The Beatles have certainly influenced artists including Ozzy Osbourne. After hearing “She Loves You” on the radio, he realised what he wanted to do in life. The Prince of Darkness once revealed how much the band meant to him for years.
During an interview, Ozzy also said that he was obsessed with The Beatles, covering his bedroom walls, ceiling, and doors with their pictures, and even fantasized about Paul McCartney marrying his sister.
In his biography “I Am Ozzy”, the “Prince of Darkness” said Paul was probably the most special person he had the chance to meet in his life.
He said, “Of all the people I got to meet, though, the most special was probably Paul McCartney. I mean, I’d looked up to that man since I was fourteen. But what the f*ck are you supposed to talk to him about, eh? It’s like trying to strike up a conversation with God. Where’d you start? ‘Oh, I see you made the Earth in seven days. What was that like?’”
He added, “We were at Elton John’s birthday party. Paul on one side of me, Sting on the other, and Elton opposite. It was like I’d died and gone to rock star heaven. But I’m useless when it comes to making conversation with people I admire. I’m a big believer in just leaving them alone, generally. In that way, I’m very shy. There were some rumors going around in the press for a while that me and Paul were gonna do a duet. But I can honestly say I never heard a word about it from the man himself. And I’m glad I didn’t, ‘cos I would have shit my pants, big time.”
Paul also likes Black Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne’s music and spoke highly of both the band and his solo work, saying he is great. They met each other for the first time only in 2001, when both of them recorded separate appearances on The Howard Stern Show on the same day back in 2001.
Ozzy went into the room where McCartney was giving another interview and when he saw him coming in, the Beatle said: “Oh God, no! You’re not letting him in!. Oh bloody hell, hello darling, finally we get to meet, f*cking hell. I was just saying to the guys why I didn’t the bass, because I didn’t want to blow your guy out. I only would have played what he played and because you were threatening to sing on mine.”
After that, Ozzy told him that it was The Beatles who made him dream of becoming a musician. Paul replied: “After the burglary? I love that story (about you) wearing gloves with no fingers.”
Paul did not post any tribute on his social media when Ozzy Osbourne passed away at the age of 76 in 2025. He and Ozzy used to exchange emails from time to time, as the Sabbath frontman revealed in his 2010 autobiography “I Am Ozzy”. He wrote, “We email each other from time to time now, me and Paul. (Which means I speak and Tony taps what I’ve said into the computer, ’cos I don’t have the patience for all that internet bollocks)”.
