| Title | : | I Am Ozzy |
| Author | : | |
| Rating | : | |
| ISBN | : | 0446569895 |
| ISBN-10 | : | 9780446569897 |
| Language | : | English |
| Format Type | : | Hardcover |
| Number of Pages | : | 391 |
| Publication | : | First published January 1, 2009 |
I Am Ozzy Reviews
-
Opening Line: "My father always said I would do something big one day."
I grew up in the 80’s so the Ozzy that I knew wasn’t the comical, stuttering MTV family man of today but the Prince of darkness. Black Sabbath’s scary, out of control singer who bit the head off of bats and doves and worshiped the devil. (Or so the rumours said) My brother used to play his records (yes I’m that old) during his rocker/bad boy phase (he’s now with the RCMP) and I remember being forced to listen to Ozzy Osbourne Crazy Train and Bark At The Moon 24 hours a day. Ozzy’s exploits with drugs, women and Satan were legendary. In those days he was the ultimate in heavy metal music, if you wanted to be cool there just wasn’t anybody badder or scarier.
So you can imagine how strange it was for me to see him years later bumbling around with his family on MTV. Who the hell was this guy? Although he did provide an excellent example of the 80’s campaign “this is what happens to your brain on drugs” (anyone remember that ad with the fried egg?) It was hard for me to comprehend that this was the same man, Ozzy was the devil not a man who lived in the English countryside with a wife and kids. I was intrigued enough that I had to read his biography, to figure out which Ozzy was the real Ozzy. The truth is though, they both are.
Honestly this is one of the better rock biographies out there and I give credit to co-author Chris Ayers who’s managed to piece together all of Ozzy’s insane stories yet still allowed his true voice to ring through. I did wonder how on earth Ozzy could possibly write a book much less remember anything after 40 years of drug and alcohol abuse but it turns out the godfather of heavy metal remembers quite a lot. We start at the beginning in England with “John” growing up in a poor factory town without enough to eat or an indoor toilet. Crazy from the get-go John always wanted more and his rise to fame is an amazing journey.
Ozzy admits early on to struggling with dyslexia and I can only assume that he dictated this, leaving Chris Ayers with his work cut out for him. He’s done a fantastic job though because this flows really well and every page is funny, fascinating, shocking, at times unbelievable and brutally honest. All the dirt is here too so if you’re a fan of the music then theres a plethora of information about album covers, lyrics, band politics and the truth behind the music. We also get to see a lot of other rock royalty joining in the debauchery. In the end I wondered (as Ozzy does) how he’s managed to stay alive through it all. All aboard ….
Some of the many highlights for me were;
32 pages of color photographs
His jobs in a meat processing factory and testing car horns (pardon?)
His rise to fame and first experiences in America, the land of plenty (of cocaine)
His sexual exploits with groupies including an aids scare
Details of his first marriage and trying to keep it together for the kids while seeing Sharon
Almost killing a vicar with hash cake
The real story behind the bat
The death of his guitarist in an airplane that crashed into his tour bus
Waking up in the middle of a freeway
Thinking Betty Ford could teach him to drink like a gentleman or James Bond
His remorse over the moments he missed in his children’s lives because he was always pissed
Buying a horse because he couldn’t pass his drivers test and riding it to the pub
The realization that guns and booze don’t mix
His numerous arrests including the infamous pissing on the Alamo
The chaos that ensued after the success of the Osborne’s
Meeting the president and the Queen
The horror when he wakes up in jail not knowing why he is there and is told he tried to kill Sharon.
How Sharon stuck by him through years of outrageous intoxicated behaviour.
Why he stutters and shakes
Where he is now -
There are many things to like about this book. However, if you don’t like Ozzy, you won’t find them, at all. This book reads as though you were listening to him in person. His British accent permeates the pages that are full of pisses, fucks and bollocks, a testament to Chris Ayres—helping-hand author of this book—ability to edit himself out of the writing. In many respects this is a very honest book, that more than once leaves you wondering how is Ozzy still alive (old school rockers do seem to be made of stern stuff, ‘cause the amounts of drugs and alcohol filling this book are more serious than a bad car crash).
The good thing is that if you do find Ozzy’s ways funny or at least tolerable, you’ll have a good time reading this bio that it’s exactly what I was expecting when I got it: a wild ride through the even wilder side of The Prince of Darkness a.k.a THE bad boy of Heavy Metal (and if not THE at least The Original one).
