Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne is an English
rock vocalist, songwriter, and television
personality. Osbourne rose to prominence in
the early 1970s as the lead vocalist of the
pioneering band Black Sabbath, whose dark
and heavy sound has often been cited as key
to the development of the heavy metal genre.
Osbourne left Black Sabbath in 1979 and has
since had a successful solo career, releasing
11 studio albums, the first seven of which
were all awarded multi-platinum certifications
in the US, though he has reunited with Black
Sabbath on several occasions, most recently
in 2011 to record the album 13, which was
released in 2013. Osbourne's longevity and
success have earned him the informal title
of "Godfather of Heavy Metal".
Osbourne's total album sales from his years
in Black Sabbath combined with his solo work
is over 100 million. As a member of Black
Sabbath he was inducted into the US Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame, and was inducted into the
UK Music Hall of Fame as both a solo artist
and as a member of the band. He has a star
on the Birmingham Walk of Stars in his hometown,
and also has a star on the Hollywood Walk
of Fame. In the early 2000s, he became a TV
star, appearing as himself in the MTV reality
program The Osbournes, alongside wife/manager
Sharon and two of their three children, Kelly
and Jack.
Early life
Osbourne was born in Aston, Birmingham. His
father, John Thomas "Jack" Osbourne, worked
nightshifts as a toolmaker at GEC. His mother,
Lillian, worked days at a factory. Osbourne
was the fourth of six children; his brothers
were Paul and Tony, and his sisters were Jean,
Iris, and Gillian. The family lived in a small
two-bedroom home at 14 Lodge Road in Aston.
Osbourne has had the nickname "Ozzy" since
primary school; although his first wife Thelma
called him "John", Osbourne states that it
has been a long time since he has recognized
himself when called by his formal name.
Osbourne grew up dealing with dyslexia, attention
deficit disorder, and other learning disabilities.
Drawn to the stage, Osbourne took part in
school plays such as The Mikado and HMS Pinafore.
Upon hearing their first hit single at age 14,
he became a great fan of The Beatles. He credits
the band's 1963 song "She Loves You" for inspiring
him to become a musician. He said in the 2011
documentary God Bless Ozzy Osbourne that "as
soon as I heard 'She Loves You' on the radio,
I knew I was going to be a rock star for the
rest of my life".
Osbourne left school at 15 and was employed
as a construction site labourer, trainee plumber,
apprentice toolmaker, car factory horn-tuner,
and slaughterhouse worker. He even attempted
to forge a career in burglary, stealing a
television (which fell on him during getaway
and had to be abandoned), a handful of baby
clothes and bibs (originally thought to be
adult clothes as it was too dark to see when
he committed the burglary and which were stolen
to sell to people at a pub), and some T-shirts.
He spent six weeks in Winson Green Prison
when he was unable to pay a fine after being
found guilty of robbing a clothes shop.
Career
Black Sabbath
In late 1967, Geezer Butler formed his first
band, Rare Breed, with Osbourne. The band
played two shows, then broke up. Osbourne
and Butler reunited in Polka Tulk Blues, along
with guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill
Ward, whose band Mythology had recently broken
up. They renamed themselves Earth, but after
being accidentally booked for a show instead
of a different band with the same name, they
decided to change their name again. They finally
settled on the name Black Sabbath in August
1969, based on the film of the same name.
The band had noticed how people enjoyed being
frightened; inspired, the band decided to
play a heavy blues style of music laced with
gloomy sounds and lyrics. While recording
their first album in a castle, Butler read
an occult book and woke up to a dark figure
at the end of his bed. Butler told Osbourne
about it and together they wrote the lyrics
to "Black Sabbath", their first song in a
darker vein.
Despite only a modest investment from their
U.S. record label Warner Bros. Records, Black
Sabbath met with swift and enduring success.
Built around Tony Iommi's guitar riffs, Geezer
Butler's lyrics, Bill Ward's dark tempo drumbeats,
and topped by Osbourne's eerie vocals, early
records such as their debut album Black Sabbath
and Paranoid sold huge numbers, as well as
getting considerable airplay. Osbourne recalls
a band lament, "in those days, the band wasn't
very popular with the women".
At about this time, Osbourne first met his
future wife, Sharon Arden. After the unexpected
success of their first album, Black Sabbath
were considering her father, Don Arden, as
their new manager, and Sharon was at that
time working as Don's receptionist. Osbourne
admits he was attracted to her immediately
but assumed that "she probably thought I was
a lunatic". Osbourne said years later that
the best thing about eventually choosing Don
Arden as manager was that he got to see Sharon
regularly, though their relationship was strictly
professional at that point.
Just five months after the release of Paranoid
the band released Master of Reality. The album
reached the top ten in both the United States
and UK, and was certified gold in less than
two months. In the 1980s it received platinum
certification and went Double Platinum in
the early 21st century. Reviews of the album
were unfavourable. Lester Bangs of Rolling
Stone dismissed Master of Reality as "naïve,
simplistic, repetitive, absolute doggerel",
although the very same magazine would later
place the album at number 298 on their 500 Greatest
Albums of All Time list, compiled in 2003.
