By Owen Quinn author
Photo copyright Rolling stone
This isn’t my first commentary on the passing of a celebrity and it won’t be my last. But this one has shaken me to the core. Even as I write this, I have to pause to stop crying long enough to share my feelings on this. I don’t know why this has upset me so much. Maybe there is some residual grief still in me somewhere having lost some loved ones myself, that only comes out when something like this happens or maybe it’s because I genuinely liked Ozzy Osbourne.
I wasn’t a fan as such until the Osbournes show on MTV but I quickly became one. Ozzy was a heavy metal rock God whose legacy will reign forever as the Prince of Darkness; of that, there is no doubt. I knew of the stories; the Alamo, the bat, trying to kill his wife, Sharon, stealing Sharon’s dress to go drinking and his addiction struggles. But despite all this and the unending chaos of the Osbourne household, Ozzy was just a family man who loved his kids and his pets.
He just happened to be a God during his working hours. And he loved his job.
He warned his kids off smoking and getting tattoos, the latter of which Jack especially, ignored. He worried when they weren’t home and his love for his wife, Sharon, shone through when she faced her cancer battle. To millions, he was a rock God but I saw the family man behind the music. He loved the simple pleasures, was a keen history buff, hated the colour green and loved the Discovery channel. He kicked off when the dogs pissed on his good carpet, not being able to work the remote control and when he couldn’t find his socks and underwear.
I watched everything he did and all his interviews. I loved the love of life he had and despite many dark times, he had come through and was still standing. His devoted wife, Sharon, kept him grounded like the time he complained about people asking for autographs. She reminded him, the day they stop asking is when to complain. I’m paraphrasing there but that’s essentially her reply. She was the powerhouse behind his career and they stood together through it all. They were a love story all of their own and an example that love can get you through anything. Like all marriages, they had their ups and downs and people would criticise the show as crap but when you look at it, what house doesn’t have the kids going mad, the spouses arguing, fighting with the neighbours or that simple shot of a Dad waiting up for his daughter to come home to make sure she was alright.
For me, when Jack and Ozzy did their series, Ozzy and Jack’s World Detour, then that is when you really saw the man behind the music. Leaving somewhere with a plastic carrier bag is so working class, complaining about the trip but delighted top be spending time with his son and getting to do his bucket list. While their stops were interesting, it was just a show about a father and son bonding over the most bizarre things like the research centre that studies decomposing bodies in the open.
I’ll never forget Ozzy driving a tank and breaking it, visiting the historical places in America and going underground to a silo where everything in the world was stored including Black Sabbath’s first song. I’ll never forget when he returned to Texas to the site of the Alamo and they tricked him into believing there was an arrest warrant still active for him. It was hilarious. Remember his battle with the haunted doll, Robert, that he kept frying to get rid of?
Seeing Ozzy just listening to that recording of Black Sabbath speaks volumes about the man. He loved those around him even when his behaviour said otherwise but he always sought them out and made up with them. His kids and grandkids were his world; the concerts reminded him that he was alive and meant the world to millions of people. When you compare Crazy Train to his duet with daughter Kelly, Changes, it showed his diversity. His song, Dreamer, says all there is to say about him. At the end of the day, he was a crazy dreamer but never did he ever dream just how much he would be loved right back by generation after generation.
He was a young lad, no qualifications, with a dream of being in a band and by God, he did it. He dreamed big and with Sharon by his side, he delivered it.
At his final concert only a few weeks ago, he showed how much he thrived on that love on stage before his adoring fans. He had returned to England to be home again and I think we all knew why he was coming back to England. His health was declining and perhaps, he knew his time was nearly up.
Now Ozzy Osbourne has died surrounded by what he cherished most of all; his family. I never met him but felt I knew him to a degree from his shows. He never played to the cameras in World Detour. he was just himself. I have to admit, I would have loved his hair but t’was not to be. Neither was my chance of meeting him and telling him that he was the most down to earth God I had ever known.
This is not goodbye by any means. Ozzy left behind so much joy, laughter and music for him to ever really be gone. Millions all over the world will be weeping tonight, not only from sadness but from remembering the funny times, the joy and the humour too. I have a feeling that heaven is a lot louder tonight from a certain rocker kicking in the pearly gates.
Til next time, sir.
The Time Warriors and Beyond 