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Ozzy Osbourne Opens Up About Drugs, Failed Marriage in Memoir

  • Posted on Jan 27th 2010 3:00PM by Steve Baltin
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Ozzy OsbourneOzzy Osbourne's recently-released autobiography, 'I Am Ozzy,' should be required reading for any aspiring rock star. For starters, it would teach all up-and-comers not to bother with the drugs and debauchery because they're never going to top the Ozzman.

Since the book has many over-the-top stories -- including one where Ozzy woke up on a freeway after drinking with Motley Crue -- the former Black Sabbath frontman tells Spinner he was hesitant about writing the memoir for a long time. "I've been approached for years about doing a book and I kept putting it off and putting it off," he says. "Sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll: that's all people in the music industry want to hear about."

Sure, the seedy bits are in the book, but Osbourne also offers truthful and poignant insights on the regrets in his life, from his sometimes turbulent relationship with his mom to stupid youthful acts of animal cruelty. Is there one thing he regrets the most? "The way I treated my first wife [Thelma]. I was young, I was drinking, using drugs, -- I was a rock 'n' roll star and I thought that gave me a license to be an a--hole to some degree," he says. "I thought I was just being cool and that's just what we all do, but I got married way too young and I had children way too young."

Osbourne met Thelma Riley in 1970 at a club called the Rum Runner, where she worked in the cloak room. The two moved in together and eventually got married in the registry's office in 1971, before Sabbath went to America for the first time. After hitting it big, Ozzy enjoyed all the perks of being a rock star, including sex with three women in one night. "If I loved Thelma, I certainly didn't treat her like I did ... For years I acted like a married bachelor, sneaking around," he writes. "I put that woman through hell. I should never have married her. She didn't deserve it: she wasn't a bad person, and she wasn't a bad wife. But I was a f---ing nightmare."

The two stayed together for their children -- Jessica, Louis and Thelma's son Elliot -- until 1982, when they filed for divorce. The reason for the final split? Osbourne confessed to Thelma he'd fallen in love with his manager, Sharon Arden.

Looking back now, he owns up to his mistakes. "I was wrong in a lot of ways. I now have turned completely around in the respect [that] I do not drink, I do not take drugs, I am not cruel to animals. I have lots of animals in my house now," he says.

But don't worry -- he's still the same Ozzy at heart. "I'm not turning into a f---ing born-again Christian at the same time," he says. "I still have naughty thoughts, thoughts of, 'Maybe one day I can do this and maybe one day a nice drink of that.' If there's something I like doing to myself, I'll do it. I'll start mental masturbation."

'I Am Ozzy' is available now from Grand Central Publishing.
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matt1000

I am a Christian - I intensely believe the Bible is the final authority for life and eternity. I thought I would start with that since that is a big theme in this chain of comments! But I actually happen to like Ozzy. I have a genuine care for him. Up until recently, I would not listen to any rock music. But I have once again begun listening to his music and I like it: he is rather an honest man. He's surely not perfect and I certainly do not agree with all he says. But he is talented and I enjoy his music. It seems to me that he is in many ways so desiring for what only a genuine reliance upon God can give him. I hope God does have mercy upon him: I pray he might. I honestly think that he has seen a great deal of hypocrisy from us Christians and this has put him off our faith. So many of his songs are about how Christians speak so badly about him, calling him "devil worshipper" and what have you. We ought to be ashamed if this is a true assessment of ourselves, as I fear it is. Ozzy and so many people out there who have not embraced our Lord Jesus need desperately to see that we genuinely do care about them all. Or don't we?

March 31 2011 at 7:30 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Kevin Abell

Just so you know, any talk of hell from a Christian isn't a threat or meant to scare anyone into anything. Instead, it is something believed to be a horrible reality. If any of you really don't believe in God, Jesus or hell, then why does the talk of it bother you? If you don't believe, it isn't logical to be offended.
I don't care if Muslims think I'm an infidel. They can think that if they want and it doesn't bother me. It doesn't bother me because I am secure in who I am in Christ. So if being told that you are going to hell bothers you, I think you have some soul searching to do.

