The 6 bands from the 60s that Ozzy Osbourne likes

The first voice of Heavy Metal music, Ozzy Osbourne, was a fundamental part of Black Sabbath alongside Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward. They created what would later be known as Metal and influenced countless generations of musicians all over the world. But that would have never happened if Ozzy, for example, hadn’t been influenced by bands that especially appeared in the early ’60s.

He mentioned some of the groups from that era that he liked in an interview with GQ magazine in 2019. Rock and Roll Garage selected what he said about those bands over the years, as well as his connection with some of them.

The 6 bands from the 60s that Ozzy Osbourne likes

The Beatles

The Beatles are certainly Ozzy Osbourne’s favorite band of all time, they were crucial for his decision to become a musician and are his main inspiration. He praised the group many times and recalled that the biggest turning point in his life back in the early 60s was when he listened to “She Loves You” on the transistor radio.

“Nothing really happened to me in my life until The Beatles happened. Then it was like someone had turned the world into me. They’ve played ‘She Loves You’ on the radio and I remember thinking ‘F*cking hell, this is incredible’. From that moment after I heard ‘She Loves You’ I knew I wanted to be a Rock star for the rest of  my life,” Ozzy Osbourne said in the 2020 documentary “The Nine Lives of Ozzy Osbourne” (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).

Ozzy Osbourne fantasized about his sister marrying Paul McCartney

He is such a big Beatles fan that when he was a young kid he used to fantasize about his sister marrying Paul McCartney. “I was Beatles all the way, man. My bedroom wall was in fact, completely covered. The wall, ceilings, doors. Any Beatles pictures were stuck on my wall. I used to have these fantasies of Paul McCartney marrying my sister. All this kind of crazy stuff and how wonderful (It would be).” Ozzy recalled that in the 1995 documentary “History Of Rock and Roll” (Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage).

He had the opportunity to pay tribute to the band over the years, covering a few songs. In 2005, he recorded for his covers album “Under Cover”, the track “In My Life” and also two John Lennon solo songs: “Woman” and “Working Class Hero”. Five years later, in 2010, he released a version for Lennon’s song “How?”. He never had the opportunity to meet Lennon but he has already been with Paul McCartney many times.

Dave Clark Five

Another group mentioned by Ozzy that influenced him a lot was The Dave Clark Five, the band led by the drummer Dave Clark. Although The Beatles are his favorite band, when he was a kid he used to dream about being a member of Dave Clark’s band. That’s what he said in the documentary “Glad All Over: The Dave Clark Five and Beyond” (2014).

(Transcribed by Rock and Roll Garage) “I wanted to be a member of that group. Even the drummer looked sexy, you know. Dave Clark was ahead of anyone else. I wanted to be a member of the Dave Clark Five. I remember being at a school dance and ‘Glad All Over’ came on and it sent chills in my spine. People don’t realize how big they were. They were absolutely huge.”

“It’s well known I’m a huge fan of The Beatles. But I was also a big fan of the Dave Clark Five for their heaviness and the drums. They made drumming look sexy. (Dave Clark) he wrote, he managed, he produced (laughs), this fucking guy!” Ozzy Osbourne said.

The group was formed by Clark back in 1958 in Tottenham, London, England. The band was active until 1970, when coincidentally Black Sabbath released their groundbreaking debut album. The 60s group is best known for songs like “Bits and Pieces”, “Catch Us if You Can”, “Do You Love Me” and “Glad All Over”. Other famous fans of them are Elton John, Eddie Van Halen, Freddie Mercury, Tom Hanks, Gene Simmons and Bruce Springsteen.

Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones were certainly the second most important British Rock band from the United Kingdom and are also a group Ozzy Osbourne likes. He had the chance to pay tribute to them doing a wonderful version of the classic “Sympathy For The Devil” on his 2005 covers album “Under Cover”.

Besides him, were also part of that track the guitarist Jerry Cantrell (Alice in Chains), the drummer Mike Bordin (Faith No More), the bassist Chris Wyse (Ex-The Cult, Ace Frehley) and Robert Randolph on pedal steel.

Led by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones are one of the best-selling bands of all time. They have sold an estimated amount of more than 200 million records worldwide. Besides the two musicians, the group had many other important members over the decades like Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman, Charlie Watts, Mick Taylor and Brian Jones.

The Tremeloes

Like the other groups mentioned, The Tremeloes were also an important part of the British Invasion. They curiously also had success with the song “Do You Love Me”, just like Dave Clark Five”. The track was originally released by the American group The Contours and written by Berry Gordy Jr.

Other hits the group had were “Here Comes My Baby”, “(Call Me) Number One” and “Silence is Golden”.

The band was Formed in Dagenham, England in 1958 and the final show with their name was in 2016 after the drummer Dave Munden would retire because of a knee injury and respiratory illness. His backing band, which had no original members, carried on as The Trems.

Gerry and The Pacemakers

Although Ozzy Osbourne supports the football team Aston Villa, he is a big fan of Gerry and The Pacemakers. Their biggest hit “”You’ll Never Walk Alone”, which was originally a show tune by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II. However, it became a kind of anthem for the fans of Liverpool F.C.

The supporters have sung the song in every match of the football team for more than six decades already, because of the Gerry and The Pacemakers version. The single was released in 1963, becoming a number 1 hit in Australia, Ireland, New Zealand and the United Kingdom.

The group was also formed in Liverpool but in 1956, four years before The Beatles. Coincidentally they were also managed by Brian Epstein and produced by George Martin, who also worked extensively with The Beatles. Other famous songs by the group are “Ferry Cross the Mersey”, “Don’t Let the Sun Catch You” and “How Do You Do It?”.

Manfred Mann

The final band mentioned by Ozzy was Manfred Mann, band led by the keyboardist of the same name. Formed in London, England back in 1962, they were active until 1969 but had many spin offs like Manfred Mann’s Earth Band.

The first version of the group had hits like “Do Wah Diddy Diddy”, “Mighty Quinn” and “Pretty Flamingo”. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, which was formed in 1971 entering a hiatus in 1987 and returning in 1991, had many other successful songs. Some of them are “For You”, “Davy’s on the Road Again” and “Blinded By The Light”. The last one was actually written by Bruce Springsteen but it was Manfred’s version that became a huge hit.

The track was originally released by the American artist on his debut album “Greetings from Asbury Park, N.J.” in 1973. Manfred Mann’s Earth Band covered the song three years later, in 1976, on their album “The Roaring Silence”. It was a number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.