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Ozzy Osbourne Reflected on Not Fitting in During Resurfaced Interview: ‘I Have No Faith in My Ability to Judge Things’

Ozzy seemed to really sturggle with his self-esteem.

By Stephen Andrew Galiher

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Ozzy Osbourne was the Prince of Darkness and a heavy metal godfather, but he didn’t always fit in or have “faith” in his “ability to judge things.”

In 2004, Osbourne sat down for an interview as part of the GQ Awards and opened up about his life and career. During the conversation, interviewer David Furnish noted that he’d previously been “surprised to hear” Osbourne say that he feels like he doesn’t “fit in anywhere.”

In response, Osbourne said, “You see, I always feel like I am on the dark side of the tracks. I feel I’m no good. I can’t read.” He added, “I can’t concentrate, and I can remember f*** all. I have no faith in my ability to judge things. Everything that I think is good is bad, and everything that I think is bad is good.”

Ozzy Osbourne grew up in Birmingham, England, where he helped co-found Black Sabbath

Furnish then asked about Ozzy’s childhood, and what life was like for him “growing up” in Birmingham, England. “All I ever wanted to do was to do something good so that my parents could be proud of me,” he replied. “I never received any encouragement. My father would work nights, and my mother would work during the day.”

“We were expected to get a job with a trade,” Osbourne continued. “I just couldn’t stand the idea of being in one place for the rest of my life. I was a dreamer.” He confessed, ” I was always dreaming about f***ing magical things and wonderfulness and havin’ a wonderful life. But the f***ing reality was different.

Recalling a particularly memorable incident from his school days, he shared, “I remember going to school late one day, and the headmaster was standing at the gates of the school, and he said, ‘I don’t want to see you late again.’ Go home, you’re not clean enough.’ And that’s remained with me. We had no f***ing money, and things were scarce.”

Ozzy Osbourne wasn’t an academic student, but he loved art class

Furnish pointed out that this must have been a “humiliating” experience for the Black Sabbath frontman. “I was so embarrassed,” Osbourne confirmed. “To be told you’re not clean enough.”

“I was never good at sports. I was never good at exams. Because they didn’t understand dyslexia,” he continued. “I just could not understand what the f***ing hell was mathematics, English, f***ing geography. What the f***’s that all about? Algebra – what the f***?”

Finally, Osbourne revealed that the only class he “liked was art class,” quipping, “Which was just f***ing colouring and painting things.”

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