Black Sabbath's Volume 4 was released in
September 1972. Critics were again dismissive
of the album, yet it achieved gold status
in less than a month. It was the band's fourth
consecutive release to sell one million copies
in the United States.
In 1971 Osbourne met his first wife Thelma
(née Riley) at a nightclub in Birmingham
called the Rum Runner, where she worked. They
were married in 1971 and children Louis and
Jessica were soon born. Osbourne later referred
to his first marriage as "a terrible mistake";
his drug and alcohol abuse, coupled with his
frequent absences while touring with Black
Sabbath, took their toll on his family life,
with his children later lamenting the fact
that he was not a good father. In the 2011
documentary film God Bless Ozzy Osbourne,
produced by son Jack Osbourne, he admitted
that he could not even remember when Louis
and Jessica were born.
In November 1973, Black Sabbath released the
critically acclaimed Sabbath Bloody Sabbath.
For the first time, the band received favourable
reviews in the mainstream press. Gordon Fletcher
of Rolling Stone called the album "an extraordinarily
gripping affair", and "nothing less than a
complete success". Allmusic's Eduardo Rivadavia
call the album a "masterpiece, essential to
any heavy metal collection", while also claiming
the band displayed "a newfound sense of finesse
and maturity". The album marked the band's
fifth consecutive platinum selling album in
the US. Sabotage was released in July 1975.
Again there were favourable reviews. Rolling
Stone stated, "Sabotage is not only Black
Sabbath's best record since Paranoid, it might
be their best ever." Allmusic was not so favourable.
They noted that "the magical chemistry that
made such albums as Paranoid and Volume 4
so special was beginning to disintegrate".
Technical Ecstasy, released on 25 September
1976, was also met with mixed reviews. AllMusic
gave the album two stars, and noted that the
band was "unravelling at an alarming rate".
Departure
In 1978, Osbourne left the band for three
months to pursue interest in a solo project
he called Blizzard of Ozz, a name which had
been suggested by his father. Three members
of the band Necromandus, who had supported
Black Sabbath in Birmingham when they were
called Earth, did backup for Osbourne in the
studio and briefly became the first incarnation
of his solo band. At the request of the other
members, Osbourne rejoined Sabbath. The band
spent five months at Sounds Interchange Studios
in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, writing and recording
what would become Never Say Die! "It took
quite a long time," Iommi said. "We were getting
really drugged out, doing a lot of dope. We'd
go down to the sessions, and have to pack
up because we were too stoned, we'd have to
stop. Nobody could get anything right, we
were all over the place, everybody's playing
a different thing. We'd go back and sleep
it off, and try again the next day."
Touring in support of Never Say Die! began
in May 1978 with openers Van Halen. Reviewers
called Black Sabbath's performance "tired
and uninspired", in stark contrast to the
"youthful" performance of Van Halen, who were
touring the world for the first time. The
band filmed a performance at the Hammersmith
Odeon in June 1978, which was later released
on DVD as Never Say Die. The final show of
the tour, and Osbourne's last appearance with
the band (until later reunions) was in Albuquerque,
New Mexico on 11 December.
In 1979, back in the studio, tensions and
conflict between band members were present
continually. Osbourne recalls being asked
to record his vocals over and over, and tracks
being manipulated endlessly by Iommi. This
was a point of contention between Osbourne
and Iommi. At Iommi's insistence, and with
the support of Butler and Ward, Osbourne was
fired from Black Sabbath on 27 April 1979.
The reasons provided to him were that he was
unreliable and had excessive substance abuse
issues as compared to the other band members.
Osbourne claims his drug use and alcohol consumption
at that time were no better nor worse than
that of the other band members. The band replaced
him with former Rainbow singer Ronnie James
Dio.
Conflict of a sort had existed between Iommi
and Osbourne from the beginning. When responding
to a flyer in 1969 reading "Ozzy Zig Needs
Gig- has own PA" posted in a record store,
Iommi and Ward arrived at the address listed
to speak with Ozzy Zig. When Iommi saw Osbourne
emerge from another room of the house, he
left upon discovering it was the same "pest"
he knew from growing up, as he knew of and
disliked Osbourne from back in their school
days. Iommi had reportedly "punched out" Osbourne
numerous times over the years when the singer's
drunken antics had become too much to take.
Iommi recalls one incident in the early 1970s
in which Osbourne and Geezer Butler were fighting
in a hotel room. Iommi pulled Osbourne off
Butler in an attempt to break up the drunken
fight, and the vocalist proceeded to turn
around and take a wild swing at him. Iommi
responded by knocking Osbourne unconscious
with one punch to the jaw.
