Ozzy slams cost of music promos

Ozzy Osbourne says the cost of making music videos is out of control.

And the Black Sabbath legend reveals he prefers going with the cheaper option as spending hundreds of thousands on a shoot is a waste of time.

He tells the Cleveland Scene: “You think these fucking directors were making War And Peace – they were only three-minute videos.

“When I was making the video for Mama, I’m Coming Home, I went to this sky blue room and had to get a side of pork and walk across the room. I thought, ‘What the fuck does this mean? This is going to cost $900,000.’

“I used the cameraman who did the Nirvana video for Smells Like Teen Spirit. He just did a video with me in the car. That cost about $10,000. I prefer the one I did because it was cheap and there was no elaborate fucking trickery. MTV played them both.

“Sometimes I would just go, ‘What are you fucking thinking?’ It’s only a music video – it didn’t warrant spending millions of dollars.”

Ozzy also reveals he wasn’t expecting the favourable reaction to Black Sabbath’s album 13 when it launched in 2013.

He continues: “The success with 13 took me by surprise. Over the years, being with them and being solo, we never got a no.1 in America. It took all this time to get a no.1. We did an 89-date tour – they were great. I was sober, I wasn’t fucking doing drugs and I wasn’t smoking cigarettes. I wasn’t going out and getting fucking crazy. I honestly thought I would never do that.

“If we never do anything again, I’m glad that we ended on an up note.”

Ozzy recently released Memoirs Of A Madman – a CD, DVD and vinyl collection of his solo work from down through the years.

Scott has spent 37 years in newspapers, magazines and online as an editor, production editor, sub-editor, designer, writer and reviewer. Scott joined our news desk in 2014 before moving into e-commerce in 2020. Scott maintains Louder’s buyer’s guides, highlights deals, and reviews headphones, speakers, earplugs and more. Over the last 12 years, Scott has written more than 11,500 articles across Louder, Classic Rock, Metal Hammer and Prog. He's previously written for publications including IGN, Sunday Mirror, Daily Record and The Herald, covering everything from news and features, to tech reviews, video games, travel and whisky. Scott's favourite bands are Fields Of The Nephilim, The Cure, New Model Army, All About Eve, The Mission, Cocteau Twins, Drab Majesty, Marillion and Rush.