Ozzy Osbourne: the heavy metal legend in his own words

3 December 2025, 12:00

Through his ground-breaking work with Black Sabbath in the 1970s through his superstar solo years in the 1980s... to his reinvention as a reality TV star in the 2000s, Radio X has collected some of Ozzy's finest quotes, together with some amazing pictures from a colourful career.

By Radio X Classic Rock

@xclassicrock

1. "I guarantee that if I was to die tonight, tomorrow it would be, 'Ozzy Osbourne, the man who bit the head off a bat, died in his hotel room...' I know that’s coming. But I’ve got no complaints. At least I’ll be remembered."

   Rolling Stone, 2002

   

2. "[Hearing The Beatles] was like going to bed in a black and white world and waking up and it turned to colour. That's exactly what it felt like"

   The Osbournes podcast

   

3. “What can go wrong will go wrong.”

   I Am Ozzy

   

4. "My son, Jack, gets pissed off sometimes. He said to me one day, 'Dad, the difference is whether people are laughing with you or at you'. I said, 'As long as they’re laughing, it doesn’t matter'."

   Rolling Stone, 2002

   

5. "People ask me, Do you regret anything? Sure, I have f**king regrets. But if I didn’t have my life the way it’s been , I’d be f**cking with the big guy in the sky."

   Esquire, 2005

   

6. “If you have a f**king dream, don’t stop believing in it. That’s what it’s about: fantasies and dreams."

   Rolling Stone, 2002

   

7. “I don’t think we ever had a good review. Maybe that was a catalyst in a way: every critic didn’t like us, so more of the people liked us. We were a people’s band: four guys from Aston, one of the poorest parts of Birmingham.”

   The Guardian, 2025

   

8. "Sometimes I'm scared being Ozzy Osbourne. But it could have been worse . . . I could have been Sting."

   The Osbournes

   

9. "Why am I the last man standing? I don’t understand any of it. Sometimes I look in the mirror and go, ‘Why the f**k did you make it?!’ I’m not boasting about any of it because I should have been dead a thousand times."

   Rolling Stone. 2024

   

10. "Nobody else in the world f**king sounds like me."

    Esquire, 2005

    

11. "It’s crazy that anyone would think I’d be in league with the devil, because I’m terrified of all kinds of shit."

    The Guardian, 2002

    

12. "They say life sucks and then you f**king die, you know?"

    The Osbournes

    

13. "We never practiced f**king black magic; the only black magic we had was chocolates."

    Spinner, 2010

    

14. "Of all the things I've lost, I miss my mind the most."

    

15. “I’m a lunatic by nature, and lunatics don’t need training – they just are.”

    I Am Ozzy

    

16. "To be a liar, you’ve got to have a great memory, and I don’t have a memory."

    Esquire, 2005

    

17. "I love you all. I love you more than life itself, but you're all f**king mad."

    The Osbournes

    

18. “I used to get upset by people not understanding me, but I’ve made a career out of it now.”

    I Am Ozzy

    

19. “Do I ever think about when my time’s gonna come? I think about it; I don’t worry about it. I won’t be here in another 15 years or whatever, not that much longer, but I don’t dwell on it. It’s gonna happen to us all."

    Kerrang!, 2020

    

20. “I’d like to be remembered for the work I did with Black Sabbath. I’m so proud of the music. But to be honest, just being remembered would be an achievement to me."

    The Guardian, 2018

    

21. "I'm going to bed. F**k the lot of you."

    The Osbournes