In a recent chat with Loudwire Nights, Billy Idol reacted to Ozzy Osbourne’s compliment about him.
“It’s pretty wild,” the singer said of Osbourne calling him a rock icon. “I saw Black Sabbath one month before their first album came out in 1968. I was like 13.”
He shared how it felt to watch Ozzy perform at the time, “Ozzy’s tassels were touching me, so I don’t know if that was something about the future, saying, ‘You can do it, man.'”
Last year, Osbourne supported Idol before his induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame for the second time. He told Rolling Stone, “Billy Idol is a rock icon. His music is timeless. Billy Idol should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.”
Idol has been eligible for the Hall since 2007, but despite selling over 40 million albums and having a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, he had never been nominated until this year.
He is among the 2025 nominees with Bad Company, The Black Crowes, Mariah Carey, Chubby Checker, Joe Cocker, Cyndi Lauper, Mana, Joy Division/New Order, Oasis, Outkast, Phish, Soundgarden, and The White Stripes.
In 2023, he said getting inducted ‘would be incredible.’ The singer told Spin, via Ultimate Classic Rock. “It’s a big thank you to the fans in lots of ways. They really believed and hung in through thick and thin.”
“Towards the end of your career or life, you get a chance to say thanks to everybody because somehow or other, they’ve made my life f*cking great. They let me live my dreams. That was incredible. What a gift,” Idol added.
Idol appeared at the 2020 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony to honor T. Rex, one of the inductees that year. Last year, Idol performed at an all-star tribute to Osbourne. Other performers include Maynard James Keenan, Chad Smith, Wolfgang Van Halen, Zakk Wylde, Robert Trujillo, Steve Stevens, Andrew Watt, Jelly Roll, and Jack Black.