Solo career
After leaving Black Sabbath, Osbourne was
signed to Don Arden's Jet Records. Arden dispatched
his daughter Sharon to Los Angeles to "look
after Ozzy's needs, whatever they were", as
a means of protecting his investment. Initially,
Arden was hopeful that Osbourne would return
to Black Sabbath, and he later attempted to
convince the singer to name his new band "Son
of Sabbath", which Osbourne hated. Sharon
attempted to convince Osbourne to form a new
supergroup with guitarist Gary Moore. In 1980,
under the management of the Ardens, Osbourne
formed the band The Blizzard of Ozz, the line-up
of which featured drummer Lee Kerslake (of
Uriah Heep), bassist/lyricist Bob Daisley
(of Rainbow and later Uriah Heep), keyboardist
Don Airey, and guitarist Randy Rhoads (of
Quiet Riot). The record company would eventually
title the group's debut album Blizzard of
Ozz credited simply under Osbourne's name,
thus commencing his solo career. Co-written
with Daisley and Rhoads, the album brought
Osbourne considerable success on his first
solo effort. Though it is generally accepted
that Osbourne and Rhoads started the band,
bassist Daisley later claimed that he and
Osbourne formed the band in England before
Rhoads officially joined. Osbourne has maintained
that his original choice for bassist was Dana
Strum, and that it was Strum who arranged
Rhoads' audition. Blizzard of Ozz is one of
the very few albums amongst the 100 best selling
albums of the 1980s to have achieved multi-platinum
status without the benefit of a Top 40 single.
As of August 1997, it achieved Quadruple Platinum
status according to RIAA.
Osbourne's second album, Diary of a Madman,
featured more songs co-written with Bob Daisley.
For his work on this album and Blizzard of
Ozz, Randy Rhoads was ranked the 85th greatest
guitarist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine
in 2003. This album is known for the singles
"Over the Mountain" and "Flying High Again";
additionally, Osbourne explains in his autobiography
that Diary is his own personal favourite album.
Tommy Aldridge and Rudy Sarzo soon replaced
Kerslake and Daisley in the band. Aldridge
had been Osbourne's original choice as the
band's drummer, but a commitment to Gary Moore
made him initially unavailable. Sarzo had
previously played in Quiet Riot with guitarist
Rhoads, who recommended him for the position.
On 19 March 1982 while Rhoads was in Florida
for the follow-up Diary of a Madman tour,
and a week away from playing Madison Square
Garden in New York City, a light aircraft
piloted by Andrew Aycock (the band's tour
bus driver) carrying guitarist Randy Rhoads
and Rachel Youngblood, the band's costume
and make up designer, crashed while performing
low passes over the band's tour bus. In a
prank turned deadly, the left wing of the
aircraft clipped the bus, causing the plane
to graze a tree and crash into the attached
garage of a nearby mansion, killing Rhoads,
Aycock, and the band's hairdresser, Rachel
Youngblood. On autopsy, cocaine was found
to be present in Aycock's urine. The crash
was officially ruled the result of "poor judgement
by the pilot in buzzing the bus and misjudging
clearance of obstacles". Experiencing firsthand
the horrific death of his close friend and
band mate, Osbourne fell into a deep depression.
The tour was canceled for two weeks while
Osbourne, his wife/manager Sharon, and drummer
Aldridge returned to Los Angeles to take stock
while bassist Sarzo remained in Florida.
Gary Moore was the first guitarist approached
to replace Rhoads, but he refused. Ex-Gillan
guitarist Bernie Tormé replaced Rhoads once
the tour resumed, though his tenure in the
band would last less than one month. During
an audition for guitarists in a hotel room,
Osbourne selected Night Ranger's Brad Gillis
to finish the tour. The tour culminated in
the release of the 1982 live album, Speak
of the Devil recorded at the Ritz in New York
City. A live tribute album for Rhoads was
also later released.
Despite the difficulties, Osbourne moved on
after Rhoads' death. Speak of the Devil, known
in the United Kingdom as Talk of the Devil,
was originally planned to consist of live
recordings from 1981, primarily from Osbourne's
solo work. Under contract to produce a live
album, it ended up consisting entirely of
Black Sabbath covers recorded with Brad Gillis,
bassist Rudy Sarzo, and drummer Tommy Aldridge.
Osbourne later commented (inside the cover
of "Tribute") "I don't give a fuck about that
album. It was just a bunch of bullshit Sabbath
covers."
In 1982 Osbourne appeared as lead vocalist
on the Was (Not Was) pop dance track "Shake
Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)". Madonna performed
backing vocals. Osbourne's cut was remixed
and re-released in the early 1990s for a Was
(Not Was) greatest hits album in Europe, and
it cracked the UK pop chart. Madonna asked
that her vocal not be restored for the hits
package, so new vocals by Kim Basinger were
added to complement Osbourne's lead.
In 1983 a new guitarist was recruited to play
with Osbourne. Jake E. Lee, formerly of Ratt
and Rough Cutt, joined the band to record
Bark at the Moon. The album, co-written with
Bob Daisley, featured Tommy Aldridge, and
former Rainbow keyboard player Don Airey.
The album contains the fan favourite "Bark
at the Moon". The music video for "Bark at
the Moon" was partially filmed at the Holloway
Sanitorium outside of London, England. Within
weeks the album became certified gold. To
date it has sold three million copies in the
U.S.
1986's The Ultimate Sin followed (with bassist
Phil Soussan and drummer Randy Castillo),
and touring behind both albums with ex-Uriah
Heep keyboardist John Sinclair joining prior
to the Ultimate Sin tour. At the time of its
release, The Ultimate Sin was Osbourne's highest
charting studio album. The RIAA awarded the
album Platinum status on 14 May 1986, soon
after its release; it was awarded Double Platinum
status on 26 October 1994.
Jake E. Lee and Osbourne parted ways in 1987.
