Ozzy Osbourne once revealed that he stopped taking acid after a trip that left him conversing with a horse for a hour. The story is told in the new issue of Classic Rock, which revisits Black Sabbath's chaotic heyday and the making of the 1972 classic Vol. 4.
"We lived together in a house in Los Angeles, rehearsed there, did loads of drugs and made an album: simple," says Ozzy. "Those were good times."
The story of how Ozzy stopped using acid after an equine encounter in the early 1970s is also told.
“At that time in America, people were very fond of lacing your drinks with acid," says Ozzy. "I didn’t care. I used to swallow handfuls of tabs at a time. The end of it came when we got back to England.
“I took 10 tabs of acid, then went for a walk in a field. I ended up standing there talking to this horse for about an hour. In the end the horse turned round and told me to fuck off. That was it for me."
Read more at Classic Rock.
Is Ozzy Osbourne coming to a city near you?
Last month, San Diego Comic-Con fans got to see a 25-foot giant Ozzy Osbourne inflatable designed by Todd McFarlane towering over the convention. The “Ozzy” inflatable has now embarked on a cross-country promotional tour in support of Osbourne's new album, Patient Number 9, out September 9 on Epic.
The month-long tour will close out in New York City the week of the album’s release. Some locations will be revealed 24 hours in advance, while others will be surprise appearances. At all stops, fans can win merchandise and pose for photos with “Ozzy” and the Patient Number 9 ambulance, they’ll also have the opportunity to win the 25-foot giant Ozzy Osbourne inflatable, details here. Follow "Where Is Patient Number 9 here.
The tour kicked off with three initial stops in Los Angeles. It began with an appearance at the historic Venice Boardwalk on Saturday, followed with a stop at Smorgasburg LA - the weekly Sunday market at The Row in downtown Los Angeles - before bidding farewell to the city on Monday atop East Hollywood boutique hotel, bar, and recording studio complex Gold Diggers. “Ozzy” then made a surprise appearance on the Las Vegas strip on Tuesday before heading to the annual Sturgis Motorcycle Rally in South Dakota this weekend.
Sturgis, South Dakota
Venice, CA
Downtown LA
Gold Diggers
Las Vegas Strip
Ozzy made his San Diego Comic-Con debut on July 22, setting a record for the largest signing of the year on the convention room floor (with fans lined up for hours) at the annual event when he teamed up with collaborator Todd McFarlane at the Stern Pinball/Rebellion Republic booth at the sold-out convention.
Prior to the signing, the two revealed the artwork for the McFarlane-designed comic book (available in limited edition album packages, with details on all Patient Number 9 album pre-orders here) before signing a poster of the McFarlane album artwork.
Patient Number 9 is Ozzy’s new album and the first since his critically acclaimed, worldwide, chart-topping 2020 Ordinary Man release. Produced by Andrew Watt (who handled the same duties on Ordinary Man), the new album marks Osbourne's 13th solo studio album. It’s heavy, it’s hard-hitting, it’s historic--it’s everything you’d want from an Ozzy Osbourne record and maybe more.
Working with producer Watt for the second time, Ozzy welcomed a dynamic A-list featured guests. The record boasts guitarists Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Mike McCready of Pearl Jam, and longstanding righthand man and six-string beast Zakk Wylde who plays on the majority of the tracks. For the bulk of the album, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers held down drums, while the late Taylor Hawkins of Foo Fighters appears on three songs. Old friend and one-time Ozzy band member Robert Trujillo of Metallica plays bass on most of the album’s tracks, with Duff McKagan of Guns N’ Roses and Chris Chaney of Jane’s Addiction supplying bass on a few songs.
Pre-order Patient Number 9 here.
Tracklisting:
"Patient Number 9" (feat. Jeff Beck)
"Immortal" (feat. Mike McCready)
"Parasite" (feat. Zakk Wylde)
"No Escape From Now" (feat. Tony Iommi)
"One of Those Days" (feat. Eric Clapton)
"A Thousand Shades" (feat. Jeff Beck)
"Mr. Darkness" (feat. Zakk Wylde)
"Nothing Feels Right" (feat. Zakk Wylde)
"Evil Shuffle" (feat. Zakk Wylde)
"Degradation Rules" (feat. Tony Iommi)
"Dead and Gone"
"God Only Knows"
"Darkside Blues"
"Degradation Rules" visualizer:
"Patient Number 9" video:
(Todd McFarlane, Ozzy Osbourne photo - Hannah Verbeuren)
