Ozzy Osbourne is "intimidated" by his Black Sabbath band mate Tony Iommi.

Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne

The 71-year-old rocker has praised his bandmate Tony - who was the guitarist for Black Sabbath before the band bowed out for good in 2017 - as being "the greatest" guitar player, but also noted the fellow rock icon "intimidates the f**k" out of him.

Speaking about each of his band mates, Ozzy said: "Geezer's [Butler] a great, great lyricist. [And as a bassist], nobody can touch him. Bill [Ward], in his day, was a great drummer. Tony [Iommi], he's always gonna be the greatest - no one can touch him.

"And actually, to this day, I still don't understand how he plays guitar, because he's got no fingertips; he plays with plastic fingers."

The 'War Pigs' hitmaker continued to speak highly of Tony when he reminisced about their reunion in 2011, which took place shortly after the guitarist, also 71, was diagnosed with the early stages of lymphoma.

Ozzy continued: "I mean, there is a man. When he got diagnosed with cancer, he just dealt with it. That's him. I'm going [imitates crying sound], and he's, like, 'Whatever I have to do.' He's like that. He's always been like that. Very calm.

"He was the band, really. We were all part of the band, but he was the most irreplaceable one out of all of us."

But despite singing Tony's praises, Ozzy can't help but feel "intimidated" by the rocker, and thinks Tony "knows" the effect he has on his pal.

Speaking alongside his wife Sharon Osbourne in an interview with Rick Rubin on his 'Broken Record' podcast, Ozzy said: "People will say to me, 'Why did you always sing on the side of the stage?' I don't fucking know. I don't know. It's just fear, I suppose. Because Tony, he's one of the few people who could walk into this room right now and I would fucking feel intimidated.

"He intimidates the fuck out of me - and he knows it."