osboune what Australia is like. So, Aussie Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi,' and then we're into it.
"The crowd, they turned completely on its head, and we had an amazing tour ... it was just so surreal."
During another moment on tour, Ozzy was chatting to one of Segression's roadies who had a "full body suit of tattoos".
"Ozzy was just so fascinated. He said, 'Can I see you without your shirt on again?'. He took his shirt off and he said, 'it's like a road map to your life'," Chris said.
"And then, funnily enough, just after that tour, Ozzy went back home and got his arms tattooed, full sleeves."
The tour and getting to meet Ozzy were so significant in Chris' life that he still holds dear the backstage pass he wore each night during the tour.
"My Dad [Dave] was a massive Black Sabbath fan, so it's like one of my life's proudest moments when I got to introduce my dad [to Ozzy]," Chris said of a moment on that tour.
"My dad's quiet at the best of times, so he just sort of walked up and shook hands, and that was about it. They just stared at each other."
He recalls everyone was starstruck around Ozzy at that time, it was the height of the Osbourne's reality television show, The Osbournes, and Ozzy was a massive star thanks to his Black Sabbath days and then successful solo career.
Ozzy's reputation is huge - he was the lead singer of Black Sabbath until he was kicked out in 1979 after a long run of erratic drink and drug-fuelled behaviour, and when he bit the head off a bat onstage, he made rock history.
But, underneath all the bravado, the rumour and the reality TV show, Chris simply remembers Ozzy as just being a good bloke.
"When you got to be in his presence, you just felt like you were the only one there. He just had that magic about himself," he said.
"He's done so many things that he's notorious for, but the person that I met was just funny and warm.
"He's probably the biggest rock star on the planet, and I don't think he ever thought of it that way. He just liked playing music and enjoying himself. I don't think he was dwelling on his success at all."
"Do you want to go on tour with Ozzy Osbourne?"
It is a phone call Chris Rand is still shocked he received, even though it happened 27 years ago.
Back then, in 1998, the singer and bass player for metal band Segression was busy working as a tattoo artist in Wollongong, and his wife Karen was heavily pregnant with the couple's first child.
But, one phone call from Ozzy's wife and manager Sharon Osbourne changed everything.
"We had a tattoo shop in Corrimal at the time, and the phone rang, and it was actually Sharon Osbourne, wanting to speak to my mum because my mum managed the band," Chris recalls. "I was personally invited from Sharon and Ozzy."
Segression had already toured with US metal bands Machine Head and Fear Factory, and those bands, who were friends with Ozzy, recommended Segression to him as a support act.
But, with Karen pregnant, Chris worried he'd miss the birth of his first child. So, after much discussion, she was induced and had baby Kiara five days before the tour started.
Chris is among a legion of fans and music industry insiders who are reeling after the death of Ozzy Osbourne on July 23 following a battle with Parkinson's disease.
It was just weeks after the 76-year-old performed with metal pioneers Black Sabbath for the last time at a star-studded charity benefit show titled Back to the Beginning in the United Kingdom.
"I've got shivers, I've got tears, I've got everything this morning. He was probably one of the nicest people I've ever met," Chris said through tears.
"I'm devastated, absolutely devastated. I've never really felt much with a celebrity death before, but because of the personal connection that I had with him ... because I toured with him and met him and knew him as a person briefly, it really hit hard, to be honest."
At Segression's first gig on that tour back in 1998, the pressure on them was enormous as they hit the stage before Ozzy, who was known as the Prince of Darkness.
People have "paid a lot of money to go and see Ozzy Osbourne" and back then crowds were well known to "give a little bit of curry" to support bands.
"I walked out on stage and it was, I wouldn't say completely hostile, but it was certainly not warm," Chris remembers.
"I walked up to the microphone and before the band started, I got them to light up the crowd and I said, 'I know that everyone's here to see Ozzy, but we're a young Australian band that's been given an opportunity, so we think it's appropriate to start our set showing Ozzy Osboune what Australia is like. So, Aussie Aussie, Aussie, Oi, Oi, Oi,' and then we're into it.
"The crowd, they turned completely on its head, and we had an amazing tour ... it was just so surreal."
During another moment on tour, Ozzy was chatting to one of Segression's roadies who had a "full body suit of tattoos".
"Ozzy was just so fascinated. He said, 'Can I see you without your shirt on again?'. He took his shirt off and he said, 'it's like a road map to your life'," Chris said.
"And then, funnily enough, just after that tour, Ozzy went back home and got his arms tattooed, full sleeves."
The tour and getting to meet Ozzy were so significant in Chris' life that he still holds dear the backstage pass he wore each night during the tour.
"My Dad [Dave] was a massive Black Sabbath fan, so it's like one of my life's proudest moments when I got to introduce my dad [to Ozzy]," Chris said of a moment on that tour.
"My dad's quiet at the best of times, so he just sort of walked up and shook hands, and that was about it. They just stared at each other."
He recalls everyone was starstruck around Ozzy at that time, it was the height of the Osbourne's reality television show, The Osbournes, and Ozzy was a massive star thanks to his Black Sabbath days and then successful solo career.
Ozzy's reputation is huge - he was the lead singer of Black Sabbath until he was kicked out in 1979 after a long run of erratic drink and drug-fuelled behaviour, and when he bit the head off a bat onstage, he made rock history.
But, underneath all the bravado, the rumour and the reality TV show, Chris simply remembers Ozzy as just being a good bloke.
"When you got to be in his presence, you just felt like you were the only one there. He just had that magic about himself," he said.
"He's done so many things that he's notorious for, but the person that I met was just funny and warm.
"He's probably the biggest rock star on the planet, and I don't think he ever thought of it that way. He just liked playing music and enjoying himself. I don't think he was dwelling on his success at all."
