I heard the sad news that we've lost one of the biggest characters in the music industry yesterday.
Ozzy Osbourne and I share(d) birthdays - 3rd December (he had a few birthdays before I started my run).
His music wove around my formative years - especially from my teens. I leaned toward the harder side of music, veering towards the chaos of Heavy Rock, rather than the 'trendy' side. I preferred leather and denim, t-shirts, boots and long hair - I still do, if truth be told. The short back-and-sides style of the 80s didn't appeal to me, and the music wasn't punchy enough.
I remember the album Black Sabbath Greatest Hits for the cover as much as for the music. I looked at that cover time after time. It's so complex and filled with tableaus of such horrifying torture that I couldn't help but be fascinated. Studying the cover whilst listening to the music is one of my enduring memories of music and those times.
Front
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The album image is by Pieter Bruegel the Elder. Completed in 1562, the images of skeletal figures - human and animal - wreaking chaos and terror upon the living sums up perfectly the artists depictions of his ideas of the inevitability of death.
The album captured my attention as much in the visual as in the audial. If I'm in the mood, I'll listen to nothing but Black Sabbath and Ozzy all day.
I went to see Ozzy just after he'd shaved his trademark long hair. It's only in the last few years that I heard the reason why he shaved his head. He did it because he was suffering burn-out and didn't want to go out on stage.
I remember he came onto the stage and someone threw a long black wig to him. He caught it and made jokes. Someone else threw a toy bat, but I think he'd learned his lesson and he didn't bite its head off that time.
Every time I've been to see Ozzy, he stood out as a great showman. He knew exactly how to entertain his audience.
At Monsters of Rock in 1996, he supported the headliners KISS and in my opinion, he was the better act.
I also went to see the Reunion Tour in 1997 - the day after our birthday, for my birthday. Fear Factory supported Sabbath and Ozzy was as much the showman as he ever was!
The last time I went to see Ozzy and Black Sabbath was in 2013 at Sheffield arena.
I remember hearing him on the radio a few years ago. He phoned a DJ on Radio 1 and was chatting away. The DJ reminded Ozzy that they were Live and he must not use profanity. At the time, Ozzy and his family were all over the television with The Osbournes - the 'fly on the wall' show. Ozzy shared a story about his dogs getting into a cupboard in the kitchen, finding the 'chip fat' (the french fries oil), eating it all and vomiting all over the place. Ozzy was exceptionally well behaved and didn't swear.
The DJ asked what Ozzy was doing for Christmas.
Ozzy sounded quite laid-back and he said he was chilling in the UK for a few days and then he was flying back to the US in time for Christmas.
The DJ said, "Ozzy, it's Christmas Eve."
"Oh Fuckit!" Ozzy was heard on live radio...
He was one of a kind, a magician in the music industry, performing for millions of fans. His legacy of music will live on.
Rest In Peace Ozzy