Ozzy Osbourne’s Czech legacy: Hit covers, sitcom glory, and wild nights
Heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne passed away on July 22nd, at the age of 76. The frontman of Black Sabbath leaves behind a lasting impact on music and culture, no less so in Czechia. Local stars drew inspiration from the band’s legendary hits, as Czech fans of the rock singer continue to celebrate his memorable performances both on and off stage.
Ozzy Osbourne’s Black Sabbath was formed in 1968, the very same year Warsaw Pact troops invaded Czechoslovakia and crushed the Prague Spring liberalization movement. The political rollback that followed partly banned and restricted all forms of music entering the country from the West.
Yet, the decades of unbridled success that Black Sabbath and its lead singer enjoyed during that time did not go unnoticed, as Czech-language adaptations of their records became an instant success. In 1981, singer Marie Rottrová released one of her career-defining songs titled ‘Lásko voníš deštěm’ – a cover version of Black Sabbath’s 1976 single ‘She’s Gone’.
The song’s text was adapted to Czech by folk singer-songwriter Jaromír Nohavica, who was, however, not the first to re-work Osbourne’s hits. In 1974 and 1975, František Ringo Čech wrote covers of Black Sabbath’s ‘Into the Void’ and ‘A National Acrobat’. These were subsequently recorded by singer Jiří Schelinger and released under the titles ‘Báječní muži’ and ‘Metro, dobrý den’.
‘Snowblind’ and ‘Children of the Sea’ also received Czech covers from Aleš Brichta, who is sometimes called “the Czech Ozzy Osbourne”. The Czech heavy metal singer also performs in a recognizable combination of long hair and dark sunglasses.
The most explicit tribute to Ozzy Osbourne’s cultural footprint came in the popular sitcom ‘Comeback’. One of its main characters, heavy metal fan ‘Ozzák’, is named directly after the British legend. He too wears a long-hair wig, as well as a t-shirt with Osbourne’s face on it, throughout the series.
Following the news of Ozzy Osbourne’s passing, actor Martin Dejdar, who plays the character of ‘Ozzák’, published a tribute to the iconic singer on the Instagram account of his alter ego, saying: “I will miss you, king of metal. You are a legend, Ozzy, and forever will be.”
Linked to the message is a picture of the two together in 2010, when Osbourne performed in Czechia at Řípfest, near the town of Roudnice nad Labem. The heavy metal icon took the stage in Czechia on five other occasions – in 1995, 2002, 2007, 2012, and 2018 – all in Prague.
In 2002, after performing a leg of his Ozzfest festival at Strahov stadium, Ozzy Osbourne reportedly caused £41,000 worth of damage to his hotel room, including a TV thrown out the window, in an “alcohol-fuelled night”. Louder Magazine quoted Osbourne’s lead guitarist Zakk Wilde, who was with the singer in Prague that evening, saying: “We must have spent two grand on beer that night.”
Ozzy Osbourne had a final concert scheduled in the Czech capital for November 2020, postponed to 2022 and ultimately cancelled entirely due to the singer’s health problems. Nevertheless, the legendary singer continued performing up until two weeks before his death, when he bid farewell to the fans in his hometown of Birmingham.
