On January 26, 2014, at the 56th annual Grammy Awards, Black Sabbath trio Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler collected the Best Metal Performance award for the song God Is Dead from their Rick Rubin-produced 13 album.
Post-show, as they faced the world's media, the three veteran metal musicians were asked about which contemporary artists they admired.
"You said you were a big fan of Taylor Swift," Geezer Butler said to Ozzy Osbourne.
"Yes I did," Ozzy replied. "Yes, I am a big fan of Taylor Swift."
Osbourne paused briefly to let his comments sink in, then leaned into the microphone again, and said, "Who the fuck is Taylor Swift?"
The singer was joking, of course. Later that same year, Swift's fifth album, 1989, would rack by 11 weeks at the top of the Billboard 200 chart, and would spawn three US number one singles - Shake It Off, Blank Space, and Bad Blood - en route to selling 14 million copies worldwide. And Ozzy Osbourne had already met the Pennsylvania-born singer-songwriter, and expressed his admiration for the star.
When Swift appeared as a guest on the US chat show The Talk in 2014, co-host Sharon Osbourne reminded her of an occasion when Ozzy, Kelly Osbourne and herself bumped into the singer while out shopping in Los Angeles, and recalled what a great first impression Swift made upon her husband.
"We all had a chat in the store, and Ozzy came away, and he said, 'Finally, out of all the young, new artists, I've finally found one that is a true superstar'," she recalled. "He said he'd never met anyone that had the aura that you have, because your aura is one of elegance, and just pure, just genuine talent. And he said that you were like Grace Kelly, Audrey Hepburn, all rolled into one."
Osbourne then asked Swift, "Now, what do you remember about my Ozzy?"
Swift said that Ozzy's comments about her were "the sweetest thing" and recalled that the rock legend didn't talk much.
"He was too busy starring at you!" Osbourne quipped.
Watch the exchange below.
Swift, undeniably now the world's biggest pop star, announced yesterday that her 12th album, The Life Of A Showgirl, will be released on October 3.
Meanwhile, a documentary about Ozzy Osbourne's final years will be broadcast by the BBC next week.
Ozzy Osbourne: Coming Home, a 60-minute standalone programme filmed from 2022 to 2025, will air on BBC One and the BBC iPlayer streaming service at 9pm UK time on August 18.
