Sharon Osbourne recently opened up about the censorship challenges faced by Ozzy Osbourne and Judas Priest during their early careers. She opened up on industry pressures in an interview with Music Business Worldwide.
Sharon reflected on the evolution of his public image and the record label’s response when questioned about how Ozzy’s stage persona contributed to his success and the business challenges it created.
“Oh, yeah. Well, it just went from, ‘Ozzy’s the wild man’, to ‘Ozzy’s insane and kills animals’ and all of that shit,” she said. “And you know all the stories: Ozzy’s cut his finger; no, he bit the head off a bat!”
She explained how the stories took on a life of their own. They became increasingly exaggerated over time.
“And so it just kind of spread. It had a life of its own. It just got bigger and more exaggerated; anything he did at that time in the industry,” Sharon continued. “We were told by our record company: one more incident in their building, one more misbehaviour, and he would be dropped. It was very funny to watch it all play out!”
Sharon revealed additional details about the label’s concerns when the conversation turned to CBS Records.
“Yeah, and the head of legal [at CBS] called me and warned me,” she said. “We used to laugh because it was so funny, going into radio stations and gigs. It was just hysterical, because people take everything literally.”
Sharon also drew parallels to the censorship issues faced by other metal acts of the era.
“Then, of course, at that time, Judas Priest had the same thing going on about the lyrics, the content of the album,” she noted. “You know, it’s got to be [censored]. Can you imagine today if you had to [censor] an album, every album would be fucking [censored]!”
Sharon’s comments reflect a broader pattern of censorship challenges that defined the heavy metal industry during the 1980s and early 1990s.
