Stereo Warning: February 2010 Archives

Ozzy Osbourne talks to us about his fascinating autobiography, "I Am Ozzy." It turns out that there are many things he'd do over, but he's got no regrets. Oh, and that lawsuit against Tony Iommi? "That's my wife's department," he says, adding that he wouldn't rule out playing with Tony on stage again some day. And that's good news for Black Sabbath fans!

How did you go about writing this book?
Chris would talk to me and ask me what was your childhood like and then he'd find something interesting of what I was saying and he'd go 'can you elaborate more on that incident'. He would pull stuff out that way. I didn't actually put pen to paper; if I'd done that I'd still be on page one, you know? It was quite easy actually.

So you didn't write it all in pencil like Sharon said?
No, I did it all through Chris.

Why write it?
A lot of people through the years have asked 'when are you ever going to write a book'. There's been a lot of unauthorized books written about me. I just decided to do it, you know.

Do you keep a diary?
No. I try from time to time but I forget to do it. I stop and start you know.

Lars Ulrich from Metallica told me he wouldn't publish his autobiography because he wanted to keep some of the nastier things he may have done private, especially from his children.
My antics have been more or less well documented over the years. My kids know about most of it. In my house, if any of the kids ask me questions I always give them an honest answer.

What's the difference between writing a book and writing lyrics?
Most of the time I work with someone with the lyrics. I bounce off another person. The book was a similar kind of process. It ended up being the longest interview of my life, you know.

How long?
Once a week for about six months.

Have you read your wife's book?
No, I haven't.

All the drugs and alcohol could have done a lot of damage to your body, but instead you're in great shape. Why do you think that is?
I should've been dead a thousand times. I'm not boasting about that. I don't want people to read my book and think if he can do it then I can. I'm a very lucky guy to be alive. Drugs and alcohol were fun but there is also a very bad side about it. I don't do it anymore. I enjoy life.

Have you finally kicked those habits?
For a long, long time I tried to kick them. I don't smoke, I don't drink, I don't do drugs, I don't do anything anymore. For about six of seven years now. I don't even count anymore.

Has it become easier now?
When I first tried to stop drinking I used to think how will I enjoy my life anymore? Then it shifted to at the end of the day where will I be? If I'd get off the phone now, smoke a joint, have a drink, have some coke and at the end of the day I'd be fucking insane and everybody would get left at home and it would be a bad scene.

You have some strong views on tattoos in your book.
A lot of girls in L.A. have tattoos now. A girl with a tattoo of a bird on her ankle, that's fine. But now you see a pretty girl with these fucking heavy duty tattoos. They might think they're cool now but when they get older and are grandmas it's gonna be like 'what the fuck where you thinking?' If you want to be somebody special nowadays, don't have a tattoo! You have a tattoo for the rest of your life. Even if you have it removed it's still gonna leave a fucking horrific scar.

How do you feel about your tattoos now years after you had them done?
I've always had tattoos. I'm 61 and I had my first tattoo when I was 14 or 15. My son Jack -- his back is tattooed, his arms are tattooed, his legs are tattooed, I try to tell him but he goes, 'you can talk'. So I go fine, you know. I told Kelly, 'you're gonna regret having this shit. It's alright now when you're a wild kid but when you're a mature woman with a family you ain't gonna like it' and she's already saying to me 'dad, I wish I'd listened to you.'

Do you have any regrets?
Whatever I did, I did. If I'd changed anything in my past I wouldn't be here talking to you now. You come to a crossroads and whatever road you take you get the good and the bad. Everybody wants to take the road with the pot of gold at the end, but sometimes to get to that thing you've got to go across a few swamps and a few bad things. It's life! Would I do it again now? I don't think so. But I've already done it, so I've got to accept it.

What part would you not do again?
I wouldn't have picked up drugs so easily. Drugs nearly killed me. I found out that what I was doing was self-medicate because I suffered from dyslexia and ADD. I didn't like the way I felt because of the stigma that I had so when I drank I thought that was the way I wanted to feel. I wanted to be carefree. A lot of my troubles are attributed to alcohol and drugs. When I used to go to Copenhagen I used to go in a bar and ask for this extra special brew and be fucking crazy for a week. I remember being in a hotel bar in Copenhagen and I said to the guy do you have a really heavy duty beer. And he came out with this bottle of beer with a white label with a number on it. It was like drinking fucking rocket fuel. I'd have such a hangover the next day I'd have to go to the doctor. We used to play a club 40 years ago called the Revolution Club in Copenhagen. What I liked about Denmark was the fact that it was so liberal and so open. We could buy pornography and things, you know.

My first wife… I got married at the age of 20 and had two children before I was 25. At 25 years old to be a father to two children, that's ridiculous. I got married way too early and I got children way too early. Then I got divorced when I was about 30 and I got married again when I was about 32. My parents never told me it's not a good idea to get married early. I thought that's what you do, you know. What I do with my children, which I wish my parents had done with me, is talk to them. If they ever ask me questions I give them an honest answer. I would say to my father, where do babies come from and he'd say a stork brings you. It confuses kids. So you tell them the truth.

What do you have left to accomplish?
If my career ended now I couldn't really complain because I've had a great run. But I'm just finishing up a new album, I haven't got a title yet. It's gonna be released in the summer then I'm doing Ozzfest around America. I'd like to take it to Europe but I don't know if I'll be able to.

What about outside music?
I don't know. I take whatever comes my way.

How's your relationship with Tony Iommi?
I haven't spoken to him for a while. We're always falling out with each other. But I don't hold anything against him. It was just business, you know. That's my wife's department, not mine.

Will you ever share a stage with him again?
I never say never anymore because you say no no no and the next day you're on stage together. I don't have any argument with him.