THE Prince of Darkness himself, Ozzy Osbourne, once went on a mission to become knighted by a Salisbury druid.
The world has been reeling since the lead singer of Black Sabbath sadly passed away last Tuesday (July 22) – just weeks after the band played an explosive farewell gig at Villa Park in Birmingham.
Salisbury Druid King Arthur Pendragon is one of those mourning the loss of the frontman – and he knew the legend better than most fans after spending the day with him when he visited the south of the country in 2015.
As part of the History Channel TV show Ozzy and Jack’s World Detour, the Prince of Darkness and his son Jack set about travelling the world to experience all of its oddities and interesting history.
The sixth episode of the first season saw the pair come to Salisbury in a bid to get Ozzy and Jack knighted.
This saw them try to get the attention of Salisbury druid Arthur Pendragon – a man who has long been the face of pagan celebrations at Stonehenge.
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Arthur said the pair initially turned up in Salisbury where they began asking around for him, before eventually securing his phone number.
When called, Arthur used the opportunity to get Ozzy to serenade him as part of efforts to prove the star’s identity.
“I challenged Ozzy to sing me Paranoid over the phone, and yes, I was a fan. When I said ‘Ok, now for the second verse’ he replied, ‘I normally get paid for this’,” Arthur said.
“I said, ‘Not from the King you don’t! Come on, second verse’. He obliged and I invited them round to the flat. And the rest, as they say, is history.”
The trio then went to Glastonbury, where Ozzy and Jack were both knighted by Arthur at the base of the Tor.
Arthur added: “Meeting up and welcoming Ozzy into our number was a blast and one my partner and I shall never forget.
‘F*ck Jagger, I got the real deal’
“Although I am sure Jack’s film crew might quite like to, as we could hardly get any serious work done, as both Ozzy and I were simply having a laugh which even included at the expense of the cameraman, who managed to get himself locked in my loo.
“We were sad to lose a valued bard, knight and rock legend.”
Ozzy was not the only famous face to be knighted by Arthur.
“He was in fact the second such bard of some renown to join my order in like manner, as a couple of weeks after Mick Jagger was knighted by the queen, John Lydon, formerly Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols, turned to the camera after his raising in Glastonbury and said live on Belgian TV, rather profanely, ‘F*ck Jagger, I got the real deal’,” Arthur said.
“So you see, there are a number of renowned bards in my order from a number of musical genres, most recently to include grime.
“We also have a number of notable academics and authors in our number, including the late Ken Kesey, celebrated counterculture figure and author of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest.”
I am a Quest Knight and Bard of the Loyal Arthurian Warband, and have a song released titled “King Arthur’s Coming,” which was produced by Jayce Lewis and features some spoken word by King Arthur Pendragon himself. When Jayce Lewis was recording Arthur he was also knighted by The King.