Ozzy Osbourne Knew Nothing About the Real ‘Mr. Crowley’
Some of the best classic rock songs drew inspiration from history or mysticism — or both. For example, Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley” is about a macabre historical figure who left quite a legacy in the world of rock ‘n’ roll. The song led to some misconceptions about Osbourne.
Ozzy Osbourne’s ‘Mr. Crowley’ is about a mystic who inspired The Beatles and Jay-Z
According to Tidal, Aleister Crowley was a mystic and self-described prophet who founded the occult religion Thelema. As the prophet of this new faith, he famously proscribed, “Do what thou wilt shall be the whole of the Law.” Crowley’s embrace of the dark arts, criticism of Christianity, and open bisexuality scandalized many during the Edwardian and interwar eras. False rumors that he killed children and worshipped Satan proliferated.
A controversial figure then and now, Crowley has been referenced by musicians such as The Beatles, David Bowie, Led Zeppelin, Marilyn Manson, Iron Maiden, and Jay-Z. Perhaps the most famous tribute to the magician is Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley.” The song starts with a synthesizer intro straight out of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s The Phantom of the Opera before turning into some metal musings on Crowley’s life.
During a 2019 interview with Rolling Stone, Osbourne explained why he penned a song about the prominent occultist. “I knew the name more than I knew what the guy was about,” he says. “I think it was Jimmy Page who had this f****** thing about Aleister Crowley; he bought his house and this and that. So it was questioning. I just knew [Crowley] was some macabre guy in the ’20s or ’30s.”
Why ‘Mr. Crowley’ was meant to be so dark
The “Crazy Train” singer revealed why he wrote songs about morbid subjects for his solo record. “Coming from a band called Black Sabbath, it would have been f****** weird if I was going around like, ‘We’re all going on a summer holiday,'” he said. “It was Sabbath, but more accessible. It was just a natural thing.”
Osbourne co-wrote “Mr. Crowley” with Bob Daisley. During a 2014 interview with SongFacts, Daisley recalled the writing of the song from his perspective. “Ozzy had that title, ‘Mr. Crowley,'” he remembered. “And obviously what he meant was it was supposed to be about Aleister Crowley, the black magician.
“But I wanted to look at the darkness and question Aleister Crowley,” he added. “‘Aleister, what were you thinking?’ You know. All this darkness and negativity. So that was a snag that I put on it.”
The song made people think Ozzy Osbourne was into witchcraft
You don’t have to be a Thelemite to write a song about Crowley the same way you don’t have to be Christian to write a Christmas song. Alas, this nuance was lost on some members of the public. During a 2002 interview with Rolling Stone, Osbourne said that the song led people to believe he was into witchcraft when that was not the case. Osbourne recalled being asked to perform at witches’ conventions and Black Masses when he had no real knowledge of witchcraft.
Black Sabbath itself caused people to mischaracterize Osbourne. The band members were trying to craft horror-themed songs inspired by movies. Despite this, he saw Black Sabbath as a hippie band that was promoting peace rather than the occult.
Crowley’s life inspired many misconceptions and “Mr. Crowley” inspired many misconceptions about Osbourne.
