Watch Sharon Osbourne pick up the Icon Award for Ozzy Osbourne at the Rolling Stone UK Awards in collaboration with Rémy Martin
'Ozzy is what rock and roll is all about. He’s wild, he’s fabulous, he’s talented. He’s like a fucking uncaged animal, and I adore him.'
Sharon Osbourne accepted the Icon Award in association with Visit West Hollywood at the first ever Rolling Stone UK Awards in collaboration with Rémy Martin last night on behalf of her husband Ozzy Osbourne – watch her full speech below.
The rock icon, legendary hell-raiser and all-round Prince of Darkness picked up the coveted gong at tonight’s ceremony, topping off a list of eclectic winners that included The Last Dinner Party, Daniel Kaluuya, Jessie Ware and The Chemical Brothers.
Picking up the award, Sharon told the crowd: “Well, sorry guys, you got the booby Prize tonight. You got me instead of the legend. But Rolling Stone UK, you have no idea what it means to an artist to be on a cover of Rolling Stone.
“I can remember when Ozzy first got the cover. He said, ‘Does this mean I’ve made it now?’ And I’m like, ‘Yeah, I think so. Of all the other music press, Rolling Stone has always been the most important. It’s the only music magazine was the only music magazine out there that covered every genre of music. Everybody was included and the journalists were shit hot and you know that if you were covered, you were making an impact on what you love to do – which is music – and it’s all Ozzy’s ever known his entire life.
Sharon added: “When Ozzy first met Yunglud he said, ‘I’ve just met myself.’ He just adores him, and I’m just so fucked off that he’s not here tonight, but it means so much and he’s worked so hard his entire life to give back.
Something that Dom just said about live entertaining… the worst thing for Ozzy is to put him in a studio because he’s confined and he hates it, but he always manages to come out with a winner.
“He’s been making music for 55 years and he’s never had a dud album. He’s sold 150 million albums in those 55 years, and I am just so proud of him as a man, and as a musician. It’s been my honour to be on his coattails.
“Thank you for constantly supporting him. Ozzy is what rock and roll is all about. He’s wild, he’s fabulous, he’s talented. He’s like a fucking uncaged animal, and I adore him and I know you all do. Thank you so much.”
Watch the full speech below.
In a video message, Ozzy said: “I’m so sorry I couldn’t be there tonight, only something cropped up and I just couldn’t make the flight. My wife’s gonna be there on my behalf and she’s great.The only one bit of advice is keep her away from the bar because she gets very rowdy when she has a few drinks!
“My success is just a dream come true. I’d like to thank Rolling Stone UK and all the readers for this wonderful award. This award means everything to me. I’m just so sad.”
Ozzy added: “I never ever thought I’d be a living icon, never thought I’d be doing this for more than a couple of years, but around 50 years on and I’m getting an award from Rolling Stone UK!
“It would mean nothing if it wasn’t for the fans. The fans mean absolutely everything to me because without the fans, I haven’t got a job, you know what I mean? They’re so loyal, they have been loyal to me for many, many years. God bless you all and have a great, great night.”
Ozzy is also one of three awards issue cover stars, alongside Daniel Kaluuya and Maisie Peters, with our feature hailing the star’s journey to becoming an icon. Read it in full here.
The first Rolling Stone UK Awards featured performances from The Last Dinner Party, Kenya Grace and Louis Tomlinson.
You can look back here for all our coverage of the Rolling Stone UK Awards.