KATIE DOHERTY pays homage to the rocking Prince Of Darkness, Birmingham’s own Ozzy Osbourne!
Ozzy Osbourne has gained the rather regal status as the Prince of Darkness within the heavy metal scene.
He has had a career spanning over 40 years as both a solo artist and within his band Black Sabbath (taken from the 1963 horror film that starred Boris Karloff) no less.
He has sung about witches at black masses, he has barked at the moon and rode a crazy train but what makes Mr Osbourne, or should we call him Prince Osbourne so deserving of this title? Well, let us explore the horror of Ozzy Osbourne.
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Who is Ozzy Osbourne?
Ozzy Osbourne or to give him his proper name, John Michael Osbourne, was born and grew up in the industrial city of Birmingham.
The smog covered city was just one of Black Sabbath’s influences in their music but what became a more prominent part of the band is their dark image.
Since the inception of the band and their string of albums Ozzy has carried controversy around with him like a priest carries his bible.
Hounded by the press and various religious groups Ozzy has always, to them, appeared as a bad influence, an agent of the devil due to his antics.
His so called “evil occult” lyrics have caused uproar amongst some, even branding him a Satanist, something which he shares with Aleister Crowley, a man Ozzy would later sing about in his solo work.
Albums such as Blizzard of Ozz featuring Ozzy with a crucifix, skull and cat in tow make for a great cover, Bark at the Moon shows him as a rather bizarre looking werewolf.
His later solo work included some great photography and artwork featuring images of vampirism, dystopia and dark religious imagery.
All of which are great examples of Ozzy’s love for the dark side and always with a good sense of humour!
Ozzy and The Bat incident
There have been various stories flying around (excuse the pun folks) over the years about that “bat incident”, some have said he is bloodthirsty and/or insane but in his book I am Ozzy he puts the record straight by saying he thought that bat was a rubber toy.
He said: “Immediately, though, something felt wrong. Very wrong. For a start, my mouth was instantly full of this warm, gloopy liquid, with the worst aftertaste you could ever imagine. I could feel it staining my teeth and running down my chin. “Then the head in my mouth twitched.” – Quote from the book I am Ozzy by Ozzy Osbourne
Amongst the flower power , the peace and love that took place in the 60’s and 70’s Ozzy and Black Sabbath wanted to have fun with the band, inspired by horror and their love for watching scary films the band was born and so was Ozzy. A loveable rogue that, quite frankly, is a legend and and will always reign as the people’s Prince of Darkness.
