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
Speak of the Devil (Ozzy Osbourne album) drinks between songs) who suffered from dwarfism and who the vocalist nicknamed "Ronnie", a joke aimed at Ronnie James Dio. Dio had replaced Osbourne as Black Sabbath's lead vocalist and stood only 5' 4" tall. "Speak of the Devil" was released one month before Osbourne's former band, Black Sabbath, released their own live album entitled "Live Evil", a situation which contributed to a growing rivalry between the two camps. In the US, sales of "Speak of the Devil" were much better than those of "Live Evil", while in the UK it was "Live Evil" which attained the higher chart-placing: figures