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Mötley Crüe star Nikki Sixx has spoken for the first time on his deep bond with late rock icon friend Ozzy Osbourne - who joined him during some of the singer's most debauched times.
However, while Ozzy was famed for his raucous behavior, Sixx has told of a very different side to the Brummie legend, who expressed his shock at not being able to work as a grave digger for life. Sixx's exclusive heartfelt interview comes on the first anniversary of Ozzy tragically passing away at his Buckinghamshire home on July 22.
Sixx, who is a record producer, author, and photographer, felt that long-term addiction to Ozzy's temptation with drinks and drugs prompted him to toss aside his inhibitions. Sixx reflected on how Ozzy's wild side and famous drug and drink-fuelled antics fail to tell the true story of a humble man with a brilliant mind and warm heart.
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Ozzy and Mötley survived what is considered the most debauched and wild tour of all time in the 1980s. Outlandish moments included when Ozzy snorted ants, drank his and Sixx's urine, redecorated a hotel room with his poo, stole a car, and was arrested for being drunk and disorderly.
In an exclusive interview, Sixx opened up on how Ozzy's extreme and outrageous behavior often overshadowed his "true warm nature and giving soul."
Sixx, 67, revealed Ozzy was never arrogant because he felt humbled by his musical success, given that he expected to have a career as a gravedigger. The successful musician, songwriter, record producer, author, and photographer felt that long-term addiction to Ozzy's temptation with drinks and drugs prompted him to toss aside his inhibitions.
Sixx admitted: "With Ozzy, everybody asks, 'What was Ozzy like? Did he really do this? Did he really do that?' I go, 'yeah all of that - but you know what? He was the nicest, most intelligent man.' He may have acted like the I can't get anything done guy on the reality show. But bottom line he was very smart, very educated, he loved history and he was a sweet, sweet man.
"And then you give him a couple drinks, and we had the same thing, which was a kind of a prankster thing. You give me alcohol and I think it's a good idea to light someone's car on fire. Because alcohol was the lubricant to letting it be like, 'f*** it, let's just go for it."
Ozzy was grateful with his career, success and lasting marriage to wife Sharon. "Ozzy was very grounded in where he came from and what his destiny would've been if he didn't do what he did, which was insane. He basically was like, 'I was just destined to work at a factory or be a grave digger.'
"I have so much respect for Sharon. She was the driving force to his massive career, and she could be the dragon that nobody wants to get the fire breathed on, but she could also be the most nurturing, loving and funny person herself. Ozzy needed both those sides of her.
"But there's a lot of depth in our band that seems to have taken a bit like with Ozzy, the front seat to the music. And with Ozzy's passing, it's like, 'wow, he did all this stuff, but look what he did musically and as an entertainer. Sharon's all behind that."
Nikki reflected on Ozzy after the Jackson Hole International Film Festival, which aired the movie If These Walls Could Rock detailing rock'n'roll excess at the infamous hotel The Sunset Marquis. Stories in the film, currently available on demand, about the former Black Sabbath star had the audience at JHIFF laughing. But for Nikki, a JHIFF board member, and his wife, Courtney (founder of Bouquet Box), the screen moments sparked memories of his pal, who passed away in July.
Sixx insists Ozzy's legacy should not be about being a hell-raiser, but about being a pioneer and supporter of so many artists. Sixx feels Ozzy rescued rock music in the early 1980s when record labels were turning the genre too corporate
"Ozzy's albums Diary of a Madman and Blizzard of Oz blew all of our minds. It gave us all hope we were finally going to get rid of the record labels promoting corporate meat and potatoes rock. We needed excitement. It was about super songwriting, energy and excitement. The wonderful world of MTV that came a few years later and it was just such a great time for all of us to feel the excitement of youth.
"He loved the Beatles and he loved melody. So when you listen to Over the Mountain and Randy Rhodes' riff- it's like a monster breathing on you. Ozzy's chaotic voice and the melodies are so good. Melody was king for him, which meant the song is king, which means third came the chaos. And with Ozzy's passing, we must look at what he did musically and as an entertainer."
Ozzy, whose farewell performance, Back To The Beginning, is arriving soon in movie theaters, was a mentor to Crüe, whom he'd picked to be his support act, urging them to fight their record labels.
