Monday, November 1, 2010

Ozzy Osbourne prepares for Canadian tour

As Ozzy Osbourne gets set for his Canadian tour, he sat down with the QMI Agency to talk about things, including parting ways with longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde, a documentary about him, the current tour and the timing of a Black Sabbath reunion, IF it happens.

"I'll be absolutely honest with you, I'm having more fun now than I've ever had," said Ozzy, on the phone from a tour stop in Japan recently. "I used to go on the road kind of resentfully. I would always worry: 'Is my voice going to go? Am I going to be OK? Will I stay sober?' But I tell you what: My new band with Tommy Clufetos on drums and Gus G. on guitar is f---ing killer, man. We have so much fun that the concerts are getting longer. The longest show I ever did was in Canada. I think it was in Montreal on the last tour. It was three hours. And with this band, I'm up to two hours and 15 minutes. And the way it looks, I'll be breaking my record again in Canada."
Ozzy Osbourne
2010 Canadian tour


Nov. 12 - Victoria, Save On Foods Memorial Centre
Nov. 14 - Vancouver, Rogers Arena
Nov. 16 - Calgary, Pengrowth Saddledome
Nov. 18 - Edmonton, Rexall Place
Nov. 20 - Winnipeg, MTS Centre
Nov. 23 - Montreal, Bell Centre
Nov. 25 - Ottawa, Scotiabank Place
Nov. 27 - Toronto, Air Canada Centre
Ozzy’s on the road in support of “Scream,” his first album in years without guitarist Zakk Wylde by his side. “Let me set something straight: I didn't lose Zakk. It was time for me to move on,” says Osbourne. “I love the guy as much as I've always loved him, and as much as I will always love him. He's like family, you know. I remember when he was in hospital a while back. He had a blood clot in his hip or his leg or something. I sent him an email that said, 'Zakk, if you die before me, I'll f---ing kill you!'”

Given Ozzy’s public profile, being hounded by the press on tour can have its ups and downs. “Well, it is cool when somebody asks me something other than, 'What does a bat taste like?' and 'Did you really p--- on the Alamo?' I mean, f--- off, you know?” says Ozzy. “I was at the market the other day, and this guy comes running up with his camera, and he's from KLF or TLC or whatever it's called (ed. note: he likely means TMZ). And he goes, 'So, Ozzy, are you gonna buy bat for dinner?' I said, 'Is that all you've f---ing got to ask me, you p---k? That's the dumbest f---ing question I've heard this week.' And the guy goes, 'Yeah, I suppose it is.' That's the kind of s--- I have to deal with.”

A documentary about the rock legend is in the works, directed by son Jack. “I have not seen a f---ing frame of this thing. He's been at it so long I told him he should call it Chinese Democracy 2,” laughs Ozzy. “But I've heard it's very good. He's got an interview with Paul McCartney in it, for f---'s sake. But I said to him, 'Jack, don't make me out like I'm the nicest guy.' Because some people are going to go, 'Oh yeah? Well, he was a f---ing a--hole when he come 'round to my house.' I don't mind having everything come out. I've never been shy. I've done some pretty f---ing stupid things in my life. Hell, I'm known for that.”

Meanwhile, daughter Kelly seems to be making news because she’s getting here tattoos removed – would Ozzy ever consider doing that? "Me? Nah. I'm too f---ing old,” he says. “I think if you want to be special these days, don't have a tattoo. Everybody's f---ing having them. I had mine before they were f---ing fashionable. Now you see these chicks walking about L.A. with battleships on their f---ing t--s. Yeah, those will look great when you're 75.”

Ozzy’s legend continues to grow: he recently began gigs writing health advice columns for London’s Sunday Times and Rolling Stone magazine. “It's just a bit of fun, you know,” he says. “People ask me questions. Some are really interesting. I can relate to them. One I got recently was about something that drives me nuts. When I use public toilets, I wash my hands after I've been to the f---ing bathroom. But then I have to open the f---ing door where all those other filthy hands have been. What's the f---ing deal with that? I'm not germophobic, but I don't want to touch some door handle that's had more d---s on it than a f---ing whorehouse.”

What? No private toilets for a man of Ozzy’s status? “Yeah, I wish. I'm not Prince f---ing Charles. I'm the Prince of Darkness.”

As far as a possible reunion with his Black Sabbath bandmates, Osbourne is on record as saying his schedule isn’t clear for a long time…and that’s IF he even decides the time is right when he is available. “I'm not saying I wouldn't do it. But not right now,” he says. “I've got another year to finish my tour. And if I do a Black Sabbath tour, he's (bassist Geezer Butler) got to promise to stop f---ing moaning. Geezer, I love him. But he's always on about something. He's like, 'Ohhhhh.' And I'm like, 'Yeah, great to see you too, Geezer.'”

Ozzy Osbourne Ozzy Osbourne

Ozzy Osbourne – Let Me Hear You Scream (2010)


Ozzy Osbourne – Life Won’t Wait (2010)