Stories about Ozzy Osbourne often center around his outlandish antics as a rock ‘n’ roll frontman or his bumbling husband persona on his reality show, The Osbournes, but according to former Black Flag singer, Henry Rollins, the Prince of Darkness had a side to him that was far softer, brighter, kinder, and more humble than the media portrayed him to be.
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As shocking as some of his escapades were in his younger years, Osbourne was so much more than a man who bit heads off of bats or snorted ants off the ground just for the sake of being wild. (Though, to Osbourne’s credit, the bat thing was largely accidental.)
Henry Rollins Shows off Softer Side of Ozzy Osbourne
In May 1996, Henry Rollins was at band practice in New York City when he received a call from his manager asking him if he’d like to fly to Florida and play a couple of shows as the opening band for Ozzy Osbourne. The Prince of Darkness was in the middle of his international “Retirement Sucks” tour, and the Rollins Band could have the opening slot for three shows in St. Petersburg, Orlando, and West Palm Beach, Florida.
“I said yes so quickly I almost sprained my jaw,” Rollins recalled in a 2025 interview with Loudwire. Rollins, like so many other rock ‘n’ rollers, looked to Osbourne as a major source of creative and personal inspiration. By agreeing to have his group, the Rollins Band, open for Osbourne alongside Type O Negative, Rollins was signing on to meet his hero. While some stars have proven why people see you shouldn’t do that, Rollins insisted that Osbourne exceeded his expectations.
With a production of that size, Rollins and Osbourne didn’t have much time to cross paths before the show started. So, Rollins was surprised when, after finishing his set, grabbing a quick shower, and running back to the wings, he found himself alone with the Prince of Darkness. Nervous and not wanting to bother him, Rollins didn’t approach Osbourne. Instead, Osbourne approached him, asking if anyone had shown up to the show.
“I went, ‘What a crazy question,’” Rollins recalled. “The place holds 22,075 people. ‘What are we talking about here, sir?’ He said, ‘I always get nervous before the show. I think no one’s going to show up.’ I went, ‘Oh, no, no, no. They’re there.’” Rollins said Osbourne breathed a sigh of relief.
He Was a Family Man Above All Else
One could hardly blame somebody for associating Ozzy Osbourne with all things evil, wicked, and unpredictable. His nickname was the Prince of Darkness for a reason. From his music to the wild shenanigans he got himself into on and off stage, Osbourne rightfully earned his reputation. But many people didn’t realize how much of a family man he really was, Henry Rollins posited in a 2025 interview with Loudwire.
The Rollins Band frontman described traveling to an island off the coast of Florida shortly after their late May performances. A group of young kids was waiting at the airfield where Osbourne’s private jet landed, eager to meet the former Black Sabbath frontman and ask for an autograph. Rollins watched how Osbourne reacted, curious to see how he might act now that he was off-stage. Rollins described Osbourne running up to the kids “like he was going to get paid.” Osbourne introduced himself to the children, asked them their names, and signed their albums.
Even as someone who would describe himself as a distant acquaintance or former colleague of Osbourne’s, Rollins could see the genuinely kind person Osbourne was when he wasn’t playing into the role of a crazed rock ‘n’ roll madman. “A prince of a guy,” Rollins said. “A real gent.”
Photo by Mick Hutson/Redferns
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