Osbourne continued to struggle with chemical
dependency. That year he commemorated the
fifth anniversary of Rhoads' death with Tribute,
live recordings from 1981 that had gone unreleased
for years. In 1988 Osbourne appeared in The
Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The
Metal Years and told the director, Penelope
Spheeris, that "sobriety fucking sucks". Meanwhile,
Osbourne found Zakk Wylde, who was the most
enduring replacement for Rhoads to date. Together
they recorded No Rest for the Wicked with
Castillo on drums, Sinclair on keyboards,
and Daisley co-writing lyrics and playing
bass. The subsequent tour saw Osbourne reunited
with erstwhile Black Sabbath bandmate Geezer
Butler on bass. A live EP (entitled Just Say
Ozzy) featuring Geezer was released two years
later. Butler continued to tour with Osbourne
for the subsequent four tours, and was a major
stage presence throughout. In 1988, Osbourne
performed on the rock ballad, "Close My Eyes
Forever", a duet with Lita Ford, reaching
#8 on the Billboard Hot 100. In 1989 Osbourne
performed at the Moscow Music Peace Festival.
While very successful as a heavy metal act
through the 1980s, Osbourne sustained commercial
success into the 1990s, starting with 1991's
No More Tears, featuring the song "Mama, I'm
Coming Home". The album enjoyed much radio
and MTV exposure. It also initiated a practice
of bringing in outside composers to help pen
Osbourne's solo material instead of relying
solely upon his recording ensemble to write
and arrange the music. The album was mixed
by veteran rock producer Michael Wagener.
Osbourne was awarded a Grammy Award for the
track "I Don't Want to Change the World" from
Live & Loud, for Best Metal Performance of
1994.
Wagener also mixed the live album Live & Loud
released in 28 June 1993. At the time, it
was to be Osbourne's final album. The album
went platinum four times over, and ranked
at number 10 on that year's Billboard rock
charts. At this point Osbourne expressed his
fatigue with the process of touring, and proclaimed
his "retirement tour" (which was to be short-lived).
It was called "No More Tours", a pun on his
No More Tears album. Prior to the tour Alice
in Chains' Mike Inez took over on bass and
Kevin Jones on keyboards as Sinclair was touring
with The Cult. Osbourne's entire CD catalogue
was remastered and reissued in 1995.
In 1995 Osbourne released Ozzmosis and returned
to touring, dubbing his concert performances
"The Retirement Sucks Tour". The album reached
number 4 on the U.S. Billboard 200. The
Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) certified the album gold and platinum
in that same year, and double platinum in
April 1999. The album features the hard rocking
fan favourites "Perry Mason", "Ghost Behind
My Eyes", "Thunder Underground", and the power
ballad "See You on the Other Side".
The line-up on Ozzmosis was Zakk Wylde, Geezer
Butler (who had just quit Black Sabbath again)
and ex-Bad English, Steve Vai and Hardline
drummer Deen Castronovo, now in Journey. Keyboards
were played by Yes's Rick Wakeman and producer
Michael Beinhorn. The tour maintained Butler
and Castronovo and saw Sinclair return, but
a major line-up change was the introduction
of ex-David Lee Roth guitarist Joe Holmes.
Wylde was considering an offer to join Guns N' Roses.
Unable to wait for a decision on Wylde's departure
decision, Osbourne replaced him. In early 1996,
Butler and Castronovo left. Mike Inez (Alice
in Chains) and Randy Castillo (Lita Ford,
Mötley Crüe) filled in. Ultimately, Faith
No More's Mike Bordin and ex-Suicidal Tendencies
and future Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo
joined on drums and bass respectively. A greatest
hits package, The Ozzman Cometh was issued
in 1997.
Ozzfest
Osbourne's biggest financial success of the
1990s was a venture named Ozzfest, created
and managed by his wife/manager Sharon and
assisted by his son Jack. The first Ozzfest
was held in Phoenix, Arizona on 25 October
1996 and in Devore, California on 26 October.
Ozzfest was an instant hit with metal fans,
spiralling many up-and-coming groups who were
featured there to broad exposure and commercial
success. Some acts shared the bill with a
reformed Black Sabbath during the 1997 Ozzfest
tour, beginning in West Palm Beach, Florida.
Osbourne reunited with the original members
of Sabbath in 1997 and has performed periodically
with them ever since. Ozzfest reinstated the
integrity and public familiarity with the
band name Black Sabbath.
Since its beginning, five million people have
attended Ozzfest, which has grossed over US$100 million.
The festival helped promote many new hard
rock and heavy metal acts of the late 1990s
and early 2000s. Ozzfest helped Osbourne to
become the first hard rock and heavy metal
star to hit $50 million in merchandise sales.
In 2005 Osbourne and his wife Sharon starred
in an MTV competition reality show entitled
"Battle for Ozzfest". A number of yet unsigned
bands send one member to compete in a challenge
to win a spot on the 2005 Ozzfest and a possible
recording contract. Shortly after Ozzfest
2005, Osbourne announced that he will no longer
headline Ozzfest. Although he announced his
retirement from Ozzfest, Osbourne came back
headlining the tour. In 2006 Osbourne closed
the event for just over half the concerts,
leaving the others to be closed by System
of a Down. He also played the closing act
for the second stage at Shoreline Amphitheatre
in Mountain View, California on 1 July as
well as Randalls Island, New York on 29 July.
