Deep Reflections of the Prince of Darkness: Ozzy Osbourne on what it's like to be a rock star
Fired in the late 1970s from the Black Sabbath and struggling with addiction, Ozzy Osbourne watched helplessly as his career went downhill.
"At that point, Ozzy was nearing his end as an artist - hard alcohol and substances had consumed him," Tony Iommi recalled not without regret.
It seemed that by 1979 Osborne's future was sealed - he was simply No. But a miracle happens: Ozzie meets on his way of life Sharon - manager and future wife, and later, the Randy Rhoads. With such a suggestive "gang" the "Prince of Darkness" managed to storm America and regain his good name, as they say!
Today's article is in the format Ozzy Osbourne's revelationsThe legendary rocker reflects on the old days and brags about the triumph of a wonderful second chance! Although... there's room for one tragedies.
A rift in Black Sabbath
Today Osborne is an old favorite. "weirdo." to an audience of millions of people. But at the end of the seventies his fate could have turned out quite differently: Black Sabbath, which was one of the biggest rock bands in the world, seemed to have reached its final climax.
"Day after day, we didn't even know what awaited us tomorrow. For a while we tried to cope with ourselves, but the liquor and substances became more and more absorbing... We were tired of each other, and none of us wanted to be associated with black magic anymore. We wished to become a little more modern. But you have to stick to what you know best-it's important to understand."
Sabbath ended up releasing a couple of records in which they "tried to get a little modern" - it's about "Technical Ecstasy" and "Never Say Die!". But even their (whatever) success in the charts could not help the band to get back on track: the band's future was clouded by substances and alcohol. Plus, the musicians got pretty tired of legal battles with their label and management, and in 1979 Ozzy "dropped out of the game".
"Sharon the Savior."
Ozzy spent several months in a hotel in Los Angeles, the walls of which, in general, he never left: personal "supplier" delivered everything the rocker needed, and more. And then he gets Sharonwho literally became his guardian angel! She took Osborne seriously. The first thing the woman insisted on was getting rid of Ozzy's wine bar near his English home in Staffordshire.
"My reasoning was: I'm a drinker, I need a wine bar! I had nothing to lose."
The next step was to new group. And here Ozzie had a new fateful encounter.
"One bass player from Slaughter was raving about a guitar player he knew named Randy Rhoads. When I first saw this guy, I thought, 'Boy, he's obviously into boys! But when he started playing, all I could think in my head was, "Either this is the best instrument, or this guy really is the best guitar player in the world.
Success overshadowed by tragedy
Soon Rhoades became important person In Osborne's life: they lived together, wrote music, and partied like rock stars should!
"He looked like a fairy in our background! Randy's mom came over one day. I had a big fat beer belly, the other guys had mustaches and unkempt long hair, and his mom asked: "Well, when's the band coming?" Heck, she was sitting right next to me! It still feels like the funniest moment of my life!"
Debut album "Blizzard of Ozz." was a resounding success that no one even expected! Less than a year later came out "Diary of a Madman", and soon the group finds itself on the MTV.
"MTV is awesome! Active rotation took us from 1 million copies to 20 million! There was a lot of money, restaurants, fun... It was an incredible time for all of us."
In March 1982, Osborne and Rhoades were on their way to Florida to play great show with UFO and Foreigner.
"There was something special about Randy that night. I was drinking gin and he was writing his own music, and at one point he looked up and said he wanted to go - he wanted to go to university. I said: "What the hell do you want to do that for? We're paving the way! Keep it up and you can buy your own university!" But he wanted a degree in classical music."
The next morning Randy was gone: he had agreed to a fatal flight with a bus driver instead of a pilot, and as a result he left this world at the age of 25 yearsand never realized their dreams...
"It took me a very long time to get over his death. Even now I'm on a low dose of antidepressants. Randy gave me purpose, he gave me hope. Hell, I just had a lot of respect for him!"
Returning to my first two solo to the records, Ozzie adds:
"The whole '80s thing was a hell of a crazy time. Now when I listen to these two records, I can hear the real atmosphere. Rock music doesn't have to be perfect. Randy loved hearing his fingers slide up and down the strings..."
