From vague recollections of a drunken arrest in Memphis to a blunt assessment of Olivia Newton-John’s new health drink – Ozzy Osbourne’s typical candour was more than evident during what would prove to be a memorable appearance on The Graham Norton Show.
Devastated fans across the world have paid tribute to the legendary singer following his death aged 76 on July 22 – just three weeks after reuniting with his Black Sabbath bandmates for a farewell show at Birmingham’s Villa Park.
The star was a titan of music who somehow survived controversies that would end the careers of many others, and weathered health problems that would leave most of us on our backs.
And he was on hand to recollect some of his hellraising antics during an appearance on Graham Norton’s BBC chat show in 2009 – after sampling fellow guest Olivia Newton-John’s new health drink.
Appearing on Norton’s famous red sofa alongside wife Sharon, the rocker was in the studio to promote his new, ghost-written autobiography, I Am Ozzy.
But promotional concerns were momentarily set aside while the couple sampled anti-ageing drink Zamu – developed by the late Newton-John and her then husband, John Easterling.
Following a visibly unimpressed Sharon’s lead, Osbourne drained a glass of the milky brown concoction before being handed ‘another shot’ by the host.
‘This will make you feel good Ozzy,’ urged Newton-John as she passed him a second glass.
But after adopting a cut-glass middle-England accent and removing his sunglasses to joke that he could ‘suddenly see,’ the Brummie rocker offered a withering assessment of her new venture.
‘What a load of b**locks,’ he muttered, promoting audible gasps from Sharon and the studio audience.
The ensuing chaos left a bemused Newton-John, who passed away in 2022 following a battle with cancer, asking Sharon to repeat what he’d said after struggling to hear him.
‘You don’t want to know,’ Sharon quickly replied, waving her off.
Earlier that night, the rocker reflected on why it had taken him more tha sixty years to pass his driving test,
‘I was too p**sed to drive,’ he explained. ‘I’d go to the test centre, they’d see me and go “no Mr. Osbourne, come back another day. I’m not even getting in the car with you.”
‘I was walking round the test centre with a bottle of vodka in my pocket.’
Osbourne also shared a series of boozy anecdotes from his colourful past, among them the reason behind a high profile arrest in Memphis at the height of his career.
‘I was drinking saki out of a soup bowl,’ he explained. ‘The next thing I know, I’m waking up and it’s pitch black, and there’s blue car-lights going past me. I’m going “where are we?”
‘So I’m feeling around in the dark and I feel this guy. I want to take a pee so I unzip myself and suddenly this blue light goes ‘whooo!’
‘This cop goes, “when you’ve finished shaking that out, your ass is going to jail!”‘
Confirming his death in a statement, his family said on Tuesday night: ‘It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning.
‘He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.’
The rocker was able to bid an emotional farewell to his fans on stage this month as he reunited with his original Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the first time since 2005.
‘You’ve no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart,’ Osbourne told the crowd in his final speech.
The music legend vowed, however, that it would be his final ever performance due to his health, having opened up about his battle with Parkinson’s in 2020.