After the concert in Bristol, Virginia, Osbourne
announced he would return for another year
of Ozzfest in 2007.
Tickets for the 2007 tour were offered to
fans free of charge, which led to some controversy.
In 2008, Ozzfest was reduced to a one-day
event in Dallas, Texas, where Osbourne played,
along with Metallica and King Diamond. In
2010, Osbourne appeared as the headliner closing
the show after opening acts Halford and Mötley
Crüe. The tour, though small (only six U.S. venues
and one UK venue were played), generated
rave reviews: "Ozzy Osbourne is one of the
greatest entertainers in history—regardless
of genre or medium."—Artist Direct, 16 August
2010 "...we the eager maniacs of metal give
OZZY the horns up for yet another blistering
day of metal on two stages. "—Hard Rock
Haven, 9 September 2010 “Ozzfest rises up
again, exceeding expectations...”— Orange
County Register, 16 August 2010
2000s
Down to Earth, Osbourne's first album of new
studio material in seven years, was released
on 16 October 2001. A live version filmed
in Japan, Live at Budokan followed. Down to
Earth went gold in 2001, and platinum in 2003.
The album features the fan favourite "Dreamer",
a song which peaked at number 10 on Billboard's
Mainstream Rock Tracks. In June 2002, Osbourne
performed the Black Sabbath anthem "Paranoid"
at the Party at the Palace concert in the
grounds of Buckingham Palace, an event in
commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth
II. In 2003 Osbourne recruited former Metallica
bassist Jason Newsted after he left the band
in 2000 (and Trujillo replaced him on Metallica's
line-up). Both Newsted and Osbourne were enthusiastic
about recording an album together He was Parrodied
by The Wiggles in their 2003 video "Space
Dancing" as Wozzy Hasbourne on a poster.
On 8 December 2003, Osbourne was rushed into
emergency surgery at Wexham Park Hospital
in Slough, England when he had an accident
with his all-terrain vehicle on his estate
in Jordans, Buckinghamshire. Osbourne broke
his collar bone, eight ribs, and a neck vertebra.
An operation was performed to lift the collarbone,
which was believed to be resting on a major
artery and interrupting blood flow to the
arm. Sharon later revealed that Osbourne had
stopped breathing following the crash and
was resuscitated by Osbourne's then personal
bodyguard, Sam Ruston. While in hospital,
Osbourne achieved his first ever UK number
one single, a duet of the Black Sabbath ballad,
"Changes" with daughter Kelly. In doing so,
he broke the record of the longest period
between an artist's first UK chart appearance
(with Black Sabbath's "Paranoid", number four
in August 1970) and their first number one
hit: a gap of 33 years. Since the quad accident,
aside from some short-term memory problems,
he fully recovered and headlined the 2004 Ozzfest,
in the reunited Black Sabbath.
In 2005 Osbourne released a box set called
Prince of Darkness. The first and second discs
are collections of live performances, B-sides,
demos and singles. The third disc contained
duets and other odd tracks with other artists,
including "Born to Be Wild" with Miss Piggy.
The fourth disc is entirely new material where
Osbourne covers his favourite songs by his
biggest influences and favourite bands, including
The Beatles, John Lennon, David Bowie and
others. Osbourne also helped judge the 2005
series of the X-Factor.
In March 2006, he said that he hoped to release
a new studio album soon with long time on-off
guitarist, Zakk Wylde of Black Label Society.
In October 2006, it was announced that Tony
Iommi, Ronnie James Dio, Vinny Appice, and
Geezer Butler would be touring together again,
though not as Black Sabbath, but under the
moniker Heaven and Hell (the title of Dio's
first Black Sabbath album). The response to
the news on Osbourne's website was that Osbourne
wished Tony and Ronnie well and that there
is only one Sabbath. Osbourne's album, titled
Black Rain, was released on 22 May 2007. Osbourne's
first new studio album in almost six years,
it featured a more serious tone than previous
albums. "I thought I'd never write again without
any stimulation...But you know what? Instead
of picking up the bottle I just got honest
and said, 'I don't want life to go '", Osbourne
stated in a Billboard interview.
Osbourne revealed in July 2009 that he was
currently seeking a new guitar player. While
he states that he has not fallen out with
Zakk Wylde, he said he felt his songs were
beginning to sound like Black Label Society
and fancied a change. In August 2009, Osbourne
performed at the gaming festival BlizzCon
with a new guitarist in his line-up Gus G.
Osbourne also provided his voice and likeness
to the video game Brütal Legend character
The Guardian of Metal. In November, Slash
featured Osbourne on vocals in his single
"Crucify The Dead", and Osbourne with wife
Sharon were guest hosts on WWE Raw. In December,
Osbourne announced he would be releasing a
new album titled Soul Sucka with Gus G, Tommy
Clufetos on drums, and Blasko on bass. Negative
fan feedback was brought to Osbourne's attention
regarding the album title. In respect of fan
opinion, on 29 March Osbourne announced his
album would be renamed Scream.
