'It's Just Colossal' - Judas Priest's Rob Halford Teases Duet With Ozzy Osbourne on Legendary Song

When Judas Priest recorded their cover of Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" earlier this year, that was only the first step of the love fest surrounding Ozzy Osbourne. It turns out, according to Rob Halford, there's yet another version of the song coming that turns Priest's version into a duet with Ozzy himself.

Speaking with Full Metal Jackie on her weekend radio show, Halford shared, "What is cool and what is kind of waiting in the wings is Ozzy singing with me doing 'War Pigs' together. We've been able to do that. It's there, we're just having to go through all the rigmarole of legal clearance and so on and so forth."

According to Halford, Sharon Osbourne reached out after hearing Priest's tribute with their Sabbath cover. "She approached me with this idea, she said, 'I love your version of 'War Pigs.' Is there a way we can get Ozzy?' I was [like], 'You're asking me? This is gonna happen.'"

"So you get Ozzy singing a line and then I'm singing a line and Ozzy's singing a line and I'm singing a line. It's the first ever time in my entire life that I've been able to do a duet with Ozzy and I'm so eternally grateful and blessed that I was able to do that," says Halford, who says the new version is "just colossal." He concludes, "When you hear Priest's 'War Pigs' with Ozzy singing on that track, it's just going to a really special place."

Though an official release date has not been set, the singer shares, "The green button's almost ready to go. We're finalizing some artwork and bits and pieces that you have to go through. But I think it's gonna be pretty soon."

Elsewhere in the chat, Halford marvels at having the chance to tour with Alice Cooper and speaks to some of the great live performances he's seen over his years in music. He offers some insight on working with Tom Morello on a new Judas Priest documentary. He also thinks back on the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, shares some of the singers who've inspired him over the years and comments more on the Ozzy Osbourne he knew.

Check out more of the interview below.

It's Full Metal Jackie and we truly have a treat for you this week. The one and only, the Metal God, Rob Halford of Judas Priest is here with us once again. In what has to be a dream pairing, you can find Judas Priest playing shows with Alice Cooper on a co-headlining run this year. As someone who is no stranger to stage theatrics, Rob, what does it mean to you to share the stage with another legendary live performer such as Alice Cooper?

You know me, Jackie, I'm a fanboy. I love other musicians no matter what they do. I'm always intrigued and excited about the adventure that's gonna happen that particular night, 'cause you never know what's gonna happen with Alice.

We've just done some shows together recently in Europe and we had a finale show at The O2 in London just a very short time ago. I was watching what was happening and he's just ... it's just huge. You just can't describe it. You've gotta come and see this, you know? You've gotta come and see this extraordinary man with what he does with his amazing band of musicians. The performance that he puts on based around these incredible songs that he's made through the decades is just not to be missed.

Then you marry that up with the reputation that Priest has got, with our emphasis on giving you something strong that you'll remember in terms of metal memories from the show aspect of Priest, this is like being in the ring with with [Mike] Tyson. This is the metal Tyson Knockout Fight. So come and check it out. It's gonna be great.

Rob, I feel like you're from a generation that really put the show in show business. As someone who is not only one of metal's greats but is also a metal fan as well, who are some of the best that you've seen in your career at putting on a live concert and giving a true all-around show for the fans?

When I think of bands, it's beyond metal. I saw Queen put on spectacular shows. I actually saw David Bowie do his Ziggy Stardust show at some place in Wolverhampton, some little theater, and I was just mesmerized by what he did outside of his voice and his songs. You couldn't take your eyes off him.

I think a lot of these shows are led obviously by performers, by musicians that take on this extra identity, you know? Much like Alice with what he does, much like with what I do with the Metal God. So to actually be in that world and to have seen some of these great acts perform, it's inspiring, it's motivating, you know?

When Priest got together we hadn't got two nickels to rub together. We were trying to find ways to make a show right from day one. And in some instances you'd play a club and mysteriously a spotlight would appear in the back of the van. "Hey, we gotta take this. We're gonna use this spot." So you did a couple of those naughty things just to get the ball rolling.

It's just one thing to give as much as you can in any performance to leave your fans with those metal memories.

Judas Priest continue to thrive some 50 years into your career, and soon fans will get a closer look behind the curtain. I understand there's a documentary in the works and that you're working with Tom Morello as one of the co-directors on the project. Obviously he's been a champion of metal over the years. Can you speak about the relationship with Tom and how the experience has been allowing him and his crew to dig into the band's history?

