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John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal band
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
, during which period he adopted the nickname "Prince of Darkness". Osbourne became a founding member of Black Sabbath in 1968, providing lead vocals from their self-titled debut album in 1970 to ''
Never Say Die! ''Never Say Die!'' is the eighth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on 29 September 1978. It was the last studio album with the band's original line-up and the last studio album to feature original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne ...
'' in 1978. The band was highly influential in the development of heavy metal music, in particular their critically acclaimed releases ''
Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of con ...
'', ''
Master of Reality ''Master of Reality'' is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in United Kingdom on 6 August 1971 by Vertigo Records. It is regarded by some critics as the foundation of doom metal, stoner rock, and slud ...
'', and ''
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' is the fifth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in November 1973. It was produced by the band and recorded at Morgan Studios in London in September 1973. The writing process for the al ...
''. Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979 due to problems with alcohol and other drugs. He then began a successful solo career with ''
Blizzard of Ozz ''Blizzard of Ozz'' is the debut studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released on 12 September 1980 in the UK and on 27 March 1981 in the US. The album was Osbourne's first release following his firing from Black Sabbath in ...
'' in 1980 and has released 13 studio albums, the first seven of which received multi-platinum certifications in the US. He has since reunited with Black Sabbath on several occasions. He rejoined in 1997 and helped record the group's final studio album, '' 13'' (2013), before they embarked on a farewell tour that ended with a 2017 performance in their native
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. Osbourne has sold over 100 million albums, including his solo work and Black Sabbath releases. He was inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
as a member of Black Sabbath in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024. He was also inducted into the
UK Music Hall of Fame The UK Music Hall of Fame was an awards ceremony to honour musicians, of any nationality, for their lifetime contributions to music in the United Kingdom. The hall of fame started in 2004 with the induction of five founder members and five mo ...
both solo and with Black Sabbath in 2005. He has been honoured with stars on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame The Hollywood Walk of Fame is a landmark which consists of 2,813 five-pointed terrazzo-and-brass stars embedded in the sidewalks along 15 blocks of Hollywood Boulevard and three blocks of Vine Street in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood dist ...
and
Birmingham Walk of Stars The Birmingham Walk of Stars is a walk of fame-style installation on the pedestrian pavement of Broad Street, Birmingham, Broad Street in Birmingham, England, which honours notable people from the Birmingham area or with significant connections ...
. At the
2014 MTV Europe Music Awards The 2014 MTV EMAs (also known as the MTV Europe Music Awards) were held at The SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland on 9 November 2014. This was the first time since 2003 when the awards were held in Scotland and the fifth time the United Kingdom has ...
, he received the Global Icon Award. In 2015, he received the
Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...
for Lifetime Achievement from the
British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly known as British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy works to protect and support and also campaigns the int ...
. In the early 2000s, Osbourne became a
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
star when he appeared in the
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
reality show ''
The Osbournes ''The Osbournes'' is an American reality television series featuring the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family—his wife Sharon, their daughter Kelly, and their son Jack. The series premiered on MTV on March 5, 200 ...
'' alongside his wife and manager
Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...
and two of their children,
Kelly Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Kelly'' (Kelly Price album), 2011 * ''Kelly'' (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), by Mark Charlap, 1965 * "Kelly" (song), by Kelly Rowland, 2018 * ''Kelly'' (film), Canada, 1981 * ...
and
Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...
. He co-stars with Jack and Kelly in the television series ''
Ozzy & Jack's World Detour ''Ozzy & Jack's World Detour'' is an American reality television series starring Ozzy Osbourne and his son Jack Osbourne. The first season, consisting of 10 episodes, premiered on July 24, 2016, on History. A second season of 10 episodes began a ...
''.


