Why Folks Thought Ozzy Osbourne Was Into the Occult After the Release of “Mr. Crowley”

One of the many nicknames of Ozzy Osbourne is the “Prince of Darkness.” However, as we know, there wasn’t necessarily anything frightening or dark about Osbourne’s true character. Rather, all of the dark lore and supernatural imagery of his music and likeness were simply there because they aesthetically looked good and helped his act. In reality, Ozzy was seemingly a fun-loving, regular guy with a bit of a wild streak in him. Although after the release of his song, “Mr. Crowley”, the masses were convinced that Osbourne was entrenched in the world of the occult.

Following his cut ties with Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne released his 1980 debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz. The hit album features tracks “Crazy Train”, “Goodbye To Romance”, and “I Don’t Know”, and peaked at No. 21 on the Billboard 200. There is much to be remembered about the 1980 album, but arguably the biggest controversy surrounding it revolves around the single “Mr. Crowley”.

The Occult Leader That Inspired Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley”

Ozzy Osbourne’s 1980 single, “Mr. Crowley”, was inspired by the infamous occult leader, Aleister Crowley. Crowley’s notoriety primarily stems from his development of Thelema, a religion that subverted the English Victorian and Christian beliefs of the early 20th century through self-independence, spiritual freedom, supernatural practices, and its connection to the occult.

All of these things matched the aesthetic and on-stage disposition of Ozzy Osbourne. So, he wrote a song about the occult figure. “I never did this black-magic stuff. The reason I did ‘Mr Crowley’ on my first solo album was that everybody was talking about Aleister Crowley. Jimmy Page bought his house, and one of my roadies worked with one of his roadies,” Osbourne told Rolling Stone.

Per his comments, it seems Osbourne’s motivation was entirely innocent and alluded to nothing cryptic. However, as the public tends to do, they speculated on Osbourne’s connection to Crowley and the occult. Regarding the assumptions made by the public, Osbourne told RS, “People would hear the song and go, ‘He’s definitely into witchcraft.’”

Humorously, Osbourne added, “We couldn’t conjure up a fart. We’d get invitations to play witches’ conventions and black masses in Highgate Cemetery. I honestly thought it was a joke. We were the last hippie band. We were into peace.”

Photo of Ozzy Osbourne Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images