Ozzy Osbourne aka: the prince of darkness and his band Black Sabbath and later solo Ozzy, are some of the originators of what we now know as heavy metal. Ozzy was well known for onstage theatrics which were popular at the time for bands like Sabbath and Alice Cooper. Big stage shows showing fake gore and violence like the precursors to Gwar. They would act out killing people and animals on stage as part of their showmanship routine and throw offal and guts into the crowd. “Worship Satan”. Have women in lingerie on stage for no reason but to get covered in “blood” or act like they were being murdered. Eventually the crowds started throwing stuff back. One such stage show involved a fan throwing a “live” bat on stage. Ozzy picked it up and bit it’s head off “not knowing” it was alive. There are conflicting stories about this of course.
Much of this also led to the satanic panic we experienced as kids in the 80’s and 90’s.
Likely a lot of these actions were because Ozzy was a raging alcoholic and drug user for much of his professional life. There are lots of interviews with him completely fucked out of his brain. He would intentionally drop acid and booze before said interviews and sometimes even his band mates couldn’t handle him. Like Kieth Richards people even joked that Ozzy would outlive everyone because he had done so much stupid shit publicly over the course of his life and survived.
Ozzy was one of the artists that morphed the huge epic stage shows of the 60’s rock and roll era into the chaos and drama of early heavy metal. Aside from his shortcomings Ozzy was an original rock and roll master.
It was not “his band”. Although Ozzy was in Black Sabbath from the beginning, he was enlisted by Bill Ward and Tony Iommi together with Geezer Butler because as a drummer and a guitarist with a vision they needed bass and vocals with them.
Ozzy was kicked out in 1979 and started his solo career in the shock rock tradition he is mostly known for. The idea that sparked Black Sabbath however was a heavier blues than ever heard before and that was Ward and Iommi.
As you say, they were some of the originators of heavy metal. There is no single inventor of the genre. There never is. Culture is cross pollination and collaboration.
Who’s band when they change their sound so much they basically fall into obscurity after Ozzy leaves?
Dio was a shit front man and his presence lost fans immediately. That they hung in for three more albums was valiant but pointless. Dragging out the death of the band over the next several decades because their sound was so good without Ozzy.
And had Charlie “fired” Mick, the same fate would have befallen the rolling stones as did Sabbath. You could have all sound you want yet without the charisma you had nothing.
It was a joke based on the stereotype of singers and their ego. There are plenty of other stereotypes about instrumentalists, such as bass players being simple, lead guitarrist that find everything else support for solos, drummers being brutes, keyboardists being music theorists and so on. I thought you’d recognize it but alas.
But sure. You’re using hypotheticals for arguments that you think is proof when presented with historical evidence that the frontman was one job of the band and not the entire act. There isn’t really much to discuss against something like that. I could invent my own alternative history too. But why.
And it’s not very nice to call the rest of the musicians in the band irrelevant and replaceable.
Never once suggested the front man was the entire act. I used a word that you took offence to, “His”, which was simply used to refer to the band that Ozzy was a part of not that he “owned” the band. Then I stated my position and defended it. One that is quite valid and accurate for the band and time period. That’s generally how discussion works. I didn’t make up any alternative history. Without Ozzy Sabbath would not have been what they were. Proven by their lack of success following his departure.
To each their own I suppose, but why.
Edit: damn you certainly have a way of putting words in others mouths. Try stay on track.
That being said, he apparently did on a separate occasion bite the heads off of two live doves. Dude was on hella drugs and alcohol, but goddamn was he talented.
Ozzy Osbourne aka: the prince of darkness and his band Black Sabbath and later solo Ozzy, are some of the originators of what we now know as heavy metal. Ozzy was well known for onstage theatrics which were popular at the time for bands like Sabbath and Alice Cooper. Big stage shows showing fake gore and violence like the precursors to Gwar. They would act out killing people and animals on stage as part of their showmanship routine and throw offal and guts into the crowd. “Worship Satan”. Have women in lingerie on stage for no reason but to get covered in “blood” or act like they were being murdered. Eventually the crowds started throwing stuff back. One such stage show involved a fan throwing a “live” bat on stage. Ozzy picked it up and bit it’s head off “not knowing” it was alive. There are conflicting stories about this of course.