Early life

Osbourne was born at Maternity Hospital in
Marston Green Marston Green is a village in the civil parish of Bickenhill and Marston Green, in the Metropolitan Borough of Solihull in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands. It lies within the historic counties of England, historic county of Warwickshire ...
on 3 December 1948, and grew up in the
Aston Aston is an area of inner Birmingham, in the county of the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. Located immediately to the north-west of Birmingham city centre, Central Birmingham, Aston constitutes a wards of the United Kingdom, war ...
area of
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
. His mother, Lilian (née Unitt; 1916–2001), was a non-observant Catholic who worked at a
Lucas Lucas or LUCAS may refer to: People * Lucas (surname) * Lucas (given name) Arts and entertainment * Luca Family Singers, or the Lucas, a 19th-century African-American singing group * Lucas, a 1960s Swedish pop group formed by Janne Lucas Perss ...
factory. His father, John Thomas "Jack" Osbourne (1915–1977), worked night shifts as a
toolmaker Tool and die makers are highly skilled crafters working in the manufacturing, manufacturing industries. Tool and die makers work primarily in toolroom environments—sometimes literally in one room but more often in an environment with flexible, ...
at the
General Electric Company The General Electric Company (GEC) was a major British industrial conglomerate involved in consumer and Arms industry, defence electronics, communications, and engineering. It was originally founded in 1886 as G. Binswanger and Company as an e ...
.Sue Crawford (2003), "Ozzy Unauthorized"; Osbourne has three older sisters named Jean, Iris, and Gillian, and two younger brothers named Paul and Tony. The family lived in a small two-bedroom home at 14 Lodge Road in Aston. Osbourne gained the nickname "Ozzy" as a child. He dealt with
dyslexia Dyslexia (), previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, wri ...
at school. His accent has been described as a "hesitant
Brummie Brummie is the associated adjective and demonym of Birmingham, a city of West Midlands in England. It may refer to: * Anything from or related to the city of Birmingham, in particular: ** The people of Birmingham (see also List of people from Bir ...
". At the age of 11, he suffered sexual abuse from school bullies. He claims to have attempted suicide multiple times as a teenager. Osbourne left school at the age of 15 and was employed as a construction site labourer, trainee plumber, apprentice toolmaker, car factory horn-tuner, and
slaughterhouse In livestock agriculture and the meat industry, a slaughterhouse, also called an abattoir (), is a facility where livestock animals are slaughtered to provide food. Slaughterhouses supply meat, which then becomes the responsibility of a mea ...
worker. At the age of 17, Osbourne was convicted of robbing a clothes shop, but was unable to pay the fine; his father also refused to pay it in order to teach him a lesson, resulting in Osbourne spending six weeks in
Winson Green Prison HM Prison Birmingham is a Category B men's prison in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England, operated by HM Prison and Probation Service. History HM Prison Birmingham was formerly called Winson Green Prison. It is a Victorian prison, des ...
. He participated in school plays, including
Gilbert and Sullivan Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the dramatist W. S. Gilbert (1836–1911) and the composer Arthur Sullivan (1842–1900) and to the works they jointly created. The two men collaborated on fourteen com ...
's ''
The Mikado ''The Mikado; or, The Town of Titipu'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and libretto by W. S. Gilbert, their ninth of fourteen Gilbert and Sullivan, operatic collaborations. It opened on 14 March 1885, in London, whe ...
'' and ''
HMS Pinafore ''H.M.S. Pinafore; or, The Lass That Loved a Sailor'' is a comic opera in two acts, with music by Arthur Sullivan and a libretto by W. S. Gilbert. It opened at the Opera Comique in London on 25 May 1878, and ran for 571 performances, whi ...
''. Upon hearing the first hit single of
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
at age 14, he became a fan of the band and credited their 1963 song "
She Loves You "She Loves You" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles, written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney and released as a single in the United Kingdom on 23 August 1963. The single set and surpassed several sales records in the United Kingdom c ...
" with inspiring him to become a musician. In the 2011 documentary ''God Bless Ozzy Osbourne'', he said that the Beatles made him realise that " ewas going to be a rock star the rest of islife".


