“I hated school. Hated it.”

“Hating people isn’t a productive way of living. So what’s the point in hating anyone? There’s enough hate in the world as it is, without me adding to it.”

“Maybe it's not too late to learn how to love and forget how to hate.”

“All these polo-necked wankers from grammar schools were going out and buying songs like ‘San Francisco (Be Sure to Wear Some Flowers in Your Hair)’. Flowers in your hair? Do me a f**king favour.[...]Who gave a dog’s arse about what people were doing in San Francisco, anyway? The only flowers anyone saw in Aston were the ones they threw in the hole after you when you croaked it at the age of fifty-three ’cos you’d worked yourself to death.I hated those hippy-dippy songs, man.Really hated them.”

“On Friday the thirteenth of February 1970, Black Sabbath went on sale.I felt like I’d just been born.But the critics f**king hated it.”

“The thing is, I’ve never believed in feuds. Don’t get me wrong: I’ve been angry with people. Very angry – with people like Patrick Meehan, or that lawyer who tried to bill me for a drink, or Bob Daisley. But I don’t hate them. And I don’t wish them any harm. I reckon hating someone is just a total f**king waste of time and effort. What do you get out of it in the end? Nothing. I’m not trying to come over like the Archangel Gabriel here. I just think that if you’re pissed off with someone, call them an arsehole, get it out of your system, and move on. It’s not like we’re on this earth very long.”

“I was fifteen when I left school. And what did I get to show for my ten years in the British education system? A piece of paper which said:John Osbourne attended Birchfield Road Secondary Modern.Signed, Mr Oldham (Headmaster)That was f**king it. Not a single qualification. Nothing. I had two career choices: manual labour or manual labour.”