February 21 2011 at 9:22 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
used cell phone

Wow! I read the article and found myself chuckling... gr8 post man

April 07 2010 at 12:07 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Phuck Ewe

Heresy by Nine Inch Nails sums up the Christian B.S. being spewed forth nicely...

He sewed his eyes shut because he is afraid to see
He tries to tell me what I put inside of me
He's got the answers to ease my curiosity
He dreamed a god up and called it Christianity

Your god is dead and no one cares
If there is a hell I'll see you there

He flexed his muscles to keep his flock of sheep in line
He made a virus that would kill off all the swine
His perfect kingdom of killing, suffering and pain
Demands devotion atrocities done in his name

Your god is dead and no one cares
Drowning in his own hypocrisy
And if there is a hell I'll see you there
Burning with your god in humility
Will you die for this?

March 02 2010 at 2:02 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Dennis

The mentally moronic Christians responding to this article are the same kind of religious terrorist who fly planes into buildings, riot and kill over cartoons, blow themselves up in the name of their religion. The exact same mentalities. The only difference is that in America, their power has been restricted. People who embrace the feeble comforts of any organized deity worship are fundamentally flawed. There is no excuse for this kind of "chosen" stupidity in the modern age.

We keep allowing these idiots to breed and gain power globally, which will cause us to enter another Dark Age period in humanity. Embrace reason and discard religious filth if you care about the future.

Ozzy is better than Jesus, because his life is real, not a fairy tale that's been the cause of most of the suffering in the world for the last 2000 years.

February 27 2010 at 12:42 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
The dog speaks :

I think the importance of Ozzy's statements are being missed here. He may not have
made the best of choices in his life but realizes it now. I know that has happend to
each and every one of you in your life. If it has not yet it will. The time he lived his dream
in was a time of Rocknroll crazies. He just wAnted to be the best of what he was which is
no different than any one of you. It had nothing to do with religion. Ozzy's saying he wishes
he would have made some better choices about things but the fact he didn't doesn't mean he has to be sorry for them, just that if he offended people he wants you to know he was in the time of his life where what he did made him millions of fans and dollars. Something anyone would have done for that kind of sucres in the era of rocknroll legends. There is onething I think is missed through all of this. If your going to do something in your life, do it with everything you've got and don't hold back, be the best at what it is you do and that's exactly what ozzy's has done. Appologize later, people still have the choice to agree with you or disagree with you when your doing it. They do not have to beleive in you. But they still payed attention to ozzy. Because he was an entertainer, and that's exactly what he was the best at. That's what made him rock legend.

February 02 2010 at 7:54 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Alan

TO CINDY E-ME.to all you christian that we all hate big time now.thank you.its not that we dont belive in god or the bible it is christns like you who we hate.want to do it again.lets go.we are dirtbags.goinging to hell with out .3men standing one was jesus to other was not born again but asked jesus to forgive him jesus said to day you will be with me and my father.not judgeing you just keeping it real.e-me it is on here.ask ort .if you can not find.

February 02 2010 at 5:49 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Tom Lally

It is amazing how critical so called Christians are of everyone else. Jesus would just have a fit if he saw how his name has been corrupted. Do you think Benny Hinn, Pat Robertson or Jerry Falwell deserve a place in heaven?

I don't believe in heaven or hell but certainly wouldn't want to spend an eternity with some of these idiots that claim to be followers of Jesus

February 02 2010 at 12:58 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
Ozzyhell

Ozzy Osbourne is a great man!!! and whoever wants to point the finger at him for his sins should take a look in the bloody mirror before passing judgement on him...at least he has the guts to own up to his mistakes and apologise for them...I'm sick to death of people putting him down and acting like they are all high and mighty when it is them that are the real bloody sinners for treating him like that!! after all....it does say in the bible.. "He who is without sin shall cast the first stone".......what? No takers aye? tsk tsk tsk..

February 02 2010 at 8:14 AM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
vmav123123

OZZY surely has inspired way more than his fare share of CREATIVITY!! Lot's of very cool over the top creativity at that!!!

February 01 2010 at 11:01 PM Report abuse Permalink rate up rate down Reply
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