Ozzy Osbourne ‘is the most humble egomaniac you’ll meet’, says son

The son of rock legend Ozzy Osbourne, who will reunite with Black Sabbath for a final show next month, has called him “the most humble egomaniac you’ll ever meet”.

Jack Osbourne will appear in Birmingham – the day before the Villa Park gig on 5 July – at a Q&A following the screening of the The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne documentary about Ozzy’s life.

He said he believed his dad’s upbringing in Aston, just streets away from the football stadium where he will perform, had shaped his work ethic.

“He grew up in a very working-class family and that’s imprinted on the way he conducts himself with his craft,” he said.

Osbourne said he had met numerous up-and-coming heavy metal bands who told him how much his father’s music influenced them.

“I always think, just being a music fan myself, what makes a musician stand out above so many others?” he said.

“I do think it’s the influential component, there’s plenty of amazing musicians but are they paving a way for whole, multiple generations?”

Osbourne was one of the executive producers of The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne, which was shown on TV after an original premiere at the South by Southwest festival was cancelled due to the Covid pandemic.

He said it had been a challenge to cram more than 70 years of life into just 90 minutes, but he was very proud of the result.

“We did our best to try and hit all the pivotal important moments in his life. It’s very well-rounded,” he said.

Looking back, he described the family’s reality show, The Osbournes, which ran on MTV between 2002 and 2005, as “a pivotal point in the direction of entertainment”.

“The fact that my dad and mum allowed cameras into our house, it made it OK for famous people to do that,” he said. “It opened so many opportunities for people.”

He admitted finding it funny to watch back “the most uncomfortable years” of his life, especially now he was a father to four daughters.

“It’s funny, when they watch the episodes all they do is just go, ‘oh my god, you’re so cringe’,” he laughed.

Osbourne revealed an Ozzy and Sharon film was in development and could surface over the next couple of years, but said the details were still “hush hush”.

“It’s coming together wonderfully and we’re really happy and my dad’s pretty chuffed by it, so it’s fingers crossed,” he said.

He described his mum and dad’s story as remarkable.

“It’s almost unbelievable. Unbelievable stories make great movies,” he added.

Proceeds from the Back To The Beginning event, which also features dozens of huge industry names, are going to Cure Parkinson’s, Birmingham Children’s Hospital and Acorn Children’s Hospice.

Osbourne said his mum, Sharon, had felt making a profit would have been “wrong”.

“She felt it wouldn’t be a proper send-off without saying thank you to Birmingham,” he said.

“Obviously my dad suffers from Parkinson’s and that’s something that affects the whole family and we really wanted this to be, you know, do it for the people.”

The all-star line up includes sets from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira and Halestorm, among a “supergroup” of other musicians.

In one change, Wolfgang Van Halen, son of Eddie Van Halen, revealed on US radio he had been forced to pull out due to a double booking and would be opening for Creed in Lexington, Kentucky instead.

“I unfortunately had to back out because the Creed tour starts, like, the day after and I wouldn’t be able to pull it off,” he said.