Ozzy Osbourne
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English singer, songwriter and television personality. He rose to prominence in the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the band Black Sabbath. Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979 and has since had a successful solo career, releasing 11 studio albums, the first seven of which were all awarded multi-platinum certifications in the US. He has reunited with Black Sabbath on several occasions, recording the album 13 in 2013. Osbourne's longevity and...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionMetal Singer
Date of Birth3 December 1948
CityAston, England
I just suddenly thought, people really get off on being scared. They pay money to see green foam come out of people's mouths.
I listen to some of the lyrics I used to write and I say, "Where was my head at when I wrote that?"
I'll always be an outrageous character.
I don't forget what I used to do and so I can't justifiably say to my kid, "Don't you do that," when I used to do it myself.
Most guys my age are boring human beings. They sit in bars, get drunk, and then go home to tell their kids the way to rule their lives, while they're absolutely stewed out of their brains.
I can't change the past, but I can try to make a better future for me ...
As I'm getting older a lot of my friends I used to go out and party with, they're all dead. The fact that I've been through that, I'm not proud of the fact that I've been through all that, but it's part of my journey. I'm lucky to be alive. I'm lucky to be playing music.
I've had so much good luck happen to me that I can't handle bad luck.
I'm not trying to twist people's heads around. I'm not trying to say, "Believe in me."
We were always told we were one step behind Deep Purple, one step behind Led Zeppelin, one step behind everybody. Our manager didn't want to let us know how popular we were. It's only after we did Ozzfest that people started telling me stuff. I thought they were taking the piss. People would come up to me and go, "Respect.
In those days, if you wanted a new car or a holiday, you'd phone up the office and they'd send you some cash. You never had a bank account. I don't know anyone from the music business in the Seventies that it didn't happen to.
In the Seventies I was so scared I wouldn't go on stage.
For years I've had neurological problems. I used to shake a lot and I was on medication - I paid about $700,000 for one year of pills. I was taking 40-odd different ones a day.
I tried heroin once and I didn't like it. It frightened me.