2010s
On 13 April 2010, Osbourne announced the release
date for Scream would be 15 June 2010. The
release date was later changed to 22 June.
A single from the album, "Let Me Hear You
Scream," debuted on 14 April 2010 episode
of CSI: NY. The song spent 8 weeks on the
Billboard Rock Songs, peaking at #7. Osbourne
held a Meet-And-Greet album signing at the
main branch of HMV in his home-town Birmingham,
followed later that day by an intimate show
in the Birmingham Town Hall. The first four
hundred fans that arrived at the store earlier
in the day were given wrist bands, enabling
free access to the show.
On 9 August, Osbourne announced that the second
single from the album would be "Life Won't
Wait" and the video for the song would be
directed by his son Jack. When asked of his
opinions on Scream in an interview, Osbourne
announced that he is "already thinking about
the next album". Osbourne's current drummer,
Tommy Clufetos, has reflected this sentiment,
saying that "We are already coming up with
new ideas backstage, in the hotel rooms and
at soundcheck and have a bunch of ideas recorded"
Black Sabbath reunion
It was announced on 11 November 2011 during
a news conference at the Whisky a Go Go club
on West Hollywood's Sunset Strip that the
original Black Sabbath line up of Ozzy, Tony
Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward would
reunite for a world tour and new album, to
be produced by Rick Rubin. Bill Ward dropped
out for contractual reasons, but the project
continued with Rage Against the Machine's
Brad Wilk stepping in for Ward on drums. On
21 May 2012, Black Sabbath played at the O2
Academy in their hometown Birmingham, their
first concert since their reunion. The album,
entitled 13, was released 11 June 2013, and
topped both the UK Albums Chart and the US
Billboard 200.
Other production work
Osbourne achieved greater celebrity status
via his own brand of reality television. The
Osbournes, a series featuring the domestic
life of Osbourne and his family (wife Sharon,
children Jack and Kelly, occasional appearances
from his son Louis, but eldest daughter Aimee
did not participate). The program became one
of MTV's greatest hits. It premiered on 5
March 2002, and the final episode aired 21
March 2005.
The success of The Osbournes led Osbourne
and the rest of his family to host the 30th
Annual American Music Awards in January 2003.
The night was marked with constant "bleeping"
due to some of the lewd and raunchy remarks
made by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Presenter
Patricia Heaton walked out midway in disgust.
On 20 February 2008, Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly and
Jack Osbourne hosted the 2008 BRIT Awards
held at Earls Court, London. Ozzy Osbourne
appears in a commercial for the online video
game World of Warcraft.
Osbourne published an autobiography in October
2009, titled I Am Ozzy. Osbourne says ghost
writer Chris Ayres told the singer he has
enough material for a second book. A movie
adaptation of I Am Ozzy is also in the works,
and Osbourne says he hopes "an unknown guy
from England" will get the role over an established
actor.
A documentary film about Osbourne's life and
career, entitled God Bless Ozzy Osbourne,
premiered in April 2011 at the Tribeca Film
Festival and was released on DVD in November
2011. The film was produced by Osbourne's
son Jack.
On 15 May 2013 Osbourne, along with the current
members of Black Sabbath, appeared in an episode
of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation titled "Skin
in the Game".
Awards
Osbourne has received several awards for his
contributions to the music community. In 1994,
he was awarded a Grammy Award for the track
"I Don't Want to Change the World" from Live & Loud
for Best Metal Performance of 1994. At the
2004 NME Awards in London, Osbourne received
the award for Godlike Genius. In 2005 Osbourne
was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame
both as a solo artist and as a member of Black
Sabbath. In 2006, he was inducted into the
US Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Black Sabbath
band mates Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Geezer
Butler.
In 2007 Osbourne was honoured at the second
annual VH1 Rock Honors, along with Genesis,
Heart, and ZZ Top. In addition, that year
a bronze star honouring Osbourne was placed
on Broad Street in Birmingham, England while
Osbourne watched. On 18 May Osbourne had received
notice that he would be the first inductee
into The Birmingham Walk of Stars. He was
presented the award by the Lord Mayor of Birmingham.
"I am really honoured", he said, "All my family
is here and I thank everyone for this reception—I'm
absolutely knocked out".
In 2008 Osbourne was crowned with the prestigious
Living Legend award in the Classic Rock Roll
of Honor. Past recipients include Alice Cooper,
Lemmy, Jimmy Page. Slash, the former Guns N' Roses
guitarist, presented the award. In 2010 Osbourne
won the "Literary Achievement" honour for
his memoir, I Am Ozzy, at the Guys Choice
Awards at Sony Pictures Studio in Culver City,
California. Osbourne was presented with the
award by Sir Ben Kingsley. The book debuted
at No. 2 on the New York Times' hardcover
non-fiction bestseller list. Osbourne was
also a judge for the 6th, 10th and 11th annual
Independent Music Awards to support independent
artists' careers.
Personal life
Osbourne has been married twice and is the
father of six children (five biological, and
one adopted). He was first married to Thelma
Reese from Hall Green, Birmingham, and adopted
her son, Elliot Kingsley (1966); together
they had Jessica Starshine Osbourne (20 January
1972) and Louis John Osbourne (1975).
