Ozzy Osbourne is interviewed in 1983 in rare footage

At the beginning of Ozzy Osbourne's solo Bark At The Moon tour in 1983, the singer was interviewed on the UK television music show The Tube by Jools Holland, who became prepared with a stake and garlic "in case there's any trouble".

Holland was referring to Ozzy's supposed ties to anti-Christian beliefs, which was probably due to his former role as the frontman of Black Sabbath. It might have even had something to do with the fact that Ozzy had his infamous bat-biting incident a year prior, too.

Nevertheless, this rare interview is pretty entertaining. Although the footage is fuzzy and bad quality, the dialogue and image is good enough to make out what's happening, and we're thankful, as it's a glimpse into Ozzy during a historical part of his career and, of course, shows the vocalist doing what he does best – being a bizarre and highly charismatic weirdo.

Within the video, Holland poses the Black Sabbath singer with the statement, "Word has it that in America you've been thought, heaven knows why, as a bit of an anti-Christ, and have had some bother", before asking for the "lowdown" on how Ozzy has handled the backlash.

He replies, "It's just a load of rumour, really. I'm just a normal guy like everybody else, I don't know where they get all these ideas from". Of course, Ozzy is a "normal guy" on the inside as he suggests, but what makes this interview so amusing is that, whilst giving his answer, he's dressed in a full vampire get-up while lying upright in a coffin. If someone's going to be questioned about their alleged alliance to the dark forces, we imagine that person might want to look a little less like they've just raided a Satanic fancy dress shop.

Elsewhere, Ozzy is questioned about his infamous party antics, such as urinating in unconventional places and about his "new hobby", which was shaving off people's eyebrows whilst they sleep.

"When people are asleep I lurk into their room and zip their eyebrows" he explains. They look the next day completely different, their whole life changes, you know".

The Tube ran for five seasons from 1982 until 1987 and aired on Channel 4. it was hosted by numerous presenters including Jools Holland, Paula Yates and Leslie Ash.

Watch the interview below:

Liz manages Louder's social media channels and works on keeping the sites up to date with the latest news from the world of rock and metal. Prior to joining Louder as a full time staff writer, she completed a Diploma with the National Council for the Training of Journalists and received a First Class Honours Degree in Popular Music Journalism. She enjoys writing about anything from neo-glam rock to stoner, doom and progressive metal, and loves celebrating women in music.