"Ozzy would always tell us these stories and say 'They're going to f***ing steal everything from you if you let them. "They're f***ing vultures and rats don't think they're your friends.' He said the record company has a purpose, but we have our purpose. Don't ever pet the sharks. It wasn't bitter. We knew Sharon's dad stole from Black Sabbath - so he had proof and was sharing his experience - how cool!
"He had no reason to even hang out with us, because then we were this ratty little band." Sixx laughed out loud as he reflected on how "the debauchery" was fueled by "non-stop humor". "We felt like we could get away with anything we wanted. It was a time in Hollywood. "We weren't always wasted. But when the drinks would start - the fun would start to happen."
Crüe's 2001 memoir The Dirt exposed some of Oz's insane tour acts and their own extreme antics with drink, drugs, groupies, and friends. The most famous story saw Sixx challenge Oz, who'd run out of cocaine and was wearing a woman's dress, to snort ants instead. To add to the shock value, the Brummie hiked up the sundress and urinated on the pavement before kneeling down to drink it. Sixx followed, but Ozzy beat him to drink his American's urine.
In a hotel room, Oz defecated on the floor and then used the feces to redecorate the room. He and other bandmates stole a car, trashed it, and abandoned it. Sixx recalled a raft of hilarious moments during The Bark at the Moon Tour between 1983 to 1985, supporting his album Bark at the Moon. Ozzy, dressed as a female senior citizen - with a grey wig and dress - brought a "huge bag of cocaine" onto their tour bus moments before he was due on stage to 80,000 fans.
"We'd we played our show and suddenly Ozzy's assistant asked 'Can Ozzy come on'?' and he came in a grey women's wig, housewife dress and held a blow-up doll. He's like, 'how are you doing? What's going on?' No one mentioned the elephant in the room. He pulled out this massive bag of cocaine and said ' would you mind a bump?'
"Everybody does a bump. But his handler insisted he got to the stage, but he said: 'No, I'm hanging out with the boys.'. You could hear the audience chanting his name.Finally Ozzy ran on stage, pulled up his dress and screamed 'let's go f***ing crazy.' He'd spoken about the elephant man earlier and told the crow: 'I'm not an animal. I am not an animal...f***k it, let's go crazy.'
"It was so cool he wanted to hang out with friends as much as perform. That was the best." Ozzy encouraged Crüe's sexual antics, but got in trouble for being a voyeur with Sharon. "The madness kind of followed us. Our personalities and his blended together. At one gig Ozzy walked into our dressing room and we were all lined up against the wall with our backs against the wall, all four of us. And there were four girls in front of us on their knees, And we think we can picture the rest.
"Ozzy pulled up a chair and shouted, 'f***ing brilliant.' Now I feel like he was married and kind of living vicariously through us numbskulls. But Sharon saw this and we lost our tour rights to everything - passes, alcohol you name it. So we had shirts made that said, 'no fun tour ' listing all the things we were not allowed to do.
"So we got Ozzy and everyone to wear these stupid shirts and when Sharon saw it she laughed. Ozzy loved it. So she takes my hand and I go, 'Sharon, can I please just hang out with one person?' She goes, well, 'I don't want to hear about it if you get some f***ing disease.'"
Sixx will pay tribute to their time and friendship with Ozzy in a new "warts and all" documentary series. But now guitarist Sixx, drummer Tommy Lee and lead singer Vince Neil want to alter the narrative that the group were not a serious act - even though they've sold over 100m records.
Ozzy's recollections are sure to feature: "Storytelling is really important to me. So I think a lot of things that they are going to understand is about the music, which I think is going to be fascinating for fans of the band to be like, 'oh wow, I understand where they were going'." Sixx reflected on his love of storytelling by becoming a board member of the Jackson Hole International Film Festival.
"My wife, Courtney Sixx and I are so happy to be a part of the Jackson Hole International Film Festival supporting the arts in our community. As entrepreneurs, it is our pleasure to support a new generation of art within our neighborhood. We look forward to continuing our support of JHIFF, and could not be more delighted to host the opening evening!”
Mötley Crüe is currently on tour with The Return Of The Carnival Of Sins - their massive North American tour produced by Live Nation, celebrating two milestones: the 20th anniversary of the groundbreaking 2005-2006 Carnival of Sins tour and the 45th anniversary of the band.
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