Jimmy Page Explains Why He Turned Down A Spot On Ozzy Osbourne's New Album

Ozzy Osbourne's upcoming album features a handful of impressive collaborators, including Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Tony Iommi, Zakk Wylde, Metallica's Robert Trujillo and Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer Chad Smith. But there's one star he couldn't get: Jimmy Page.

In a recent interview, Smith revealed that they tried recruiting the Led Zeppelin guitarist to no avail. "We tried to get Jimmy Page — we tried to get the holy trinity — but I don't thing Page plays anymore too much, unfortunately," he said.

During a chat with Classic Rock (via NME), Page explained why he turned down the Prince of Darkness. “There’s various things I’m working towards,” he said. “It’s not just one thing, it’s multiple things, and I don’t want to even give a hint, because if you do … you give a one-sentence sound bite, and then if it doesn’t materialise, it’s like: ‘Why didn’t you do a solo album?’ So I don’t want to say what it is that I’ve got planned, because I don’t want to give people the chance to misinterpret it.”

“I will never be one of those people who’ll record alone and send someone a file," Page added. "I never went into music in the first place to do that – it was for playing together.”

Though he hasn't detailed the project yet, Ozzy let fans know over the weekend that the album is finished and he'll be providing more information in the coming weeks.