Black Sabbath Fired Ozzy Osbourne For Being a ‘Coked-up Loser’
Ozzy Osbourne is infamous for his rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle. He partied hard and rocked out with Black Sabbath on tour for years. However, even the guys in the band eventually had enough. Osbourne was actually fired from Black Sabbath for his hard-partying ways.
Ozzy Osbourne found worldwide fame with Black Sabbath
Osbourne linked up with the men that would make up Black Sabbath in 1967. But it took a few years for them to land on the name and lineup. Their debut album, Black Sabbath, and its follow-up, Paranoid, were both released in 1970 and the band quickly became stars.
Black Sabbath was incredibly prolific, releasing six albums in just five years. Some of their hit singles include “Paranoid,” “Iron Man,” “War Pigs/Luke’s Wall,” and “Children of the Grave.” However, by the end of the 1970s, things had started to sour between the band members.
Black Sabbath fired Ozzy Osbourne for his drug use
Osbourne left the group briefly in 1978 to work on solo projects. But he rejoined Black Sabbath just a few months later. The following year, they were back in the studio and tensions were high.
“We were doing some rehearsals in L.A., and I was loaded, but then I was loaded all the time,” Osbourne wrote in his memoir, “I Am Ozzy” (per Ultimate Classic Rock). He shared that drummer Bill Ward “had been sent by the others” to give him the boot, but “he wasn’t exactly the firing type.”
“I can’t remember exactly what he said to me … but the gist was that Tony [Iommi, Black Sabbath’s guitarist] thought I was a pissed, coked-up loser and a waste of time for everyone concerned,” Osbourne explained.
It wasn’t just Osbourne’s substance use that got him fired from Black Sabbath. Iommi and the so-called “Prince of Darkness” had a history of fighting. In an interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Osbourne even admitted, “There was a period of time when we were archenemies.”
Black Sabbath replaced Osbourne with Ronnie James Dio, who had previously sung with Rainbow. Osbourne went on to launch his solo career with his own band, the Blizzard of Ozz. He released a series of hit songs, including “Crazy Train,” “No More Tears,” and “Mama, I’m Coming Home.”
Ozzy Osbourne reunited with Black Sabbath in 2011 and repaired his relationship with Tony Iommi: ‘He’s been so supportive’
Decades apart eased the tension between Osbourne and the rest of Black Sabbath and in 2011, he reunited with the rest of the band for a world tour and new album. Ward ended up dropping out, but the rest of the original lineup hit the road. The album, 13, was released in 2013 and topped both the UK and US charts.
Black Sabbath embarked on a farewell tour in 2016 and have not performed together since. However, Osbourne and Iommi reunited in 2022 to take the stage together during the closing ceremony of that year’s Commonwealth Games.
“He’s been so supportive to me; he texts me all the time, we text each other,” Osbourne said of his relationship with Iommi today. “And we just ended the Commonwealth Games together. It’s really nice to be friendly with someone — he used to intimidate the s*** out of me.”
