“Ozzy lived three or four streets away from me, so we were both working class, no money, no transport, not much of a shiny future, but he was hilarious, he had me in stitches laughing all the time with his quick wit and antics. The first time I actually met him he was wearing his dad’s brown work overall, a chimney brush over his shoulder, a shoe on a dog leash and nothing on his bare feet. He was looking to join my band at the time and I immediately recruited him.
“The whole band was from Aston in Birmingham and we became closer than brothers. We shared everything we had and that remained true throughout the ’70s. None of us expected to have the success we had and we really didn’t know how to handle it, especially the financial side of things. The press hated us, but the fans loved us, which made us that much closer to each other and to our fans.
“Ozzy was the ultimate entertainer, one of the best frontman ever, if not the best. He knew how to work the fans into a frenzy. His skills as a singer were remarkable, his vocal lines and melodies always amazed me. Sabbath riffs aren’t the easiest to write melodies to, but he knew exactly how to do it. He interpreted my lyrics as if they came from his soul and heart. I was always astonished to hear how he interpreted them.
“He was amazing to work with. He always knew how to make us laugh – even on stage he would be pulling silly faces at Tony and myself, unseen by the fans. We’d be playing these heavy, doomy riffs and he would do his best to crack us up laughing. There were so many moments of madness, such as when he stole someone’s motorbike when we were recording in Miami and took it for a joyride. The police called us around midnight and told us they had a Mr Osbourne in their jail and would someone come and bail him out. We said, ‘Nah, keep him in for the night.’ Luckily, the guy who owned the motorbike didn’t press charges.
“When he went solo, he didn’t have the restraints of being in Sabbath. He was his own boss, so that era was when he was at his wildest: the Alamo incident, bat biting, dove head biting, snorting ants. He just seemed to let loose and he quickly gained the reputation of the wild man – his fans loved it.
“At the final show, he was much quieter than I’d ever known him. Looking back now, I think he knew he wasn’t long for this world, but not that he’d leave it so soon. He was looking forward to spending his days back in England. I am so grateful that we were able to play one final show together, the original four of us, back in our home town. He held on so he could do that gig, to say farewell to the fans. He was very emotional, it was so important to him to say goodbye after illness had prevented him from touring for the past six or seven years. He wanted to see his fans one final time, play with his own band and with Sabbath one last time.
“The outpouring of tributes and respect from all walks of music and the love from the fans has been amazing. He was larger than life and his legacy will live forever. He may have been The Prince Of Darkness, but for me he was a family-loving, soft-hearted, best friend anyone could ever have.”
This article originally appeared in Uncut Take 343 (October 2025)
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