"LET'S GET A TATTOO!"

Dave Ling remembers a night out in Hollywood with the Prince Of Darkness.

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Ozzy Osbourne was in a state of what you might call 'matrimonially enforced sobriety' when at the start of 1987 the newly launched UK edition of Metal Hammer magazine flew photographer Tony Mottram and me to Los Angeles to do a cover story.

Word had it that despite shaving his head once again to prevent Sharon from sending him on tour, Ozzy was behaving with unusual decorum. The hair had grown back a little, but now he resembled a Teddy boy. When photographed next to an old-fashioned jukebox, all he needed was a pair of brothel creepers and his hair slicked back with Brylcream.

Our meet took place at the Osbournes' house in Beverly Hills - not to be confused with the later abode which featured in The Osbournes reality TV show. Situated in an affluent street lined with towering, well-manicured palm trees, this house seemed slightly smaller but was no less palatial.

We were ushered in through a side gate. Their three children - Jack, Kelly and the now rarely seen Aimee - played noisily in the back garden. When Ozzy appeared and invited us into the house, one of them cried: “Daddy! Daddy! Don’t go!”

“Daddy’s not going anywhere,” he assured them, and led us into a living room overflowing with toys.