Ozzy Osbourne has always been perceived as a controversial figure, but that’s nothing new for rockstars, who seem to be always met with disdain and controversy. The difference for Ozzy Osbourne is how much he welcomed and encouraged such dispute; whether it was a PR tactic or simply because of a lapse in judgment is unknown. The ‘Prince of Darkness’ has never been a stranger to dividing opinion. His 1982 interview with Night Flight is the pinnacle of this, where, amongst other things, he cites Hitler as an influence.
To get straight to the quote, when Ozzy was asked where he got his ideas for his stage show and who his influence was, he bluntly said, “Adolf Hitler”. The interviewer, remaining calm, asks what he meant by that.
“Adolf Hitler had a charisma, in a bad way, and I kind of admired him,” he said, “He was a freak, he was a lunatic, but he had summat about him, you know. It was bad what he did, it was terrible what he did, he killed all of these people and whatever, but it was like, erm, he had something about him, you know. I admired him, not for what he was, but for people; I suddenly stopped and thought, hang on a minute, if somebody put that in a positive way, for the good of mankind… whatever anybody says about me, I might be the biggest lunatic that you’ve ever met in your life guys, but I’m here for you guys, I’m here for people, I’m here for enjoyment, I’m here for giving people my life, my soul, my everything.”
The interview takes place three years after Ozzy was fired from Black Sabbath. He was let go because of his complicated relationship with drugs and alcohol, which was likely only heightened by his leaving the band, as it’s well-documented how much he struggled with the split. In the interview, he comes across as somewhat drunk, as he struggles to string two thoughts together and almost pleads to be liked throughout most of it.
When asked about biting the head of a bat and his stage antics, he shrugs it off as performance. “All I am is a conductor of mayhem. I like to see people get off in a good way.” However, he does confess that he spends a lot of time in his stage persona, to the point it weighs down heavily on him. “I’m a split personality; Ozzy Osbourne and John Osbourne are two different people.”
In this interview, it looks like Ozzy is trying to explain himself to himself rather than to the interviewer and the people watching. If there is ever any attempt to try and excuse citing one of the worst human beings ever to walk the earth as an inspiration, it would be to remember that viewers are likely seeing Ozzy at his lowest during a time when he is steadily losing grip on the world around him and what is right and wrong.
His actual comments don’t praise Hitler’s views or actions, but they are so dismissive of them to be still ignorant and offensive. It’s good that these aren’t views Ozzy has ever resurfaced and that he did seem to take a turn for the better as life continues. Whilst he still seems spaced out at times, he tends to have a better grip on his opinions and himself.
The interview is ugly, reflective of an ugly time, and completely inexcusable. Ozzy’s ramblings are less the diary of a madman and more the comments of someone lost entirely.