Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne joined Jenn Marino today on Rock Classics Radio on Apple Music Hits. In The Blizzard of Ozz Special: Celebrating the 40th Anniversary of Blizzard of Ozz show, Ozzy talks to Jenn about music, his thoughts on the pandemic, the search for a vaccine and testing it out, when live shows will pick up again and life in 2020. He also discusses ‘Suicide Solution’ and its controversy, his thoughts on the Mötley Crüe film ‘The Dirt’ and his portrayal, how he compares to 1980s Ozzy, and also refutes some long-believed myths.
Ozzy on whether he thinks he’s influential and his thoughts on the global pandemic
I never really thought about it. I’m just Ozzy. My wife calls me Ozzy. I’m just Ozzy. I’m just here. I’m trying to recover so I can get… The only good thing about this pandemic, I couldn’t work anyway because of my injuries. I’m hoping that I’ll be booking 2022, I think. To be honest with you, I don’t think it’s going to get ship-shape until the end of next year. I think this winter is going to be f——g bad. Because you’re going to have the flu … You can give me any f—k, but I’m not going to be number one on [trying] that f——g new vaccine. I don’t want to be the first one to wake up with a set of f—–g antlers in the morning.
Ozzy talks ‘Suicide Solution’ and its controversy
People like me, people feel about me and Alice Cooper and everybody else, they wouldn’t have a reason because we’re the AntiChrist. They can actually see us. If you look on another ridiculous level, it wouldn’t be a very good business move to kill yourself. You wouldn’t sell because you’d all be dead. It’s absurd. But ‘Suicide Solution’ wasn’t written about, oh that’s the solution, suicide. I was a heavy drinker and I was drinking myself to an early grave. It was “suicide solution”. Wine is fine but whiskey’s quicker. Suicide is slow with liquor. Let’s what I was doing for a long while. I just sort of stopped.
I can remember being in one of the houses that we owned at the time and Sharon was in Los Angeles, I was in England. I got a phone call and Sharon said, “Pack your bag. Get on a plane to Los Angeles. You’ve got to get out here right now.” I said, “Wait a minute. What’s happened?” She goes, “Just do it. Just get on the God Damn plane.” F—k. I want to know what they hell is going on. What’s happened? So I get on the plane and I’m flying for 11 and a half hours, get to LA, go through the customs and I come out the customs, not knowing any of what’s going on and there are 200 cameramen there. So as I’m coming through the gate, I’m thinking I’m walking in front of some film star or something else. I’m looking over my shoulder like, “What the f—k’s going on?” And so somebody pokes a mic in my face and goes, “What have you got to say about the suicide?” I’m thinking, “What the f–k are you talking about?” So I’m getting the car, it’s right there, and Sharon tells me.
I remember going to this press reception in a tennis club or something in LA somewhere and there, Harold Weissman, the lawyer, he’s a serious lawyer. It’s very heavy, very intensive after a while. The difference in them, the public, reporters and the serious press are nothing like music press. They give you some really difficult questions to answer. And the lawyer’s just, “Don’t you say a word. Let me do all the talking.” It’s very difficult to sit there quiet when they’re throwing questions at you all the time. But it was a very unnerving situation. Judas Priest they had one, where two kids had a suicide pact. He started f—–g ball-rolling, and these two kids shot themselves in the face, each other in the face with a shotgun. Sometimes I think if they would realise what the damage that they’re doing, reporting these stupid things in the first place. Because someone, somewhere, you know, is going to try it out.
Ozzy talks the Mötley Crüe film ‘The Dirt’
I saw the film actually. It was quite entertaining … I don’t know [the actor that played Ozzy]. No. Nothing whatsoever [having any say in the character]. I don’t think my wife was too happy with things!
Ozzy busts the myth of how ‘Blizzard of Ozz’ became a solo album…
It was a solo album. The album was called Blizzard of Ozz. Why would I want to get fired from a band called Black Sabbath and go through the same s—t again with having an equal partnership with a band?! It doesn’t make sense. Because of legal matters, they didn’t know the band was called this or that. Why would I want to call a band name that threw me out of the band because they didn’t like me? It was my own thing.
Ozzy compares Ozzy in 2020 to Ozzy in 1980…
I’m easier to be around than I used be. I used to be f—–g out of my face all the time when I wasn’t singing gigs. Not all of the time, but most of the time. I don’t really know the way it goes so I have to rely on other people’s judgment and it’s very frustrating. But it’s a different world and it’s very frustrating. It’s a different world and if you know what today’s trend is then you can say no, you don’t have to wait for an edit now you can just press buttons. That’s the way it is. As long as it sounds decent at the end of it I’m okay with it. Andrew [Watt, producer] is very clever and a very talented boy. We get on so so well, he’s like a brother to me.
Thanks to Rock Classics Radio on Apple Music Hits and you can listen back to the show in full on-demand at apple.co/OzzyOsbourne.