Osbourne married Sharon Arden on 4 July 1982
and had three children with her. Osbourne
later said that he deliberately married Arden
on Independence Day so that he'd never forget
his anniversary. Their children are Aimee
(2 September 1983), Kelly (27 October 1984)
and Jack (8 November 1985). They also took
in family friend Robert Marcato after his
mother died, but never legally adopted him.
Osbourne also has six grandchildren, granddaughters
Isabelle and Kitty, and grandson Harry from
Jessica, granddaughter Mia and grandson Elijah
from Louis and granddaughter Pearl from Jack.
He wrote a song for his daughter Aimee, which
appeared as a B-side on the album Ozzmosis.
He divides his time between the family's Buckinghamshire
mansion in the English countryside, and Malibu,
California.
It was reported by The New York Times in 1992
that Osbourne was a member of the Church of
England and prayed before each show. In 2002,
Osbourne and wife Sharon were invited to the
White House Correspondents' Association dinner
by Fox News Channel correspondent Greta Van
Susteren for that year's event. President
Bush noted Osbourne's presence by joking:
"The thing about Ozzy is, he's made a lot
of big hit recordings – 'Party with the
Animals', 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath', 'Facing
Hell', 'Black Skies' and 'Bloodbath in Paradise'.
Ozzy, Mom loves your stuff."
Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne are one of the UK's
richest couples, according to the Sunday Times
Rich List. They ranked at number 458 in 2005,
with an estimated £100 million earned from
recording, touring and TV shows. Osbourne
has over 15 tattoos, the most famous of which
are the letters O-Z-Z-Y across the knuckles
of his left hand. This was his first tattoo,
created by himself as a teenager with a sewing
needle and pencil lead.
Osbourne suffered minor burns after a small
house-fire in January 2013. On his 65th birthday
on 3 December 2013, Osbourne asked fans to
celebrate his birthday by donating to the
Royal Marsden cancer charity in London.
Drug and alcohol abuse
Osbourne has abused drugs and alcohol for
most of his adult life. "I get high, I get
fucked up," he admitted to Sounds in 1978.
"What the hell's wrong with getting fucked
up? There must be something wrong with the
system if so many people have to get fucked
up ... I never take dope or anything before
I go on stage. I'll smoke a joint or whatever
afterwards." Black Sabbath band mate Tony
Iommi said that while all the band were involved
with alcohol and drugs to various degrees
in the 1970s, Osbourne had the unhealthiest
lifestyle of them all. Despite this, said
Iommi, he was typically the only one left
standing when the others were "out for the
count". At least one member of Osbourne's
band, keyboardist Don Airey, admits the singer's
substance abuse issues were what caused him
to leave the band.
Osbourne claims that his very first experience
with cocaine was in early 1971 at a hotel
in Denver after a show Black Sabbath had done
with Mountain. He claims Mountain's guitarist,
Leslie West, introduced him to the drug. Though
West is reluctant to take credit for introducing
Osbourne to cocaine, Osbourne says "When you
come from Aston and you fall in love with
cocaine, you remember when you started. It's
like having your first fuck!" Osbourne says
that upon first trying the drug, "The world
went a bit fuzzy after that."
Though he has managed to remain clean and
sober for extended periods in recent years,
Osbourne has frequently commented on his former
wild lifestyle, puzzled at how he has survived
40 years of abuse. Upon being fired from
Black Sabbath in 1979, Osbourne spent the
next three months locked in his hotel room
taking vast amounts of drugs and alcohol all
day, every day. He claims that he would certainly
have died if his future wife Sharon Osbourne
(née Arden) had not offered to manage him
as a solo artist.
Osbourne claims in his autobiography that
he was invited in 1981 to a meeting with the
head of CBS Europe in Germany. Intoxicated,
the singer decided to lighten the mood by
performing a striptease on the table. He believed
he had done so, kissing the record executive
on the lips as he finished the striptease.
His manager Sharon later angrily informed
him that what he had actually done, and could
not remember due to his intoxication, was
perform a Nazi goose-step up and down the
table before dipping his testicles in and
then urinating in the executive's glass of
wine.
In 1982 while wearing his future wife Sharon's
dress because she had hidden his clothes,
Osbourne drunkenly urinated on a cenotaph
erected in honour of those who died at the
Alamo in Texas, across the street from the
actual building. A police officer arrested
Osbourne, and he was subsequently banned from
the city of San Antonio for a decade. In May
1984, Osbourne was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee,
again for public intoxication. In 1984, Osbourne
toured with Mötley Crüe. The tour is known
as one of the "craziest drug and alcohol-fuelled
tours in the history of rock and roll".
In 2003, Osbourne told the Los Angeles Times
how he was nearly incapacitated by medication
prescribed by an over-prescribing Beverly
Hills doctor. The doctor allegedly prescribed
13,000 doses of 32 different drugs in one
year. However after a nine-year investigation
by the Medical Board of California, the Beverly
Hills physician was exonerated of all charges
of excessive prescribing.
Osbourne experienced tremors for some years
and linked them to his continuous drug abuse.
In May 2005 he found out it was actually Parkin
Syndrome, a genetic condition, the symptoms
of which are very similar to Parkinson's disease.