The slaughterhouse labor, the prison term, the dyslexia, the guns, the blackouts, the Randy Rhoads airplane crash, the eating pigeons’ heads, the tremor, the mumbling, the bike accident, the many brushes with death —they're all here. But the best part —at least for me— is that accompanying all those scary, funny and extreme anecdotes about Ozzy’s life there is also a plethora of writing about recording, touring, and creating. In other words, about Ozzy’s music.
Ozzy credits his initiation to the world of music to a single moment when a light went on in his head while hearing the record With the Beatles. “It just sucked me in. Lennon and McCartney’s harmonies were like magic.” Beyond that and throughout the book, Ozzy does talk about his music seriously, treating with respect. He regards the survival of Black Sabbath as celestially ordained, and while there is much bile directed at miscreant band members and managers, not least Don Arden, there’s also respect for them. Interestingly, Ozzy acknowledges that he was not entirely blameless in these squabbles, pinpointing the moment when his relationship with Arden began to go wrong. "It wasn't long after I almost pissed in my new father-in-law's face that he stopped calling me Ozzy." Arden is dead now, but Ozzy, once John Osbourne from Aston, has somehow pulled through. "My heart's in great shape, and my liver's like brand new,” he says, showing to us that karmic justice is a concept that still evades him.
I give it a 3.5 stars. I felt tempted to give it four but I prefer you to be pleasantly surprised that bitterly disappointed . -
How this man is still alive is beyond me. There are people who [to quote the Hulkster] say their prayers and eat their vitamins, yet they choke on a peanut or cross the street on a red light and it's curtains for them. Curtains, I say! But this guy did just about every drug there is and now enjoys a decently healthy life while being a grandfather.
I love rock music, but I can't say that I'm this hardcore fan of Black Sabbath or Ozzy - I do love some of his songs (the well known tunes, to be honest) - but if it weren't for them, chances are I wouldn't be enjoying Metallica, Guns N' Roses and Van Halen. Still, I picked up this book mostly because I know that Ozzy is a character and he lived an insane life. More importantly: he lived to tell the tale.
The book really lets you get to know the guy - for example it was interesting to find out that the man known as The Prince of Darkness makes fun of occultism, satanism and all of that "bollocks". Generally, even though Ozzy lacks education in a traditional sense of the word, he is extremely bright and down-to-earth. You can't spot any trace of an ego while flipping through the pages, which is very impressive, considering he has every right to grow a big head, having reached the levels of success and wealth he has with no diplomas or shortcuts to pave the way.
But to tell you the truth, the main reason I loved this book is the fact that Ozzy is a complete rebel. A madman. Which one of us wouldn't love to "stick it to the man", to defy the establishment, to stop playing ball and throw the rulebook out the window? I [for one] would. He did just that - he knew for a fact he didn't want to wear a suit or work at a factory and get a gold watch once retirement hit him in his wrinkled old face. So he did something about it. And I truly applaud his reckless, juvenile, yet brilliant decision to go against the current and join a band instead of doing "the normal" thing in Aston and waste your life away at a factory. -
I think they had this idea in their heads that when I wasn’t being arrested for public intoxication, I went to a cave and hung upside down, drinking snakes’ blood. But I’m like Coco the Clown, me: at the end of the day, I come home, take off my greasepaint and my big red nose, and become Dad.
I'll admit to not being an Ozzy fan. I can normally be found listening to indie pop. I don't dislike him, but his music just does nothing for me. It doesn't make me swoon.
But my offline BFF begged me to read this, and I couldn't say no. Plus she has enough embarrassing middle school memories of me to blackmail me into reading this if I said no.
pictured:seventh grade Ellen Gail and her bff, talking to boys and eating poptarts
And it was actually pretty good. He admits freely to any number of illegal and horrid things, and occasionally expresses regret. The writing is jumbled and hazy, much like Ozzy's memory. But it has a charming realistic quality. Ozzy really doesn't give a fuck about making himself look better or whitewashing the past. It is what it is and fuck if you don't like it.
So, not what I'd normally go for, but it's always a joy to have someone shove a book at you and say, "READ THIS!" -
Wow, I am reading the most entertaining biography out there. This one I simply can't stop laughing - I am about half way through this book and can tell you that it is now my most favorite book. Since this is a library copy that I am reading I plan to still buy the book. I love Ozzy and his book so much. Even if you are not a Black Sabbath fan, I am sure you will enjoy this book. I recommend this book for reading to lighten their day and for a thoroughly relaxing little getaway from the stresses of the real world. I appreciate that Ozzy coming from a working class, poor background made something of himself and happen to like his music and voice. And the black knight just is a really good man with a good heart. He is one superstar/rock star that I will always support. Other men can learn by his example.