Much of this also led to the satanic panic we experienced as kids in the 80’s and 90’s.
Likely a lot of these actions were because Ozzy was a raging alcoholic and drug user for much of his professional life. There are lots of interviews with him completely fucked out of his brain. He would intentionally drop acid and booze before said interviews and sometimes even his band mates couldn’t handle him. Like Kieth Richards people even joked that Ozzy would outlive everyone because he had done so much stupid shit publicly over the course of his life and survived.
Ozzy was one of the artists that morphed the huge epic stage shows of the 60’s rock and roll era into the chaos and drama of early heavy metal. Aside from his shortcomings Ozzy was an original rock and roll master.
It was not “his band”. Although Ozzy was in Black Sabbath from the beginning, he was enlisted by Bill Ward and Tony Iommi together with Geezer Butler because as a drummer and a guitarist with a vision they needed bass and vocals with them.
Ozzy was kicked out in 1979 and started his solo career in the shock rock tradition he is mostly known for. The idea that sparked Black Sabbath however was a heavier blues than ever heard before and that was Ward and Iommi.
As you say, they were some of the originators of heavy metal. There is no single inventor of the genre. There never is. Culture is cross pollination and collaboration.
Ozzy made it “his band”. That’s what front men did then. The sound came.from the band. The recognition came from the front man. In this case Ozzy.
Who’s band was it when they fired Ozzy?
Edit: about the front man status of the band - https://www.noise11.com/news/fact-check-did-charlie-watts-say-to-mick-jagger-youre-my-fucking-singer-20210828
Who’s band when they change their sound so much they basically fall into obscurity after Ozzy leaves?
Dio was a shit front man and his presence lost fans immediately. That they hung in for three more albums was valiant but pointless. Dragging out the death of the band over the next several decades because their sound was so good without Ozzy.
And had Charlie “fired” Mick, the same fate would have befallen the rolling stones as did Sabbath. You could have all sound you want yet without the charisma you had nothing.
Are you by any chance a singer in a band that still hasn’t caught a break because of external reasons?
Why must it always turn into personal attacks when people realize that their point is actually pointless?
It was a joke based on the stereotype of singers and their ego. There are plenty of other stereotypes about instrumentalists, such as bass players being simple, lead guitarrist that find everything else support for solos, drummers being brutes, keyboardists being music theorists and so on. I thought you’d recognize it but alas.
But sure. You’re using hypotheticals for arguments that you think is proof when presented with historical evidence that the frontman was one job of the band and not the entire act. There isn’t really much to discuss against something like that. I could invent my own alternative history too. But why.
And it’s not very nice to call the rest of the musicians in the band irrelevant and replaceable.
Edit: clarifications
Never once suggested the front man was the entire act. I used a word that you took offence to, “His”, which was simply used to refer to the band that Ozzy was a part of not that he “owned” the band. Then I stated my position and defended it. One that is quite valid and accurate for the band and time period. That’s generally how discussion works. I didn’t make up any alternative history. Without Ozzy Sabbath would not have been what they were. Proven by their lack of success following his departure.
To each their own I suppose, but why.
Edit: damn you certainly have a way of putting words in others mouths. Try stay on track.
Great summary, but just as a point of order apparently the bat might not have actually been alive when he bit it: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c72ppzwek90o
That being said, he apparently did on a separate occasion bite the heads off of two live doves. Dude was on hella drugs and alcohol, but goddamn was he talented.
I’m old. Ozzy was one of my childhood heros.
I don’t blame you! I remember discovering him when I was in middle school and it felt like a life changing experience at the time.