Osbourne will have to take daily medication
for the rest of his life to combat the involuntary
shudders associated with the condition. Osbourne
has also shown symptoms of mild hearing loss,
as depicted in the television show, The Osbournes,
where he often asks his family to repeat what
they say. At the TEDMED Conference in October
2010, scientists from Knome joined Osbourne
on stage to discuss their analysis of Osbourne’s
whole genome, which shed light on how the
famously hard-living rocker has survived decades
of drug abuse.
In April 2013, Osbourne revealed through Facebook
that he had resumed drinking and taking drugs
for the past year and a half, stating he "was
in a very dark place", but said he had been
sober again since early March. He also apologized
to Sharon, his family, friends, band mates
and his fans for his "insane" behavior during
that period.
Controversy
Throughout his career, Christian groups have
accused Osbourne of being a negative influence
on teenagers, claiming that rock music has
been used to glorify Satanism. Scholar Christopher
M. Moreman compared the controversy to those
levelled against the occultist Aleister Crowley.
Both were demonized by the media and some
religious groups for their antics. Osbourne
tempts the comparison with his song "Mr Crowley".
Osbourne firmly denies the charge of being
a satanist; conversely it has been alleged
that Osbourne is a member of the Church of
England and that he prays before taking the
stage each night before every concert.
In 1981, after signing his first solo career
record deal, Osbourne bit the head off a dove
during a meeting with CBS Records executives
in Los Angeles. Apparently he had planned
to release doves into the air as a sign of
peace, but due to being intoxicated at the
time, he instead grabbed a dove and bit its
head off. He then spat the head out, with
blood still dripping from his lips. Despite
its controversy, the head-biting act has been
parodied and alluded to several times throughout
his career and is part of what made Osbourne
famous.
On 20 January 1982, Osbourne bit the head
off a bat he thought was rubber while performing
at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des
Moines, Iowa. Rolling Stone magazine in 2004
ranked this incident number two on its list
of "Rock's Wildest Myths". While the Rolling
Stone article stated the bat was alive, then
17-year-old Mark Neal who threw it onto the
stage said it was brought to the show dead.
According to Osbourne in the booklet to the
2002 edition of Diary of a Madman, the bat
was not only alive but managed to bite him,
resulting in Osbourne being treated for rabies.
In 1984 California teenager John McCollum
committed suicide while listening to Osbourne's
"Suicide Solution". The song deals with the
dangers of alcohol abuse. McCollum's suicide
led to allegations that Osbourne promoted
suicide in his songs. Despite knowing McCollum
suffered clinical depression, his parents
sued Osbourne (McCollum v. CBS) for their
son's death, claiming the lyrics in the song,
"Where to hide, suicide is the only way out.
Don't you know what it's really about?" convinced
McCollum to commit suicide. The family's lawyer
suggested that Osbourne should be criminally
charged for encouraging a young person to
commit suicide, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's
favour, saying there was no connection between
the song and McCollum's suicide. Osbourne
was sued for the same reason in 1991 (Waller
v. Osbourne), by the parents of Michael Waller,
for $9 million, but the courts ruled in Osbourne's
favour again. One critic claims that Osbourne
sings "Get the gun, get the gun, shoot, shoot,
shoot," a charge firmly denied by Osbourne.
In lawsuits filed in 2000 and 2002 which were
dismissed by the courts in 2003, former session
musicians Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, and former
touring and studio bassist during the Ultimate
Sin era, Phil Soussan claimed that Osbourne
was delinquent in paying them royalties and
had denied them due credit on albums they
played on. In November 2003, a Federal Appeals
Court unanimously upheld the dismissal by
the U.S. District Court for the Central District
of California of the lawsuit brought by Daisley
and Kerslake. The U.S. Court of Appeals for
the Ninth Circuit ruled that Osbourne does
not owe any royalties or credit to the former
session musicians, who were let go in 1981.
To resolve further issues, management chose
to replace Daisley and Kerslake's contributions
on the original masters, replacing them with
Robert Trujillo on bass and Mike Bordin on
drums. The albums were then reissued. The
original tracks have since been restored in
accordance with the 30th anniversary of those
albums.
In July 2010, Osbourne and Iommi decided to
discontinue the court proceedings over ownership
of the Black Sabbath trademark. As reported
to Blabbermouth, "Both parties are glad to
put this behind them and to cooperate for
the future and would like it to be known that
the issue was never personal, it was always
business."
Band members
Rob "Blasko" Nicholson – bass (2003, 2006–present)
Adam Wakeman – keyboards, rhythm guitar
(2004–present)
Gus G – lead guitar (2009–present)
Tommy Clufetos – drums, percussion (2010–present)
Discography
Black Sabbath (1970)
Paranoid (1970)
Master of Reality (1971)
Vol. 4 (1972)
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973)
Sabotage (1975)
Technical Ecstasy (1976)
Never Say Die! (1978)
13 (2013)
Blizzard of Ozz (1980)
Diary of a Madman (1981)
Bark at the Moon (1983)
The Ultimate Sin (1986)
No Rest for the Wicked (1988)
No More Tears (1991)
Ozzmosis (1995)
Down to Earth (2001)
Under Cover (2005)
Black Rain (2007)
Scream (2010)