-
Sooo funny!
I had a great time reading it. -
Crónica de la vida de Ozzy Osbourne, rockero procedente de Birmingham de origen humilde, que ha llegado a lo más alto del olimpo del rock.
Vida que se puede resumir en tres palabras: alcohol y drogas. Menudas historias y situaciones las que ha vivido este personaje, en una época dorada para la música rock, hoy en decadencia, pero que nos resistimos a olvidar los que la amamos.
Realmente lo veo poco interesante si no eres fan del personaje. Yo lo he disfrutado. -
What a crazy ride, is Ozzy. This autobiography is laugh out loud funny at times, but also very sad. The Godfather of Metal is really just a man, afraid of being rejected, abandoned, made to feel like he doesn't belong. And so he plays the clown to make everybody like him. Takes drugs, and booze, and everything in excess just to fit in. But he does so much more than just fit in. A miracle life, a tragic life, a complicated and complex story about the bat-dove-head biting legend of rock-n-roll.
-
The writing is truly atrocious. It reads like Ozzy dictated his life story into a tape recorder, handed it to the ghost writer, and said "Transcribe this word for word." Since Ozzy left school at 15, you can probably guess how that went.
But you don't read this book for the prose; you read it for the stories. And oh, the stories. The famous dove, bat, and Alamo tales are there, as are more behind the scenes accounts of band in-fighting and tragedy. Ozzy doesn't hold back on any of his crazy escapades and appears to take an honest look at his life. He cops to lots of bad choices and seems to be at peace with most of them. The excuses are rare, but the regrets are many. He doesn't try to hide anything, choosing to rather tell us what he did and let his audience judge him for themselves.
The odd thing is that, even though Ozzy is by no stretch of the imagination a good person (given the content of this book one could say he's a pretty despicable person), you still like the guy in the end. His love for his family comes through and he truly seems to appreciate everything life has given him. -
Every time I watched the cover of this book I couldn’t get out of my head this song by Ozzy Osbourne "
Over The Mountain". Just this part:
”Don’t need no astrology
It’s inside of you and me
You don’t need a ticket to fly with me
I’m free yeah”
Playing over and over again.
And you know what, it's true!
It's free! (Well... At least it was when I downloaded it.)
This probably is the funniest autobiography out there. I literally burst out laughing several times. Once I was at work, reading and couldn’t stop laughing, I even had tears in my eyes from so much laughter… Everyone was staring at me… but who cares, it was a hell of an experience!
I want to go get my albums of Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne, and give them a non-stop listening marathon.
It’s really interesting to get inside the world of a rock n roller, there are times when we’ve all fantasized about being one of them, and reading this kind of works give you a great insight of how not everything is glamour, money and awesomness in this world.
Ozzy Osbourne struggled a lot with lawyers, Music is like any other business and have to pay the millionaire taxes. Rumors from people saying he was a devil worshiper, an animal killer, among other things. And drugs.
I think this book would be of great help for people who might start doing drugs or going into alcoholism because it shows how bad things can get when you stop getting control and drugs do.
I totally recommend it for anyone looking for a good laugh even if you’re no fan of Ozzy’s, perhaps it’s not the best written book of literature but it will give you a great time and many things to think about.
And remember, he bit the head off a bat. -
Il principe delle tenebre e' un simpaticone un po' sfigato e si chiama Ozzy! Autobiografia rock riuscita quant'altre mai. Non pallosa ne' lagnosa, una cavalcata esilarante lungo i primi sessant'anni di vita di uno strano personaggio che, da ragazzino della classe operaia inglese, si trova ad essere una delle prime e piu' longeve icone rock planetarie. Ma non e' finita qui! Sorpresa nella sorpresa, al netto di qualche gigioneggiatura di troppo, siamo alle prese con un bel libro, divertente si, ma istruttivo assai su cosa voglia dire una dipendenza lunga una vita. Lettura salutare anche per i fan di Cristina D'Avena!
-
امسال این کتاب با عنوان «من آزی هستم» با ترجمهٔ آقای محمد بیگی و از نشر ایجاز منتشر شد.