Whenever Tom comes into the room, he bursts into the room. This guy is so full of energy. He has an encyclopedic mind of all kinds of rock and metal music. He's a hardcore Priest fan. He's a great friend of mine and of the band. And to have this opportunity as we did to work with him on this first ever official documentary for Judas Priest with Sam Nunn out of Toronto, it was a great pairing.

READ MORE: Judas Priest Documentary Co-Directed by Tom Morello in Production

It's just a beautiful in-depth look at the life story of Judas Priest done in a little bit of a different way 'cause it's kind of a roundtable of other musicians talking about this band, what we've meant to them and their bands and their lives. To go from those discussions at the table into footage that you've not seen before,  hearing things that you've not heard before. So it's a little bit different in that documentary sense.

He did an amazing job along with Sam and all of the other people and we're excited to eventually have it out sometime this year on a full release.

Earlier this summer, we lost one of the greats. I I know there's a long history between yourself and the Osbourne family, and much has been said about Ozzy's musical legacy. Do you have a story in your experiences with Ozzy that more speaks to who he was as a person and your interactions with him beyond the concert stage?

Well, only that he represented this other side of him that you didn't see onstage, which is ... Well, no. He gave everything onstage. When he walked out on the stage, he was always beaming, you know? He loved his fans with such an extraordinary passion, but that existed offstage as well.

Whenever I'd see him, if I went to see his show, the first thing he would say to me was, "Did you have a good time? Did you enjoy yourself? Was it great?" And so that part of him, as a person, he was always giving stuff. He was always giving out, you know? He wasn't a taking kind of a guy. He was always like pushing stuff forward, paying it forward, whatever  that expression is. That part of Ozzy that we probably didn't see much of existed when he wasn't onstage.

He was an extraordinary man and I think that opportunity that he had through Sharon and working with The Osbournes, which was the first ever reality TV ... he became our friend. You you may not have ever met Ozzy, but you knew him as a family guy and you knew him as being like... he's like us, you know? There's Ozzy onstage, but look at him at home. I think that what drew him even further into us, with our love for Ozzy Osbourne and everything that he's left us with.

Rob, it's been documented that the reason Judas Priest weren't at Back to the Beginning was a previous commitment to honor another big milestone. How was it taking part in the 60th anniversary celebration of Scorpions and what has been your relationship with that band over the years?

It's a joy to be able to do these kinds of ... it's not really a collaboration, it's an homage to what Scorpions have done. We've known each other forever. Both of these bands go back a long way, Priest and Scorpions and Alice and obviously Sabbath and what Ozzy represents.

We've become friends. You become friends outside of the music world that you work in. So when we had the call on a tour prior to this event, Ossy Hoppy, who is a famous German producer said, "Hey Rob, can I have a quick word?" I go, "Yeah." He said, "Scorpions 60th anniversary next year, blah, blah, blah, Hanover." I said, "We're there. Write us in. Pencil us in. No, don't pencil us in. Write it in sharpie, we're gonna do it."

So that's how we committed to that contractual obligation to do the wonderful 60th anniversary of this great band called Scorpions. And then, of course, some time later, I get a call from Sharon about this great event that they made recently.

And it was a really difficult thing to say, "I can't do it," but that was just the way the chips fell on that particular event. However, we were there in spirit, you know?

Oh, of course.

As we said in that brief little thing that we said for Ozzy on the big video screens. And probably even more important, the Priest homage to Black Sabbath withJudas Priest playing Black Sabbath's "War Pigs" to about as close as we possibly could, 'cause you don't mess with a song like that, you know? You give it the sounds that you have with your guitars, with your drums, with your bass, with your voice and you do it in respect, and you do it in a way of saying thank you for Black Sabbath and what they did and what they leave us with, with their great music.

Judas Priest, "War Pigs"

Rob, we were just talking about the Back to the Beginning show and of course the "War Pigs" cover. What an incredible version. I felt like I was wasn't there for the Back to the Beginning, but I watched the entire nine-hour livestream, and when that came on, I was with a group of people and we were cheering as if we were watching you guys performing that. It was amazing. Tell us about the plans for that song and when we're gonna get the official release for it.

It's close to five million views on the video on the Black Sabbath official site, which was very generous of them to put us on there, 'cause we're friends. We've been friends forever. What is cool and what is kind of waiting in the wings is Ozzy singing with me doing "War Pigs" together. We've been able to do that.

I can't wait to hear that.

