I Once Interviewed Ozzy at His Beverly Hills Estate: ‘I’m Glad It’s Coming to an End on a High Note’ originally appeared on Parade.
Like others in the music world, I’m mourning Ozzy Osbourne today, July 22, after hearing the news of his death at the age of 76.
I didn’t really know Ozzy Osbourne, but I did get to meet him. I was fortunate enough to interview him and his Black Sabbath bandmate bassist-lyricist Geezer Butler at Osbourne’s Beverly Hills estate nearly a decade ago.
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Truth be told, I’m not the biggest Sabbath or Osbourne fan. I own Black Sabbath’s second album, the 1971 classic Paranoid on vinyl as well as Sabbath and Osbourne solo two-CD best-of collections. But I’ve never seen Ozzy or Sabbath in concert. My cousin was a big Sabbath fan and my high school swim team friends were very into 1980’s Blizzard of Ozz, but by that time, I was more into punk rock and post-punk to give Ozzy much thought.
Still, in 2019, when the offer came in to interview Osbourne and Butler for Yahoo! Music, I couldn’t say no. After all, they were both rock legends.
I was working for another company, Premiere Radio Networks, at the time, so I took the afternoon off and headed to Osbourne’s Beverly Hills estate. (It was a bit awkward when one of my co-workers from Premiere showed up for the next interview.)
Most of the big celebrity interviews I’ve done over my career–from George Harrison and Madonna to Johnny Cash and Billy Joel–were done over the phone, since I’ve worked primarily as a print journalist, so I was nervous to interview Osbourne in person. The fact that the interview was being shot on video (with Ozzy and Geezer on camera, but not me) made it a bit more awkward.
Although I didn’t feel the interview went particularly well–sometimes it was difficult for me to understand Ozzy with his thick Birmingham accent (there are no subtitles in real life) – it turned out well enough to generate the video and at least one text piece to accompany it.
It was a thrill to visit Osbourne’s office, which was littered with rock memorabilia. As I waited for Ozzy and Geezer and the crew to get ready for the shoot, I noted an Ozzy ventriloquist dummy, missing one lens in his Lennon-like granny glasses, on the floor near a bookcase. Next to it was a Freddie Mercury action figure, while the nearby bookcase housed a Beach Boys vinyl boxed set and books on World War II. Across the room on the mantel in the corner a trio of Grammys were on display, and framed photos, including shots of the Beatles, lined the walls.
Related: Music World Mourns a Legend: ‘God Bless You Ozzy’
And then there was Ozzy.
Once the interview started, he and Butler adeptly fielded my questions.
How did he feel about the resurgence of heavy metal?
“For years, people would go, ‘Hey man, are you happy about the resurgence of heavy metal?’ But it’s never gone away! The audience, it goes from like, 70 to 15,” Ozzy said at the time.
Black Sabbath was gearing up for their The End tour at the time, in January 2016, following the release of their 2013 album, aptly titled 13.
Eerily, the final quote from Osbourne in the piece that came out of the interview is still relevant today, possibly even more so. I can’t remember what my exact question was, but I likely asked Ozzy how he felt about the legacy of Black Sabbath.
“One of my favorite things is we weren’t a band that was created by some business guy in London,” Osbourne responded. “We’re four guys. I was in a band with Terry [Geezer], [guitarist] Tony [Iommi] was in a band with [drummer] Bill Ward. I went to school with Tony. We came from a three-mile radius of each other, and we formed a band to have a bit of fun and here we are on this amazing journey. I’m glad it’s coming to an end on a high note.”
Although Ozzy was referring to The End Tour at the time, that could also be said now about his life in wake of the triumphant “Back to the Beginning” all-star concert held July 5 in Birmingham, England that will stand as Osbourne’s and Black Sabbath’s final performance.
His life, and career, came to an end on a high note. RIP Ozzy!
I Once Interviewed Ozzy at His Beverly Hills Estate: ‘I’m Glad It’s Coming to an End on a High Note’ first appeared on Parade on Jul 22, 2025
This story was originally reported by Parade on Jul 22, 2025, where it first appeared.