اگر دوستدار آزی آزبورن/راک/متال باشید، به احتمال زیاد از این اتوبیوگرافی خوشتون میاد. اگر هم دوست نداشته باشید که نمیدونم. 😬
قبل از این دربارهٔ زندگی شخصی آزبورن و سرگذشت بلک سبث چیز زیادی نمیدونستم و برای همین تقریباً تمام مطالبش برام جدید بود.
من آزی هستم زندگینامهای نیست که قسمتهای پر از خطای زندگی آزبورن رو نادیده بگیره؛ اتفاقاً بیشترین چیزی که نوشته شده دربارهٔ آزی معتاد و الکلیه.
به نظرم ترجمه میتونست بهتر باشه. مدل روایت هم همینطور.
کتاب قسمتهایی داشت که از نظرم غمانگیز بودن. ولی برای من غمانگیزترین قسمت اینجا بود: «لمی اکنون یکی از دوستان بسیار نزدیکم است.» لمی عزیز:((
نتیجهٔ اخلاقی هم بگیریم. معتاد نشیم. ملتو کتک نزنیم. هرچی رسید دستمون رو گاز نگیریم.:)) بچههای خوبی باشیم. -
This book is great and I would expect nothing less from the life of Ozzy. It is just as crazy as I would’ve hoped for. It is filled with lots of history on the sources of many of my favorite songs. You get to see where the start of Metal happened. It’s interesting to see what his first taste of America was like and how his life changed from one decade to the next.
-
One of the best books ever
-
I read this book when it first came out in 2010. I believe the allure was more not KNOWING who the heck he was, than knowing and wanting to learn more about his life.
I’m only writing this now, because I was annoyed at a few reviews of another author I like, David Sedaris. The only thing Ozzy has in common with Sedaris is his ability to shock AND make me LAUGH OUT LOUD. In some people’s view, it’s not truly literature nor worthy of their precious time. The comparison of the two ends there.
YES, Ozzy (w/assistance) had me hysterically laughing in bed at night to the point of tears & unfortunately, waking my other half in the process. His journey in life is both shocking and heartwarming. I too, don’t know how on earth he managed to stay alive through it all. I’m certainly happy that he did.
My love of both reading & music is quite varied from each end of the spectrum and pretty much everything in between! In my opinion, If an author or musician can make me feel any emotion enough to KEEP ME listening/READING, then they are a genius!
There is no NEED to be an award winning author. Save the literature and music snobs for others. Life is to be enjoyed no matter your personal beliefs or tastes. Life’s too short. (R.R.)
I liked Black Sabbath & Ozzy as a solo artist especially as a teenager. I believed all the stories of him biting the head off the bat & I actually thought he might even be a devil worshiper? I wasn’t cool with that thought, but what the heck did I know? I just liked his music and thought he was fairly nuts...was I wrong? I had to know now after all those years.
I’ve never been able to understand a word he says EVER! He just mumbles and I’m lucky if I can pick up a word here and there. Yet, I can understand the English (British) language when he SINGS! How is that possible and I needed to find out what made him tick.
I’m happy that, through this book, I had the pleasure of UNDERSTANDING the human, Ozzy Osbourne, who also happens to be immortal (just kidding sort of!) ; be a husband, father, friend, band-mate, businessman, addict, etc.
Yes, he’s had quite an interesting AND CRAZY life! Yes, perhaps he’s a bit nuts at times (being kind!), but he’s also a kind and gentle soul underneath it all. The book was well worth the read and I may just read it again!
As Dicken’s said: “It was the best of times. It was the worst of times”...which fits today’s “times” in my opinion. Therefore, I think we could all use a good laugh & perhaps shed a tear or two while doing so!
Read the book - and a give quick toast to Ozzy for making it this far! -
I have never laughed as hard reading a book as I did with this one. I am not even a big Ozzy fan. But this book is very funny.
-
As a long time fan of Ozzy, I was excited to find he had written an autobiography. Even if I've stopped following his recent activity, his music has been a constant in my life for at least thirty years. So I decided to read this book. I'd already heard so many of the stories, and remembered a lot of them from the news. So I didn't expect too much.
I was wrong. This book is phenomenal. It is everything an autobiography should be. Ozzy starts from childhood and goes straight up to the writing of his memoirs. He leaves no detail out. It is one amazing ride. That Ozzy has lived to 64 years old is nothing short of miraculous, and he knows it. He's done just about everything possible to get himself killed.
