Ozzy Osbourne "Necromandus", who had supported Black Sabbath in Birmingham when they were called "Earth", did backup for Osbourne in the studio and briefly became the first incarnation of his solo band. At the request of the other members, Osbourne rejoined Sabbath. The band spent five months at Sounds Interchange Studios in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, writing and recording what would become "Never Say Die!" "It took quite a long time", Iommi said. "We were getting really drugged out, doing a lot of dope. We'd go down to the sessions, and have to pack up because we were too stoned, we'd have to
Ozzy Osbourne to the other band members. Osbourne claims his drug use and alcohol consumption at that time was not better nor worse than that of the other band members. The band replaced him with former Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio. Conflict of a sort had existed between Iommi and Osbourne from the beginning. When responding to a 1969 flyer reading "Ozzy Zig Needs Gig- has own PA" posted in a record store, Iommi and Ward arrived at the listed address to speak with "Ozzy Zig." When Iommi saw Osbourne emerge from another room of the house, he left upon discovering it