BLACK SABBATH – Lost Trove Of OZZY OSBOURNE’s 1960s Postcards Reveal Ups And Downs Of Touring

A series of touching postcards sent by a hellraiser Ozzy Osbourne in which he affectionately asks after his ill nan have emerged to belie his rock star image, reports Daily Mail.

The notes addressed to ‘mom and dad’ were penned in 1968 when the Black Sabbath star, who later became a reality TV favourite, was touring Europe with one of his first bands. As well as updates on his general well-being and asking after his family, the postcards also reveal Osbourne’s hopes of making it as big as The Beatles, his observation that the French didn’t like his long hair and a romantic interest in a German girl called Sylvia.

The handwritten cards reveal a caring side to the personality of the wildman of rock who went on to infamously bite the head off a bat on stage. The postcards have come to light as Osbourne, now aged 67 and who has sold more than 100 million records, is featuring in Black Sabbath’s last ever world tour.

The items were recovered from a house that was set to be demolished in the old London Docklands in the 1980s by a man who has been in possession of them ever since. The 12 postcards, along with other early Black Sabbath related memorabilia, are being sold by Sheffield Auction Gallery next month and tipped to fetch £2,000.

Read more at DailyMail.co.uk.

According to Antiquestradegazette.com, also in the collection on offer from Sheffield Auction Gallery, recalling the earliest days of the band, are Earth publicity posters, flyers, hand written song lyrics and photographs.

Stephen Flintoft, specialist music valuer and auctioneer at the Sheffield auction house, says: “Perhaps the most interesting item, among so many, is the handwritten lyrics headed ‘by Earth’ to the song Changing Phases, a title later changed to Solitude, which featured on the 1971 double platinum Black Sabbath album Master of Reality.”

The saleroom say the collection was saved by a Sheffield resident from a property being demolished in the old London Docklands in the 1980s. It is being sold as one lot estimated at £2000-3000.

Read more at Antiquestradegazette.com.

Photos courtesy of Sheffield Auction Gallery Facebook.