The writing in this book is top notch. It's what you would expect if Ozzy came to your house, sat down, and started telling you about his life. His voice is captured so perfectly and vividly that I could hear him speaking in my head. Hat's off to Ozzy's ghost writer, Chris Ayres, for not only capturing the voice but also organizing the stories in logical yet dramatic order. I honestly couldn't put this book down once I had picked it up.
The book did have its downsides. It dragged a bit around the two-thirds mark. By that time the pattern of drug-fueled freakout followed by waking up confused gets old. But then things pick up and the book flies to the finish. It's a bluntly honest look at Ozzy's life. I have more respect for him now than I ever did before. He's still the Prince of Darkness, God of Metal. But he's also a regular man who's amazed at his luck... which he has in spades.
Go read this book, even if you don't know who Ozzy is. You will love it. -
Diese Bio ist fast das verückteste vor allem nicht fiktionale Werk, das ich je gelesen habe. Jedesmal denkt man - neiiin Ozzy mach das jetzt nicht und dann tut er es doch. Von den ersten Jobs in der Fabrik über das Schlachthaus bis zur Musikerkarriere vergisst Ozzy nie, woher er kommt und bleibt sich treu, obwohl er meist nicht ganz Herr seiner Sinne ist und wie eine geladene Waffe voller Unsinn und den Kopf voller Drogen und Alkohol durch sein Leben stolpert. Auch an ehrlicher Selbstkritik bezüglich seiner Drogensucht und unverzeichlicher Gewaltausbrüche gegenüber seinen Frauen spart er in dieser Biografie nicht und das macht ihn doppelt sympathisch.
Abgesehen von seiner eh schon wahnsinnig spannenden Dramaturgie des Lebens ist der sprachliche Stil des Buches zwar gut geschrieben aber voller Slangwörter, was ich mit einem normalen Wörterbuch in der Hand gar nicht geschafft hätte. Dank Leo-Online's Slangwörterbuch weiss ich jetzt so viele dirty words, dass meine Englischlehrerin in der Klosterschule (Schwester Marie-Agnes) wahrscheinlich der Schlag getroffen hätte. Aber ich habe viel gelernt und könnt nun schon in einem Pub in der Nähe von Birmingham diese ca. 20 Vokablen für unterschiedliche Schlägereien, bumsen, Beschimpfungen von Männern, Prostituierte.... (wohl gemerkt für jedes einzelne Wort) anbringen und somit auch vielleicht einen kleinen Eklat ala Ozzy Ozzbourne auslösen.
Also ich fands witzig, gross- und einzigartig und jetzt schau ich mir auf jeden Fall auch noch die Serie an.
Fazit macht irgendwie süchtig dieses Buch - aufpassen! -
Having grown up in the 80's and being a HUGE fan of Duran Duran and the likes, I admit that Ozzy Osbourne scared the bejeezus out of me. His music scared me...his pictures scared me...don't even get me started on his videos!
It wasn't until MTV started with "The Osbournes" that I saw a completely different side of him...and I actually loved him (and his nutty family!). I was so excited to read that he had a book coming out that I snatched it up as soon as I found it...
I must say, it is written as if Ozzy is sitting right next to you, only he doesn't mumble! I finished the book in two nights and have told all of my co-workers about it....funny....poignant...sad - you name it and the book will take you there.
I have never owned an Ozzy song/album/MP3/etc nor will I ever. I only know that I love this book and in some weird way its author. You really get to know a lot of background about the man himself, as well as his lovely wife, Sharon.
Not really knowing anything about the man, I truly can say I learned many interesting things that completely changed my view of Ozzy...all for the better. From bat-biting to the death of his guitarist in a horrible accident - every bit of his story was riveting.
I read many many books and this was just a fascinating read from cover to cover. Will it change your life? Probably not, but you'll really enjoy living in Ozzy's (long and crazy one) for awhile. -
Een interessant boek. Hoewel een paar dingen inmiddels wel veranderd zijn. Zo was Ozzy dit jaar en vorig jaar weer op tv met een eigen serie, terwijl hij toen schreef dat hij dat nooit meer zal doen. Ook denk ik niet dat hij nu nog helemaal clean is, terwijl hij dat op het einde van het boek wel was. Desondanks een interessante inkijk in zijn persoonlijke leven. En gezien de hoeveelheid drank en drugs die hij heeft gebruikt is het een wonder dat hij nog leeft. Overigens vind ik Ozzy vrij openhartig. Zo schrijft hij dat hij spijt heeft over hoe hij zijn beide vrouwen en kinderen behandelde als hij onder invloed was. Ook beschrijft hij hoe erg hij er aan toe was voor hij besloot het rustiger aan te doen. Al had ik niet alle details hoeven weten. Zo vertelt hij dat hij regelmatig in zijn broek plaste en poepte. Toch denk ik dat hij dat bewust verteld heeft om te laten zien hoe erg hij er aan toe was.
