Ozzy Osbourne’s life story has been told many times. In addition to his 2010 autobiography “I Am Ozzy” there is a 1998 episode of VH1’s “Behind the Music,” the documentary “God Bless Ozzy Osbourne” (2011), “Biography: The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne” (2020), countless articles and books as well as the Paramount+ documentary “Ozzy: No Escape From Now,” which depicts Osbourne’s painful final years and his desire to play one last concert.
Osbourne died in July. Anyone who knows even a few of these works knows the broad outlines: the working-class childhood in Birmingham, the rise to become a pioneer of heavy metal as the frontman of Black Sabbath, the fall due to excessive drug consumption, the meeting with his future wife and manager Sharon, the resurgence in the early eighties with guitarist Randy Rhoads, his tragic death, “No More Tears,” Ozzfest, the reality show, the numerous injuries and addictions — and Osbourne’s almost supernatural ability to survive it all until his body finally gave out in 2018.
It seems as if there are hardly any new stories left to tell – especially since “No Escape From Now” already offered a lot of insights. But in the final years of his life, Osbourne worked again with his “I Am Ozzy” co-author Chris Ayres on a follow-up volume called “Last Rites,” which is now out. He focuses on the difficult last phase of his life with numerous health setbacks, but also looks back on encounters with Keith Moon, Bon Scott, Steve Marriott and other deceased rock legends. Here are 14 things we learned from it.
A Vegas residency was planned
In 2018, Osbourne embarked on the “No More Tours II” tour, which was intended as a final farewell. But Sharon Osbourne was already planning ahead: “Sharon even talked about the fact that I could take on one of those golden oldie residencies in Las Vegas when I returned,” writes Ozzy. “Not that I had any desire to become the next Barry Manilow.”
He suffered a serious relapse in 2012
After years of abstinence, Osbourne began drinking again in 2012. “At one point I thought I could use a beer,” he writes. “Probably a pint of Guinness. I dream about it almost every night. I love the stuff – it’s like liquid pudding. The problem is, one is too much, ten isn’t enough. And after the first Guinness I immediately want cocaine. Cocaine is the alcoholic’s best friend.”
Steroids became the new addiction
During the farewell tour, Osbourne took the steroid Decadron for vocal cord inflammation – and quickly became addicted. He even suffered “roid rages,” which gave him a black eye. “Sharon got hard after that,” he writes. “She hired a military guy with a neck wider than the Watford Gap to look after me. I don’t know where she found him. One day he just stood next to me – like an angry mountain in human form – and wouldn’t leave my side.”
Reality TV success changed him
Between 2002 and 2003, Osbourne was the star of one of the most successful TV shows in the world. “I was addicted to fame, to be honest,” he writes. “But at the end of the day I’m a singer, not a TV star. I liked The Osbournes, but I hated working on TV. It’s a nest of snakes – full of rivalry, everyone wants what you have. It’s so hypocritical.”
He was relieved when it was over
“In the end, we all just wanted our lives back,” Osbourne writes. “Jack was on drugs, Kelly was on drugs, I was constantly sneaking up to smoke weed. Then Sharon got cancer. That was hard. My poor wife was so sick – it took forever for her to recover. And it took us a long time to come down from that TV stress too. When the last cameraman left it was a huge relief.”
Osbourne was obsessed with Peter Gabriel
In 1986, Osbourne was so excited about Peter Gabriels “So” he wore out the cassette. “I played [„So]”All day on the tour bus, all night in the hotel. I turned it on on the boombox when I was at the pool. And otherwise I was constantly singing along to one of the songs out loud. At some point I could [mein Security-Mann] no longer. This record broke him. He had to take time off just to spend a day without ‘Sledgehammer.’
Tensions in the re-recording of “Iron Man” with Busta Rhymes
“I stood on the sidewalk in New York and banged on the studio door until this peephole opened,” Osbourne writes. “,Who ‘s there?’ – ‘Ozzy.’ – ‘Ozzy who?’ – ‘Ozzy fucking Osbourne, who else?’ – ‘Oh. Okay.’ The door opens and the guy is standing there – armed. Behind him are two others, also armed. I just thought, Damn, I probably should have been more polite.”
He didn’t particularly like David Lee Roth
Van Halen toured with Black Sabbath in 1978. Osbourne adored Eddie Van Halen, but he didn’t warm to frontman David Lee Roth. “He was Mister Showbiz – always cheerful, never in a bad mood. Maybe it was because he came from a good family. We had nothing in common. And you never knew whether he was talking nonsense or the truth. It was said that we had a ‘Cocaine Duel’ to see who could pull more before he collapsed. Possible – but I doubt it. That wasn’t my thing.”
Rick Rubin wanted Ginger Baker to join Black Sabbath in 2012
When Bill Ward dropped out of the reunion project, Rick Rubin suggested Cream drummer Ginger Baker. “God bless him,” Osbourne writes. “But Baker was crazier than me. In Beware of Mr. Baker, he breaks the director’s nose with a metal stick. And that’s after being kicked out of almost every country. Not that he took the job. He was just too unpredictable.”
Brad Wilk wasn’t allowed on tour
Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk played on the final Sabbath album, but Osbourne insisted on Tommy Clufetos for the tour. “I said: If Tommy doesn’t play, I won’t do the tour,” he writes. “That caused trouble. Brad called me: ‘Why can’t I come?’ I said, ‘Brad, if you were Tommy and Rick had thrown you out – how would you feel?’ He was silent. The Truth: Brad played great. But Tommy was there from the start, he deserved it. Maybe I was just too used to controlling everything. The tour was successful, no question. But without Bill and with all the tension, it was never the same.”
Reconciliation with Bill Ward
After years of public arguments, Osbourne and Ward got back in touch in 2019. “I’m not ashamed to say I cried,” Osbourne writes. “‘We may have been ripped off, Bill,’ I said, ‘but what we accomplished changed our lives.’ ‘I know, Ozzy,’ he said. ‘We’re lucky ones.’ ‘I love you, you know.’ ‘I love you too, Ozzy, you fucking crazy.’ That’s the good thing about getting older: you’re no longer afraid to show your feelings – before it’s too late.”
He doesn’t like to talk about his infidelity
In 2016, the media reported an affair with his hairdresser. He doesn’t name names, but he admits to infidelity. “Sharon had every right to leave me,” he writes. “I was addicted to sex – like alcohol, pills, cigars or Yorkshire tea. I was a bad guy. I hurt my wife and I’m glad she forgave me. I hope everyone else I hurt – especially the children – knows how sorry I am. That’s all I want to say.”
The last Sabbath concert was sad for him
“We didn’t talk about it much, but we all felt it,” Osbourne writes. “It was sad. We had started together, suffered together, succeeded together. Bill should have been there – without him it wasn’t Black Sabbath. Just an approximation.”
Fraudsters took advantage of his weakness
“First there was a guy in Canada who charged $170,000 for a supposedly revolutionary CAT scan,” Osbourne writes. “Sharon transferred the money, but the machine was just a regular X-ray machine. Then he gave me a box of ‘specialty medicine’ – herbs from Amazon. Luckily, we got the money back after Sharon went crazy. Later we paid $100,000 to another con artist with a ‘PAP-IMI machine’ that supposedly could cure anything. I sat on it for three hours a day for six days – until I learned that the thing was illegal. After that I was like, screw it, I’m sticking with Tylenol.”