Regarded by the masses as the ‘Godfather of Heavy Metal,’ Ozzy Osbourne returned to Philadelphia on Friday, Oct. 19 to promote the release of his latest album Down To Earth.
Escorted along the Roosevelt Boulevard by a motor cycle gang, Ozzy arrived several minutes late for the 1,000 fans waiting to meet him. After the motor cycle gang silenced their roaring engines he thanked everybody for coming and entered the lower level of Tower Records where sat atop his gothic thrown waiting to meet his loyal followers.
Promoting his own new material and “A Night of Merry Mayhem,” his upcoming winter concert with Rob Zombie and Mudvayne, Ozzy assured his devoted fans, as he posed for Polaroids, that he is sure of very little.
“Anything is possible on this tour and on this album,” he said.
But devoted doesn’t begin to describe his Philly fans, some of whom had been camped out in the Tower Records parking lot since the early afternoon. In order to meet the legendary performed you had to be one of the first 1,000 people to purchase Down To Earth at Tower Records when it came out on Tuesday.
| “I didn’t intentionally try to be like John Lennon. But I’m glad they think I’m more like him than Slipknot.” |
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   — Ozzy Osbourne
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To handle the influx of people the store stayed open Monday to allow fans to purchase Down To Earth. The store closed at 2:30 a.m. Tuesday having sold 600 copies of the album in just two and half-hours.
The remaining 400 copies were sold after the store reopened on Tuesday.
Noting his obvious concern raised after the terrorist attacks, the frail, yet intimidating Osbourne said, “I’ve tried to not let this terrorism stop me.
Proceeds from the T-shirt sales on the upcoming tour will go to directly to charity,” he said. “God Bless America.”
Ozzy appeared a little taken back when asked about the recent Rolling Stone magazine’s comparison of John Lennon and Down To Earth.
“I didn’t intentionally try to be like John Lennon,” he said seriously. “But I’m glad they think I’m more like him than Slipknot.”
But with that comparison in the air, Ozzy admitted that he has begun to wonder where he fits in today’s metal scene.
“It’s been six years since my last album,” he said. “When I went into the studio I asked my wife Sharon, ‘Where do I fit?’ She laughed and said ‘wherever you want’.”
“I don’t worry about competition,” he said. “I’ve been around long enough to know when it’s time to hang it up.”
Judging by the hard rock and metal undertones of Down To Earth it looks like it will be a long time before the Ozzman calls it quits.
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