-
Ozzy Osbourne is interesting for some reason.
His book was fascinating. The main think you think as you read it is, how did this man SURVIVE all of this?
He did just about every drug in existence, drank tons of alcohol and got into so many dangerous situations and here he is alive to tell about it.
I must say, I think I'd rather hang with the Osbournes than the Duggars for some reason. They seem like fun and they'd have raucous metal and as mild as I am, despite the fact that I seldom cuss in public, I think we'd probably get along just fine. Plus I already read Sharon's book and it was very good too. I got introduced to them from their show, despite already being a bit of a fan of Black Sabbath and hard core heavy music in general.
Ozzy seems like a nice sort of guy despite the whole bat and dove incidents. (Who brings a BAT to a concert anyway?!) -
A fun memoir, pretty much what you would expect from the prince of darkness. Many of his stories are laugh out loud funny and I loved seeing references to Fleetwood Mac! Who would have thought that Black Sabbaths original goal would be to mimick Fleetwood Mac. Granted it was the bluesie Peter Green Mac, not the Mac of today but the thought of Black Sabbath as a blues band also blew my mind. It's amazing the different directions that these bands have taken and what they are now famous for.
Maybe I am naive but I was shocked at how often he cheated on Sharon and how she forgave him. It makes his recent infidelity and her reaction very interesting. -
This was immensely fun to read, but I'm not going to rate it just now or do a full review, because I listened to an abridged (shudder) audiobook version. It was what was on hand. So, it wouldn't be right to judge the whole thing on that. But I will say that this delivered on the wacky Ozzy stories I'd hoped for!
-
Been a fan of Ozzy's since around '81. Would have liked a lot more about the recording of Sabbath albums (and solo) and less war stories about drug usage.
-
I suggest reading
my review of
Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell with Black Sabbath before reading this one. The same thoughts and comments apply with
I Am Ozzy and I'm not going to reproduce them in this review ....
When I was a teenager in the 1980's I was always aware that Ozzy was a bad, scary man. He definitely wasn't the shambling person you see on his reality TV program. He was, without a doubt, the Prince of Darkness. But being more into thrash metal at the time, his music always seemed too melodic for me. In fact I recall saying at the time after listening to some of his albums, "they're okay but they're not Black Sabbath". So, its only in recent years when my tastes have mellowed that I've caught up on his back catalogue. Apart from the same stories being regurgitated when he appears on chat shows, the rest of what Ozzy had to say about his career was somewhat of a mystery to me. So, it was with great anticipation that I picked-up I Am Ozzy and started to read.
Hats off to Chris Ayers who has taken Ozzy's recollections and turned them into a coherent narrative. The text is less detailed than in Tony Iommi's book, but perhaps that's because Tony didn't go quite as mad as Ozzy and can recall more? But saying this Ozzy has been on an amazing journey and there are laughs and moments of real sadness too. In a similar way to Tony Iommi, you get the impression that he does not posses isn't much of an ego. It seems like Ozzy has never forgotten his roots. He is also honest too. He feels remorse at the domestic violence and missing so much of his children's lives being high or drunk. There are moments of animal cruelty. He loves guns and he discusses the madness of the TV show. He gives us his thoughts on meeting the Queen and the President, being in jail, his love for Sharon, the list goes on and on. It's amazing how Ozzy is actually still alive, but he's live to tell the tale ... and what a tale it is.
If you're a fan of Ozzy Osbourne or Black Sabbath then this book is a must buy. Why not read it in conjunction with Black Sabbath: Symptom of the Universe by Mick Wall and Iron Man too, like I did? By reading supplemental texts I found that it helped to flesh out some of the missing details as I Am Ozzy is more of a series of personal memoirs as opposed to a detailed autobiography.
Recommened, although I liked Tony's book more!
Quotes:
I also highlighted several quotes from the book too. These resonated with me in one way or another and I thought they were worth repeating here:
“Hating people isn’t a productive way of living. So what’s the point in hating anyone? There’s enough hate in the world as it is, without me adding to it.”
