The biggest regrets of Ozzy Osbourne’s life
Former Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne has hit extraordinary heights over his career. Affectionately hailed as ‘The Prince of Darkness’, Ozzy remains the ultimate heavy metal vocalist, and what he and the Birmingham band’s classic lineup did for the form’s proliferation cannot be understated. Without them, music in general, not just metal, would be a completely different beast.
After he was invited to leave Sabbath in the late 1970s, Osbourne reacted in the best way possible: he formed another group. The group’s efforts crystallised Osbourne’s position as the monarch of metal, featuring former members of Uriah Heep and the Quiet Riot guitar hero Randy Rhoads. By the end of the 1980s, it was impossible to criticise his claim to the throne. Ozzy Osbourne was now the de jure ruler of the genre.
Despite the numerous achievements Osbourne has enjoyed across his long career, this is not to say it has been all great. For every soaring high, there has been a sobering, crushing low. Famously, his off-stage antics have threatened to completely derail his career at many points, and it is only due to his genius and plucky nature that Osbourne has been able to bounce back so resoundingly.
Over the past few years, Ozzy has become more reflective than ever, and in a series of different interviews, he’s revealed the biggest regrets of his life, from the artistic to the personal.
The first of his greatest regrets is that he never bothered to learn an instrument. He revealed to Rolling Stone in 2017 that only being able to play “a little bit of harmonica” is “one of my biggest regrets … I can’t communicate on a musical level with other musicians. I just like what’s in my head.”
Interestingly, one of his most triumphant moments is also one of his greatest regrets. The game-changing sitcom The Osbournes, which ran from 2002 to 2005 and transformed the face of reality TV, showed an endearing side to one of rock music’s most notorious figures whilst shedding light on his hectic yet loving family. Regardless of the show’s success, though, Ozzy still hates it, as the level of fame the family were afforded by it took an immense toll.
As reported by Digital Spy, he told NME in 2013: “Of course I regret doing the fucking show … I didn’t want to be on fucking television. I didn’t become a fucking rock ‘n’ roll singer to read the fucking weather forecast, know what I mean?”
The last great regret of his life was revealed in 2020 when the former Black Sabbath legend appeared on Good Morning Britain alongside his wife Sharon. Questioned about his relationship, Ozzy admitted that his infidelities are the last great blight on his life, saying: “I’ve been a bad boy at times … I didn’t love any of these people. I’ve learned a lesson.”
“Absolutely,” he confessed of his fear of losing Sharon. “I was terrified.”
