I Am Ozzy: The classic autobiography from Ozzy Osbourne, the heavy metal music icon and frontman of Black Sabbath

by Ozzy Osbourne

‘Yeah, but Jimmy – y’know the guitarist, Jimmy Page – he’s still around. So is the bass player. And they’ve got contractual obligations in Scandinavia, so they want to put something together.’ ‘That’s great,’ said Geezer. ‘Well, I’m not sure I’m gonna to be taking the gig, to be honest,’ said Plant, shrugging. ‘I’ve got some pretty good stuff going on here, y’know? Matter of fact, I’ve just put a new band together.’ ‘Oh, er . . . cool,’ said Geezer. ‘What’s the name?’ ‘Hobbstweedle,’ said Plant. Later, when Plant was gone, I asked Geezer if the bloke was out of his fucking mind. ‘Is he seriously going to pass up a gig with Jimmy Page for that Hobbsbollocks thing?’ I asked. Geezer shrugged. ‘I think he’s just worried it won’t work out,’ he said. ‘But he’ll do it, as long as they change the name. They can’t go around calling themselves the “New Yardbirds” for long.’