“What can go wrong will go wrong.”
“When you’re in love, it’s not just about the messing around in the sack, it’s about how empty you feel when they’re gone.”
“The power of people, when they focus on something positive, never fails to amaze me.”
“I grew up having to piss in a bucket ’cos there was no indoor shitter, and now I have these computerised Japanese super-loo things that have heated seats and wash and blow-dry your arse at the touch of a button. Give it a couple of years and I’ll have a bog with a robot arm that pulls out my turds, so I don’t have to strain.”
“You’ve got to try and take things to the next level, or you’ll just get stuck in a rut.”
“‘All I can say is that I lost two of the greatest people in my life,’ I said, trying not to choke up. ‘But it ain’t gonna stop me because I’m about rock’n’roll, and rock’n’roll is for the people, and I love people, and that’s what I’m about. I’m going to continue because Randy [Rhoads] would have liked me to, and so would Rachel [Youngblood], and I’m not going to stop, ’cos you can’t kill rock’n’roll.’”
“Even now, I have a lot of trouble understanding why Sharon stayed – or why she married me in the first place, come to think of it. I mean, she was actually afraid of me half the time. And the truth was I was afraid of me, too. Afraid of what I’d do to myself or, even worse, to someone else.”
“I wasn’t exactly much fun to be around. Being with me was like falling into an abyss.”
“I even tried to join the army, but they wouldn’t have me. The bloke in the uniform took one look at my ugly mug and said, ‘Sorry, we want subjects, not objects'.” -
Where to begin.
Ozzy is the Alexander the Great of substance abuse, except that he didn't die in his early 30s despite every attempt to do so.
I believe that this book is proof that there is no underlying justice in the world. How can Dio be dead and this pickled human still live?
The inherent injustice aside, my wife said that she has never heard me laugh out loud so many times while reading a book. Laugh-horror is the only 'adjective' I can think of to describe my impression throughout the autobiography.
Ozzy moves from one spectacularly insane recollection to another with little commentary. The stories are simply unbelievable but, I think, completely true. For 'normal' people, drinking four bottles of Hennessey per day is impossible to comprehend, but, I suspect, Ozzy is underestimating his intake....certainly not including the coke and beer he ingested (he even says at one point "beer doesn't count.")
Initially, I was a bit disappointed with this book because I'd really hoped that it would spend time talking about the importance of heavy metal for Ozzy, how Black Sabbath came up with their sound in the late 60s and early 70s, their influences, what recording was like, etc. But, this book isn't really about that. It's a cathartic book for Ozzy, not a musical genre expose. That direction is either intentional or Ozzy simply can't remember anything before 1978. I think either possibility is believable but, the former is more likely since the underlying tone is "I am a freak. Don't do what I've done because even though I've lived, you will probably die."
This isn't to say that there isn't some musical analysis in the book, but, it's light. Music is a medium for substance abuse to Ozzy and that's what you will read in story after story of blackouts, familial neglect, life threatening accidents, public defecation, etc. It only slows down at one part when Ozzy talks about Randy Rhoads. Clearly Ozzy loved Randy Rhoads and the emotional impact of his senseless death seems to be one of the only things that penetrated Ozzy's substance abuse haze.
I tend to read a lot of books at once so, it can take me quite a while to get through one as I swap back in forth. Not in this case. I read it straight through. I don't really know why I liked this book so much. I'm not much of a rubber necker when it comes to human tragedy, but, this human train wreck is a story that shouldn't be missed, a highly recommended read. -
Okurken vay be dedirten bir kitaptı. Ozzy'nin Black Sabbath'ın kuruluşuyla başından geçenleri bu kitapta gayet güzel öğreniyoruz. Ama kitap Ozzy'nin çocukluğu ve gençliği ile başlıyor, ailesini ve girdiği işleri öğreniyoruz. Sonra da Tony Iommi ve diğerleri ile nasıl orijinal Black Sabbath'ın kurulduğunu anlatıyor. Şöhret basamaklarını nasıl tırmandıklarını, sonra herkesin kendi yoluna gittiğini, kendi grubuyla turlarken başına gelen faciayı (gitaristinin ölümü) ve Sharon ile kurduğu ilginç aileyi anlatıyor bize tek tek Ozzy baba. 80'lerin ve 90'ların güzel bir tablosu var bu kitapta. O efsane zamanları birebir Ozzy'nin ağzından dinlemek istiyorsanız, bu kitap size göre.
