Ozzy Osbourne is the ‘Godfather of Metal’, ‘head’ of OzzFest and a TV star

There certainly has been no escape of late from Ozzy and ‘The Osbournes’: OzzFest at Donington (this Saturday), the TV series (premiering on Sunday in the UK, finally), a date at the Queen’s Garden Jubi gig (in few weeks, featuring Tony Iommi on guitar) and the write-ups…Dinner at the White House and there is going to be ‘The Osbournes Family Album’ soon – see ‘Odditorum’. Well, here is our sausage of thoughts and a quarter-pounder of Ozz-quotes.

You seem to tour constantly; what drives you on such a rigorous schedule and are you involved in planning it?

“Well, my wife, Sharon (his business manager also), keeps me on the road because she knows it is the best for me. I easily get restless and become unbearable around the house so she reckons I’m better off on tour. There is a discipline; I have my own regime and am all geared up for the evening’s performance. I leave everything else to her…”

For instance, when an OzzFest is organised, do you get consulted about the bill, because it is a good cross-section of future metal stars and the current top of the crop?

“No, I don’t get much involved with the organisation although I might be asked my opinion… It is the promoters and my wife who really iron things out. It is the side of this business I don’t really enjoy dealing with it, as I didn’t get into all this to care for business, I wanted to have fun.”

Do you keep informed about new bands or, when you tour, do you go out and watch acts?

“No, I don’t; I’m usually in my dressing room, or a trailer, until the very last minute. I can hear the music but it is not important for me to watch them. Sometimes I wish I had but I need to get ready for my own performance.”

“The same with hanging out with bands… They all want to do things I used to do but have stopped since... Also, I don’t need to hang out with people to pat me on the back and tell me how good I’m as I don’t need that anymore. I have heard it enough times. I meet a lot of people, in fact all the bands who are on my bills.”

Ozzy doesn’t need to name names but he is particularly fond of System Of A Down; yet, just before taking to the stage he likes to listen to either David Bowie or Peter Gabriel’s material from the 1970s.

Stripping time

The ‘Mighty Double-O’, to give him fan’s faved ‘title’, spent the past several years working on-off with his original band (recording ‘Psycho Man’ and ‘Selling My Soul’ for the live set ‘Reunion’, 1998) and lacked time to work on his own music since ‘Ozzmosis’, six years ago. ‘Down To Earth’ was issued last autumn.

Ozzy is THE man but he’ll always be the singer of Black Sabbath. If anybody ever doubted what the legendary band stood for, then they should have been at any of their reformed shows, and especially the two dates at their native Birmingham in 1998. It was emotional, grandiose and unforgettable, one of the greatest shows in the Rock’s history (even if you hadn’t been a particular fan of the band in their original days.)

Is getting back to play with own band a way of pointing out to the fans – there is no permanent reunion of da Sabbaff?

“Nobody knows what is the status of Black Sabbath at any given time; we play these shows together but we don’t know about the future. It might all fall apart suddenly and at once but it might also continue indefinitely. Whenever we play together it is a great pleasure and great fun, for me and obviously for the fans… But we all have different things we are doing, Geezer’s got his own band, Tony (Iommi) had his solo album I sang on, Bill (Ward, drummer)… I don’t know what he’s up to.”

Up in smoke

What James Brown is to funk, what Iggy Pop is to punk, Ozzy Osbourne is, and perhaps a bit more, to Metal. He, as part of Black Sabbath, invented Heavy Metal and without them we’d have missed on such great musical and cultural contributions by Limp Bizkit and Linkin Park. One has to ask – where did it all go wrong?

What the docu-series ‘The Osbournes’ present is a picture of a man who’s been near hell, bitten its butt and spat it out… Slightly damaged but still as sharp and humorous, the undisputed Champ and, although disciples can better their masters sometime, they’ll always be in his debt and shadow.

How much have you changed after giving up drugs, drinking and, for the past year – smoking?

“Incredibly and I feel I can function like a normal human being, again. It did take me a long time to act on it all but finally I did. Mind you, the time I got arrested for trying to kill Sharon while having some kind of crazy blackout… That wasn’t at all what I’d in mind when putting on a suit and getting ready to take out for the evening. It was a sobering experience!” (Ozz laughs at his joke.)

“I’d to stop smoking… Everyone was on at me – my doctor, my wife, my kids and I finally managed to pull it off!”

“I’m a completely different person privately to what my stage persona is like... I’m like Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde but nobody can meet me during my Mr Hyde phase!”