It's there, we're just having to go through all the rigmarole of legal clearance and so on and so forth. But when Sharon said, and this is just so beautiful, when she approached me with this idea, she said, "I love your version of 'War Pigs.' Is there a way we can get Ozzy?" I was, "You're asking me? This is gonna happen." So we were able to make it work, so you get Ozzy singing a line and then I'm singing a line and Ozzy's singing a line and I'm singing a line.

It's the first ever time in my entire life that I've been able to do a duet with Ozzy and I'm so eternally grateful and blessed that I was able to do that.

When you hear it, it's just colossal. You think that you've heard the one experience of Priest's "War Pigs," but when you hear Priest's "War Pigs" with Ozzy singing on that track, it's just going to a really special place.

Can you give us a timeframe on when we can expect that?

The green button's almost ready to go. We're finalizing some artwork and bits and pieces that you have to go through. But I think it's gonna be pretty soon. So everybody listen to Full Metal Jackie for any updates that finally makes its way into the world.

Rob, while we're discussing anniversaries, this marks the 40th anniversary of Live Aid, which brought the biggest acts of the world together to raise money for those facing famine in Ethiopia. What do you remember about getting that call to take part and were there any moments from playing that show that brought together acts from a broad spectrum of music that stood out to you?

Let's go straight to Black Sabbath and Judas Priest playing together Live Aid in Philadelphia, almost one after another. Isn't life beautiful? It's just extraordinary the way these bands have been living in each other's lives over the decades. So there's that. That's a vivid memory for me.

We were out in Nassau in the Bahamas making the Turbo album, which itself turns 40-something next year, along with the 50th anniversary of Sad Wings of Destiny.

Wow, all of these numbers. What a great life. And you're able to kind of throw your mind back to those incredible events like Live Aid.

That was just again, a very extraordinary, potent, powerful day that did a lot of good for a lot of people.

Rob, this life is not an easy one. It's the rare group that manages to keep most of the pieces intact. Is there a secret to keeping the passion for making music with the same individuals going strong for 50 years? What has made this something you continually wanna return to and serves as the perfect vehicle for what you want to say musically?

You believe in what you love. If you believe in what you love, there's no end to the story. And it's the same for Priest, same for Alice. It's the same for Pepper with COC. COC have had a remarkable life. The name is still there. Corrosion of Conformity, the band is still there. Alice Cooper, the band is still there. Judas Priest, the band is still there.

It's because we all believe in what we love to do and that's unquenchable. That's unstoppable. You can't put the fire out on something that you believe and you love and that's how it works.

Rob, I recently had Johannes of Avatar on the show, and he mentioned pushing himself vocally on their latest album. One of the examples he used in speaking about his approach was taken from studying your approach to finding heaviness in your storytelling ability and the soulfulness in your delivery that allows you to go places vocally beyond the high notes we all know you for.

You're considered one of the greatest singers of our genre. What does it mean to you to have influenced younger generations of vocalists and are there people that you studied over the years to broaden your vocal approach?

Well, first of all, thank you. Thank you, Johannes and thank you Avatar. I love that band. I love his voice. He's got an extraordinary voice.

Ian Gillan just turned 80 recently. He's one of my motivators. He inspires me. He was the guy that I listened to in the very early days. Him, Robert Plant, Roger Daltrey, Elvis.

Singers will always have a story about other singers that are like a little bit of a flame here and a flame there and they build a fire. Those are some of the extraordinary people that, that I was drawn to.

Janis Joplin, these greats, these early singers, the early blues singers. Bessie Smith. For singers, we're always listening to what each of us are doing. We're getting that lift to try maybe to capture some elements of what they've done and then their voice is just this extraordinary God-given gift that you never know what you can do as a singer until you really push the boat out.

We pushed the boat out with Nostradamus, where I was doing things with my voice that I'd never done before. So that's the joy of having the pipes and taking it to extraordinary places.

While touring seems to be the focus for Judas Priest at the moment, are there things inspiring you creatively at the moment that could turn up in new music?

I'm always listening to everything, you know. Everything is an inspiration for me. There's so much going on in the metal world, in the music world, in all depths and varieties that I'm checking out. Snippets of music here and there, sometimes an album, but whatever.

It's like water to me. I have to have music every day of my life. I take the inspiration from, from all these beautiful people that make music. That feeds me and it makes me wanna make another record. It makes me make another song or make another album, make another tour. So it's a nonstop feeling of joy and blessings.

Thanks to Rob Halford for the interview. You can catch Rob and Judas Priest out on tour this fall. Stay up to date with the band through their website, Facebook, X, Instagram and TikTok accounts. Find out where you can hear Full Metal Jackie's weekend radio show here.