-
This book offered the exact story I expected.
As a long time fan of Ozzy Osbourne & Black Sabbath, I am familiar with the story of his life, and aside from some more personal anecdotes, it didn’t offer much new information.
It saddened me towards the end of the book, published originally in 2009, when he mentioned that “they thought I had Parkinson’s” and the news in more recent years has broke that this the case.
Content Warnings: Drug & Alcohol abuse, Instances of domestic abuse & violence, Infidelity -
After reading memoirs from members of Van Halen, KISS and Motley Crue that all had "Ozzy is fucking crazy, man" stories I simply had to read this memoir. I'd seen episodes of The Osbournes about a dozen years ago when it aired and at the time wondered if Ozzy was brain damaged or just really high or perhaps both. Turns out the answer is both.
This book is about the 10th memoir I've read of a British musician born around the end of WW2. It is interesting how similar all their stories are at the beginning. The stress the war brought upon their families, the rationing of goods that continued until the mid-fifties that led to a sense of deprivation, the bombed out buildings, the bad weather and grey cities and grey people, the repressed nature of people in the 50s & early 60s, the revelation of American rock & roll and how music could provide an escape from their regimented,narrow futures. It is the same story with Ozzy, Eric Clapton, Keith Richards, Ron Wood, Sting, Pete Townsend, George Harrison etc.
One fact I can't get over is how few working class families had indoor plumbing. Seriously - like no one did. And they all used old newspapers for toilet paper. Ozzy even brings the issue of bathrooms up towards the end of his memoir. He compares his childhood where they had an outhouse outside (And used a bucket in their bedroom for at night when it was cold out) to his current mansion in Beverly Hills where he has an enormous marble bathroom with a fancy Japanese toilet with a heated seat and warm air to dry one's bottom. It is an amazing change in his life that Ozzy well recognizes.
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this memoir. I started off with a very cynical attitude, thinking Sharon had written the book and that Ozzy was just this sort of blank figurehead. I still think it was Sharon's idea to write the memoir but it does seem like Ozzy's voice (dictated to his co-author/the guy that actually wrote the book). Ozzy talks about his severe dyslexia and how he doesn't even write emails now - he dictates them to one of his staff. He says he finished school at 15 without really ever learning to read. He was not diagnosed with dyslexia & severe ADHD until he went to rehab & therapy in the 80s. He just always thought of himself as stupid and a failure. His defense mechanism from childhood on was to play the class clown, the fool. He says that came into play as an adult on tour. He was uncomfortable and knew that acting crazy was a true & tested method for fitting in. Also, he was totally wasted all the time which made him act nuts. Hence all the "Ozzy is a fucking lunatic" stories.
He talks some about the music. About how he felt less than the others because he didn't play an instrument. Again with the feeling stupider than everyone else. I found it sad and rather touching when he writes about being kicked out of Black Sabbath and thinking "Well, that's that. I guess I'll move back to Aston and get a job at a factory after all." It didn't occur to him that he could be a successful solo artist. Chalk that up to Sharon. Even though Ozzy talks about the bitter feud between Sharon & her record executive dad, she obviously got a lot of business acumen from him. Props to her for creating Ozzy's career. He credits her with saving him and he is right. What a smart cookie, her buying out all his contracts and creating his own company & publishing firm. Not to mention creating Ozzfest. Until Sharon, Ozzy kept get screwed over on the business side of things. Like a lot of musicians. His illiteracy and his poverty stricken background did not help him navigate the music business. The constant drinking and drugging only served to make him more clueless.
Ozzy is fairly honest in this memoir - it's very warts & all sort of writing. He discusses beating his first wife & Sharon, his cruelty to animals, his terrible failings as a father, his detachment from his family once he became successful. He feels shame & regret towards a lot of his actions. Towards the end of the book when discussing his son Jack's drug addiction Ozzy yells at him "Why did you do this? You've had an easy life, got everything you wanted. Did you ever want for anything?" and Jack answers "I wanted a father." Oooooh snap! Harsh! Because Ozzy was never that. He writes that Jack's comment really struck a nerve because it was so true.
I think anyone who has struggled with addiction, or loved someone who struggled with addiction, would enjoy reading this book. I'm not a big fan of Ozzy's music but the music really takes a back seat to his personal issues. It's a fast, easy read. Would be a good book to take on vacation.
