“I grabbed his hand saying, ‘Thank you for everything.’ He goes, ‘You were the only guitar player who said no to me’”: Nuno Bettencourt remembers his final exchange with Ozzy Osbourne – a reminder of the gig he once turned down

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Last weekend, Nuno Bettencourt lined up alongside Yungblud, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry to pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne at the MTV VMAs with a medley of Prince of Darkness classics.

On the night, the Extreme electric guitar virtuoso also took the opportunity to reflect on his longstanding relationship with the late Black Sabbath singer, who once offered an up-and-coming Bettencourt his dream job – which Nuno amazingly turned down.

Speaking to Page Six at the VMAs, Bettencourt looked back on some of his earliest memories of Ozzy, including the time he felt destined to replace Randy Rhoads as his guitarist after the Quiet Riot virtuoso died in a tragic plane accident in the early 1980s.

Only 15 years old at the time, Bettencourt didn’t get a call back after submitting an audition tape, but after he spent years cutting his teeth and became one of rock’s most sought-after players, his dream gig presented itself to him. But the tables had turned.

“When I was 15 and his guitar player passed in a bad plane accident, I believed… that I was gonna replace him,” Bettencourt says. “And there was an ad to send a cassette in.

“So I did. I put a cassette together at 15, sent it in, [I thought], ‘This is my gig. I’m going to get it.’ Of course, I didn’t. Nobody ever called.

“Cut to 12 years later, I’m opening for Aerosmith with Extreme in London and my booker comes in and says, ‘Sharon just called. Ozzy wants you and wants you to be in the band.’ This is like 1995, ’96. I said no.”

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Nuno Bettencourt reveals last thing Ozzy Osbourne said to him – YouTube

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Bettencourt was making a name for himself with Extreme, who were already achieving considerable success. Switching to Ozzy’s band at that time in his career didn’t feel like the right move to make.

Ozzy didn’t forget, though, and when the pair met for the Back to the Beginning farewell show group photo – which took place just weeks before Osbourne’s passing – the Prince of Darkness couldn’t help but remind Bettencourt of the time he told him ‘no’.

“The last words we said to each other when we took the big group photo, I grabbed his hand, saying, ‘Thank you for everything, and thank you, Ozzy, for what you mean to me,’” Bettencourt reveals. “And he pulls me in by the hand. He goes, ‘You were the only guitar player who said no to me.’”

Bettencourt is just one big-name player to have been closely linked to the role of Ozzy’s guitar player, which became one of the most coveted and celebrated spots in all of rock and metal.

Though the likes of Zakk Wylde, Brad Gillis, Randy Rhoads and Jake E. Lee all held down the spot at some point in time, names such as Buckethead, Chris Impellitteri, Vito Bratta, Richie Ranno, Marty Friedman and Jennifer Batten were also linked to the gig over the years.

In related news, The Darkness guitarist Dan Hawkins recently voiced his distaste for Bettencourt and co’s VMAs Ozzy tribute, labeling it “cynical and nauseating”.

Matt is the GuitarWorld.com News Editor, and has been writing and editing for the site for almost five years. He has a Masters in the guitar, a degree in history, and has spent the last 19 years playing everything from blues and jazz to indie and pop. During his GW career, he’s interviewed Peter Frampton, Zakk Wylde, Tosin Abasi, Matteo Mancuso and more, and has profiled the CEOs of Guitar Center and Fender.

When he’s not combining his passion for writing and music during his day job, Matt performs with indie rock duo Esme Emerson, and has previously opened for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Keane, Japanese House and Good Neighbours.