People who have lost someone close will tell you that no matter how much we prepare for the end, it’s still a shock. Ozzy was purportedly telling people at Black Sabbath’s Back to the Beginning concert on the 6th July, that he felt that ‘now he could die happy’. And now, a little over two weeks later, Ozzy Osbourne really has passed away. Even though we knew it was coming, it’s still sad, and for all those who loved the frontman, it’s somewhat of an end of an era, because we won’t get another band like Black Sabbath again. As sad as it is, though, he definitely went out on a massive high – £150 million raised for charity, fans from all over the world drawn to the UK and Birmingham reaffirmed on the global music map.
So whats all the fuss about Birmingham?
Well, perhaps in the same way Liverpool had the Beatles, Manchester had Oasis, Birmingham has and now always will have Black Sabbath. For those in the rock, punk and metal scenes, Sabbath were a kind of cross-genre and cross-generational unifying glue, that persisted – despite the initial snobbery of the music press, and no doubt in some part maintained by them precisely because they were from Birmingham – for decades, all around the world. Four working-class men who, even after all their successes, even after making music that had such majesty, still spoke with the same Birmingham accents, with the same honest and down-to-earth nature, really seemed to resonate with the people who live here, and that authenticity was also appreciated worldwide. And of course, even though he lived in the US, Ozzy knew he had to come back, to where he grew up, to end the story.
What of his character? Locals will tell you of stories of him finishing a shift at the slaughterhouse in Digbeth, and then bringing bulls’ eyes to the pub and either plopping them in people pints of beer when they weren’t looking, or playing football with them, much to the horror of those assembled. It seemed he was something of a joker in his youth. Even Tony Iommi initially turned him down, knowing what he was like. But, Ozzy later admitted that this was something of a cover for deeper issues. In this modern world that requires ever more consistency, compliance, and general toeing-of-the-line, creatives often find it difficult, if not downright agonising, trying to fit in, and play the game. On school, describing his own brain as ‘a useless piece of f***ing jelly’, Ozzy found out later in life that he was dyslexic and had ADHD. His words have become an inspiration for older people coming to terms with their own neuro-divergence. Some say that as much as people pretend to be normal, they’re better described as weirdly shaped pieces of a jigsaw, and they need to find the other pieces that complement them. Well, if anyone was a weirdly shaped piece of a jigsaw – looking for a home – you could say it was Ozzy, and of course it turned out that he was perfect….for Black Sabbath! The band went through a fair few singers in later years, many of whom were technically very good, but the sound achieved through the original lineup is hard to beat.
And so, from the city of the underdogs, and from all those around the world that felt that cameradie with the music of Osbourne, Iommi, Ward and Butler, from Birmingham…we thank you Ozzy!
Old Man's Mettle 