Ozzy Trivia Part III: Appearances, Associations, and Inclinations
Ozzy Trivia Part III: Appearances, Associations, and Inclinations by Roxanne McDonald
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Last year I sang for the Queen of England, met the president of the United States, and got an Emmy and a star on The Walk of Fame. And what did I do? I was just being myself. ~Ozzy Osbourne |
So involved is Ozzy’s trivia that I had to split the entries, which include with this one–Ozzy Trivia Part III Appearances, Associations, and Inclinations–the following:
Ozzy Trivia Part I Accolades/Awards/Achievements
Ozzy Trivia Part II Rumors and Rumblings…
Ozzy Trivia Volume IV Actions and Arrests
Appearances, Associations, and Inclinations
This has all been such an amazing journey for me. I can vividly remember sitting on the step of my house in Aston, just tripping about what it would be like to be a Beatle. And then, here I am at 58, and I’m at [Elton John]’s party. All these megastars are there, Paul McCartney or whatever. And there’s me with them, standing with all these people I used to admire. It’s like I’ve been in the music industry for 30, 40 years, and it’s just been incredible really. ~ Ozzy
Ozzy formed the band with former class mate, Tony Iommi. When Ozzy “auditioned” for the role of front man, Iommi disliked his voice—but two other band members did, so Ozzy was in.
Ozzy was so poor he went barefoot to rehearsals.
To set them apart from psychedelic bands, the band went with blues cum “gloomy lyrics” style—going “darker” after bassist Geezer Butler observed the penchant movie-going folks had for being scared; after Geezer read an occult book he borrowed from Ozzy; and after Ozzy wrote the lyrics for “Black Sabbath” in response to a dream Butler had had involving “a dark figure at the end of his bed.”
Sabbath were a hippy band. We were into peace. ~Ozzy Osbourne
Black Sabbath comes from a film starring Boris Karloff called Tre volti della paura I (1963)—also known as The Three Faces of Fear; The Three Faces of Terror; Black Christmas; and/or Black Sabbath (USA).
Two suggestions speak to what was behind Ozzy’s Diary of a Madman: that it is from the Vincent Price horror film, Diary of a Madman (1963), and/or that it is from Allister Crowley’s biography.
Also speculated is that on the Diary of a Madman tour, the featured little person is the very one who played R2-D2, a.k.a. Kenny Baker.
Black Sabbath’s song “N.I.B.” comes from how Bill Ward’s beard looked like the nib of a pen.
Ozzy and former Sabbath members re-formed the band for Live Aid in 1985; again when Ozzy thought he would retire and did a “final” tour in 1992; and again for the recording of the live album, Reunion.
Ozzy was once neighbors with Pat Boone. He used Boone’s version of “Crazy Train” as the theme song for “The Osbournes”.
While Ozzy [had] three older sisters and two younger brothers, he is close with only one sibling, sister Jean.
Ozzy is father to Kelly, Jack, and Aimee, with wife Sharon; and to Jessica and Louis, by first wife Thelma Reilly.
Jessica Osbourne is a surveyor; Louis Osborne is a chef and deejay.
Aimee Osbourne, who opted not to be a part of the reality TV programming of “The Osbournes,” “once paid $18,000 for charity passes to see Hanson.”
Kelly Osbourne sold out her first concert in fifteen minutes.
At one point, Kelly was working in the same studio as Christina Aguilera: Kelly stuck “boogers” on all of Christina’s car door handles.
2002- Ozzy and Sharon were invited to the White House Correspondents’ Association annual dinner. The Prince of Darkness met with the Prince of Power, President George W. Bush, who jokingly [yeah, right] commented, “The thing about Ozzy is he’s made a lot of big hit recordings: ‘Party With the Animals,” “Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath,” “Facing Hell,” “Black Skies,” and “Bloodbath in Paradise….” Ozzy, Mom loves your stuff.’
The bat thought I was giving him the kiss of life!
I got rabies shots for biting the head off a bat but that’s OK…, the bat had to get Ozzy shots.
Sometimes I think my whole career and life has only been about a bloody Bat! ~ Ozzy
Bat abuse, dove abuse, and cat and chicken murders: when he was with his first wife, Ozzy and Thelma would trade off the task of feeding the chickens. But one night when it was his turn, he was drunk, and he was sick of Thelma’s asking him when he was going to feed the chickens, Ozzy instead went out and shot them all. As he would later also confess, once the drugs and booze took their toll, and he shot the thirty-four cats.
