John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, actor and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which he adopted the nickname "The Prince of Darkness".
Osbourne was fired from the band in 1979 due to alcohol and drug problems, but he went on to have a successful solo career, releasing eleven studio albums, the first seven of which were all awarded multi-platinum certifications in the United States. Osbourne has since reunited with Black Sabbath on several occasions.
Black Sabbath’s Geezer Butler says The Beatles were a “massive” influence on the band
nme.comBlack Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has opened up about the influence of The Beatles on his career.During a recent interview with Michigan rock radio station WRKR (transcribed via Blabbermouth), Butler explained that, similarly to Ozzy Osbourne, the Beatles were a pivotal band for him.“They were a massive influence, because there was nobody else like them at the time,” he said. “And up until then, it was, like, my brothers were into like Elvis [Presley] and Eddie Cochran and Buddy Holly, that kind of thing.
And there was no real English [rock bands].“All the English rock and rollers were trying to sound American and copy of an American [band], and they never succeeded.
And then when the Beatles came along, they had a completely original sound.”Nodding to the British invasion, Butler continued: “And they were all literally from Liverpool, which is 90 miles from where we were born.
And it just gave us some hope that British musicians could actually become successful.“And as soon as the Beatles were successful, then you had The Rolling Stones and The Kinks and The Who, Herman’s Hermits, a whole explosion of British pop music.”Both Butler and Tony Iommi have previously admitted they don’t listen to modern heavy metal, with Butler again mentioning his preference of the Beatles – and Iommi saying: “I tend to listen to the more older stuff really.
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