One of the fathers of hard rock and heavy metal music, Ozzy Osbourne is a well-known English singer, songwriter, and television personality. His unique voice and charismatic stage presence made him a household name as the main singer of the band Black Sabbath in the 1970s, which helped to establish the sound of the subgenre.
When Osbourne started his solo career in the 1980s, his music was already pushing the hard rock envelope with its heavy and grim themes. Additionally, he enlarged the sound palette of the genre by including novel components in his music, such as synthesizers and keyboards.
Along with his musical achievements, Ozzy Osbourne has made a huge contribution to hard rock culture with his rebellious image and crazy stage antics. He personified the rock and roll spirit, encouraging countless musicians and followers to choose uniqueness over conformity.
Ozzy Osbourne might be regarded as heavy metal royalty in hard rock. ‘The Prince of Darkness’ has consistently remained a devoted music listener off the stage, expressing how much he cherishes his old vinyl collection and his affection for peers like Motörhead and Led Zeppelin. This is true although his unusual appearances on reality TV shows with his family and the countless parodies of him over the years. No band can last indefinitely, but Osbourne was shocked to find one of his contemporaries still performing well after so many years.
Osbourne has been touring for the past several years while dealing with a number of health issues. In fact, he announced late last year that he would stop doing live gigs due to his deteriorating health. Osbourne was shocked to hear AC/DC perform live for the first time, despite maybe entering the stage in a compromised state in the past.
Osbourne acknowledged his acquaintance with the band and insisted that the Bon Scott incarnation of the group was the greatest while discussing the renowned Australian act, telling Rolling Stone, “I love Brian Johnson. But to me, my good friend, the late Bon Scott, was the best singer AC/DC ever had. This album was like an addiction to me.”
AC/DC was taking things back to the beginnings of rock & roll, performing songs that seemed like they might have been written by Chuck Berry but with a bit more attitude, as Black Sabbath was transforming rock into something more darker with their music.
Following the unfortunate death of Scott from alcohol poisoning in 1980, AC/DC persevered and grew even stronger with Brian Johnson, resulting in Back in Black and giving their career a new lease on life. Back in the day, the band may have entertained everyone who would listen with their upbeat live performance, but every rocker eventually runs out of gas, isn’t that right?
In Osbourne’s opinion, no. At the release of their concert movie Live at River Plate, Osbourne expressed that he was still as awestruck by them after seeing them at River Plate. “I’ve met AC/DC for the first time touring in Sydney with Black Sabbath. I remember thinking, ‘These can’t be around touring using so much energy at every concert. Angus is like a machine that never stops. He keeps going and going. He still got the fucking energy, man.”
However, don’t expect the same level of aural innovation from a band like AC/DC as you would from one like Radiohead. Since Scott’s passing, they have continued to perform some of the most straightforward rock and roll songs ever created, but occasionally with a bluesy touch. Although it may appear boring on paper, Osbourne believes that finding one’s specialty is not at all a negative thing. He said, “(They) are a meat and potatoes band. There is no bollocks, there is no fucking around. Whether you like them or you don’t. I’m proud to say I love them.”
Osbourne occasionally uses strategies from AC/DC’s playbook. Ozzy Osbourne has a reputation as a student of the blues dating back to the days of Black Sabbath, and a few of his solo songs have guitars that crunch as they did on albums like Highway to Hell, despite the fact that he may not sound like Bon Scott or Brian Johnson. Above all, Osbourne’s no-nonsense attitude has always been associated with AC/DC. When ‘The Prince of Darkness’ performs, the audience always gets exactly what they see.