1982- Ozzy donated $25,000 to the SPCA.
In Switzerland, on a walk from the high-end hotel where he was staying, Ozzie came upon a starving stray dog. Tying a string about the animal’s neck and leading it back to the hotel restaurant, he insisted the staff feed the poor thing. When they resisted, he reminded them of how much he was paying to stay there. The next things out of the waiter’s mouth, after getting Ozzy’s order for himself, were, “What will the dog have?” followed by “How would the dog like his steak done?”
Ozzy (and Sabbath bandmates) support the Aston Villa Football Club, which is a mere “few-hundred yards” from where Ozzy was raised [on Lodge Road].
When I left school I wanted to become a plumber. When I heard the Beatles I wanted to become a
Beatle. ~Ozzy
Ozzy’s favorite band is The Beatles.
His favorite albums include Revolver, Rubber Soul, Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and The White Album, The Beatles; Hello, I Must Be Going, Phil Collins; Kissing to Be Clever, Culture Club; Essence to Essence, Donovan; Band on the Run, Paul McCartney and Wings; Arc of a Diver, Steve Winwood; and Led Zeppelin I and Led Zeppelin II, Led Zeppelin.
A life of booze, drugs and unprotected sex is only going to f*** you up! I mean, look at me!
The lifestyle I’ve been living for the last 30 years, I could have been dead a thousand times. ~ Ozzy
“All I have to say is this: sobriety f—king sucks!
Ozzy’s favorite beer is Starbucks.
Ozzy’s least favorite video is “The Ultimate Sin”.
At one count, Ozzy had dog named Baldrick and five others.
He is superstitious about the color green, and will not wear it…ever.
He also claims he sleeps with a bayonet under his bed.
Ozzy’s grandfather had a full-body tattoo of a snake: it started at his head and went all the way down to his toes.
Ozzy has more than fifteen tattoos—including a needle, a hooded ghoul in red, a dragon in blue shooting red flames, a stick man figure, happy faces, a rose with Sharon’s name, a skull with knife through it, a knife with an Ozzy banner over it, a bat and a woman’s face, a demonic face, and several words and numbers…from the O-Z-Z-Y knuckles, the “THANKS” palm, the “Mom and Pop” right arm, the number “3” arm, and the unknown word which starts with the letter “A” palm tattoo.
His first tattoos were made by himself, during a jail stint in the 60s after a B&E of a clothes shop.
The incarceration lasted for six weeks (out of the three-month sentence he was initially given): after his Pop refused to pay the 40-pound fine, he was put in Winson Green Prison in Birmingham.
The dragon tattoo was done after Ozzy, not knowing what in particular he wanted done, told the artist to just make something up.
At one point Ozzy was taking the bus rather than a plane, to prevent too much extra time on his hands—which he used to smoke prior to the travel arrangement switch.
Ozzy did a cameo for Howard Stern’s movie, Private Parts.
Ozzy appears in the movie Austin Powers: Goldmember as himself and with his family.
1986 - He appeared at WrestleMania 2, as accompaniment to the British Bulldogs and their manager, “Captain” Lou Albano.
“Party with the Animals” was featured in “Buffy the Vampire Slayer.”
One of his sketches is featured at the Hard Rock Cafe in Tokyo.
Ozzy’s voice “appears” as that of the Green Fairy’s in Moulin Rouge.
I have a genuine love affair with my audience. When I’m on stage they’re not privileged to see me. It’s a privilege for me to see them. ~Ozzy
As Ozzy worship continues, headed by such fans as the one who made an Ozzy Osbourne Cabbage Patch Doll—which was in his likeness to the degree of including Ozzy’s tattoos—Ozzy continues to give back more than he gets:
2007 [May 18] – He appeared on “WWE Friday Night SmackDown!” and performed the Judgment Day 2007 theme song, “I Don’t Wanna Stop.”
He once visited a dying fan in the hospital, where because the boy could not speak and requested in writing that he dedicate “Crazy Train” to him that night in concert.
Known for throwing water on his front-row fans at concerts, Ozzy also steps it up…to fire hose spraying and, as indicated in the Diary of a Madman tour contract, twenty-five pounds of raw meat.
1981 – Ozzy commemorated the fifth anniversary of Randy Rhoads’ death with Tribute, a collection of previously unreleased live recordings.
Every year, Ozzy sends flowers to Randy Castillo’s grave.
n.b. Information culled from such comprehensive sites as IMDB, MediaWiki, and ICS Ozzy Osbourne Archive/Database
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