The Occult Inspiration Behind Ozzy Osbourne’s “Mr. Crowley”

After Ozzy Osbourne was ejected from Black Sabbath for his hard partying ways in 1979, his future seemed uncertain. But he and his manager Sharon Arden picked up the pieces and created a solo career for her future husband that eclipsed the popularity of his former bandmates. While Sabbath did two solid albums with Ronnie James Dio and a string of intriguing but underrated albums in the ’80s, their profile wasn’t nearly as large as Osbourne, who doubled down on his crazy frontman persona combined with a lot of deliciously dark imagery in his music and some videos. One of the products of that approach was the occult-themed “Mr. Crowley.”

A Blizzard Has Come

The name of Osbourne’s first album, Blizzard of Ozz, was also the name of his band early on—it was originally supposed to be credited as a group effort. The quintet featured a superb team of musicians—guitar wunderkind Randy Rhoads (originally from Quiet Riot), who tragically died in an airplane accident in 1982; bassist Bob Daisley (Mungo Jerry, Widowmaker, and Rainbow); former and future Uriah Heep drummer Lee Kerslake; and keyboard lord Don Airey (Colosseum II and Rainbow). Most of the band self-produced the album with an uncredited Max Norman.

Nearly all of the nine tracks on the 1980 album were co-written by Osbourne, Rhoads, and Daisley. Blizzard of Ozz included the amped-up “Crazy Train,” the controversial “Suicide Solution,” the epic “Revelation (Mother Earth)” (which featured tubular bells), and the gothic “Mr. Crowley.” The latter two songs are noted for the classically influenced playing of Rhoads, along with the short acoustic guitar instrumental “Dee.” Released as a single in the U.S., “Mr. Crowley” opened with a gothic synth intro from Airey and featured a majestic solo from Rhoads near the end. Like “Crazy Train,” it has become a metal classic.

Delving into the Arcane

Aleister Crowley lived from 1875 to 1947. The British occultist, writer, and mountaineer had developed a disdain for Christianity during his early years and became fascinated with the black arts. He became more popular following his death. He founded his own religion called Thelema and spread his beliefs through lectures and writings, but his decadent lifestyle led to him dying in poverty and obscurity. But years after his death he became a figure of fascination for many—he appeared on the cover of The Beatles album Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page lived in a house near Scotland’s Loch Ness previously owned by Crowley.

The song “Mr. Crowley” was reportedly inspired by a book on the occultist read by Osbourne and a tarot card deck found in the studio while the musicians were recording the album. Daisley, who wrote the lyrics, took Osbourne’s song title and ran with it, but not in an obvious way.

“Because he was a satanist and into dark stuff and all that, I didn’t want to make a negative song,” Daisley told Rolling Stone in 2021. “I wanted to make it a little bit like talking to Mr. Crowley and going, ‘What the f–k were you thinking? What were you doing? What went on in your head?’ He used to sign his autograph ‘Polemically Aleister Crowley.’ ‘Polemic’ just means ‘controversial.’ That’s why, at the end, I wrote, ‘polemically sent.’” 

(Fun fact: Aleister Crowley’s last name is not pronounced crau-lee, as in the song, but crow-lee.)

“Mr. Crowley
What went on in your head?
Oh, Mr. Crowley
Did you talk to the dead?

Your lifestyle to me seems so tragic
With the thrill of it all
You fooled all the people with magic
Yeah, you waited on Satan’s call”

Given the inclusion of this song on Blizzard Of Ozz, the cover of which featured a deranged-looking Osbourne wielding a cross, along with his previous Black Sabbath associations and later bat head-biting antic, Osbourne was quickly branded a Satanist by conservative Christians. But in the ’80s, that was a great selling point for metal music and a great way to build his Prince of Darkness reputation which fans loved.

A Sweet, Sinister Success

Blizzard of Ozz was recorded in March and April of 1980 and released in the UK in September of that year. It was released in the U.S. in March of 1981. It reached No. 7 in the UK, No. 8 in Canada, and No. 21 in the U.S. Within a year of its release, it went Platinum and has ultimately sold 5 million copies domestically. Osbourne’s subsequent solo albums Diary Of A Madman, Bark At The Moon, The Ultimate Sin, and all the way down through Ozzmosis in 1995, have all been certified at least double-Platinum in America.

Funnily enough, neither the singles “Crazy Train” or “Mr. Crowley” actually charted in the U.S., but they have sold 4 million and 500,000 copies, respectively. But they regularly appear in lists of Osbourne’s greatest songs. “Mr. Crowley” is one of his best songs, combining gothic and classical elements with stellar keyboard and guitar playing. Daisley’s lyrics are more thoughtful and not pandering on the subject. The song may not have the same streams or views or chart success as some of his other tracks, and yet it is one of his Top 5 most played songs in concert.

Rhoads said it was one of his favorite songs on Blizzard Of Ozz because of the classical vibes, and that style certainly influenced other guitar players down the line.

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Photo by Kevin Winter/Getty Images for dcp