Career


Black Sabbath

In late 1967,
Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heave ...
formed his first band, Rare Breed, and recruited Osbourne to be the singer. The band played two shows and broke up. Osbourne and Butler reunited in another band, Polka Tulk Blues, which included guitarist
Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. (born 19 February 1948) is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over ...
and drummer Bill Ward, whose band
Mythology Myth is a genre of folklore consisting primarily of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society. For scholars, this is very different from the vernacular usage of the term "myth" that refers to a belief that is not true. Instead, the ...
recently broke up. They renamed the band Earth. But after being accidentally booked for a show instead of a different band with the same name, they decided to change the band's name again, settling on the name
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
in August 1969. The band's name was inspired by the film of the same title. Black Sabbath noticed how people enjoyed being frightened during their appearances, which inspired their decision to play a heavy
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
style of music laced with gloomy sounds and lyrics. While recording their first album, Butler read an
occult The occult () is a category of esoteric or supernatural beliefs and practices which generally fall outside the scope of organized religion and science, encompassing phenomena involving a 'hidden' or 'secret' agency, such as magic and mysti ...
book and woke up seeing a dark figure at the end of his bed. Butler told Osbourne about it, and together they wrote the lyrics to "
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
", their first song in a darker vein. The band's U.S. record label,
Warner Bros. Records Warner Records Inc. (known as Warner Bros. Records Inc. until 2019) is an American record label. A subsidiary of Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division ...
, invested only modestly in it, but 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, their debut album ''Black Sabbath'' and ''
Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of con ...
'' were commercially successful and also gained considerable radio airplay. Osbourne recalls, however, that, "in those days, the band wasn't very popular with the women". At about this time, Osbourne first met his future wife,
Sharon Arden Sharon Rachel Osbourne (; born 9 October 1952) is an English-American television personality, music manager, and author. She is married to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing on ''The Osbournes'' (2002–20 ...
. After the unexpected success of their first album, Black Sabbath were considering her father,
Don Arden Don Arden (born Harry Levy; 4 January 1926 – 21 July 2007) was an English music manager, agent, and businessman. He managed the careers of rock acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Air Supply, Small Faces, The Mo ...
, 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 later recalled 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 ''Master of Reality'' is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in United Kingdom on 6 August 1971 by Vertigo Records. It is regarded by some critics as the foundation of doom metal, stoner rock, and slud ...
''. 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 Leslie Conway "Lester" Bangs (December 14, 1948 – April 30, 1982) was an American music journalist and critic. He wrote for ''Creem'' and ''Rolling Stone'' magazines and was also a performing musician. The music critic Jim DeRogatis called ...
of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' famously dismissed ''Master of Reality'' as "naïve, simplistic, repetitive, absolute
doggerel Doggerel, or doggrel, is poetry that is irregular in rhythm and in rhyme, often deliberately for burlesque or comic effect. Alternatively, it can mean verse which has a monotonous rhythm, easy rhyme, and cheap or trivial meaning. The word is de ...
", 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. In September 1972, Black Sabbath released '' Black Sabbath Vol. 4''. Critics were dismissive of the album, but it reached gold status in less than a month and was the band's fourth consecutive album to sell over one million copies in the United States. In November 1973, Black Sabbath released the critically acclaimed ''
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' is the fifth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in November 1973. It was produced by the band and recorded at Morgan Studios in London in September 1973. The writing process for the al ...
''. For the first time, the band received favourable reviews in the mainstream press. Gordon Fletcher of ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' called the album "an extraordinarily gripping affair" and "nothing less than a complete success". Decades later, ''
AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
's'' Eduardo Rivadavia called 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 Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...
'' 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." In a retrospective review, AllMusic was less favourable, noting that "the magical chemistry that made such albums as ''Paranoid'' and ''Volume 4'' so special was beginning to disintegrate". ''
Technical Ecstasy ''Technical Ecstasy'' is the seventh studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, produced by guitarist Tony Iommi and released in October 1976 by Vertigo Records. The album received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success ...
'', released on 25 September 1976, was also met with mixed reviews. AllMusic gives the album two stars, and notes that the band was "unravelling at an alarming rate".


Dismissal

In 1978, Osbourne left the band for three months to pursue a solo project called ''Blizzard of Ozz'', a title which had been suggested by his father. Three members of the band
Necromandus Necromandus are an English rock band from Egremont, Cumberland, England. They were formed in 1970 and were discovered by Tony Iommi of Black Sabbath in 1972. After recording one album in 1973, they split up. The album was not released until 19 ...
, who had supported Sabbath in Birmingham when they were called ''Earth'', backed Osbourne in the studio and briefly became the first incarnation of his solo band. At the request of the other band members, Osbourne rejoined Sabbath. The band spent five months at Sounds Interchange Studios in
Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...
, where they wrote and recorded their next album, ''
Never Say Die! ''Never Say Die!'' is the eighth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on 29 September 1978. It was the last studio album with the band's original line-up and the last studio album to feature original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne ...
'' "It took quite a long time", Iommi said of ''Never Say Die!'' "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, and everybody was playing a different thing. We'd go back and sleep it off, and try again the next day." In May 1978, Black Sabbath began touring in support of ''Never Say Die!'' with
Van Halen Van Halen ( ) was an American rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1973. Credited with restoring hard rock to the forefront of the music scene, Van Halen was known for their energetic live performances and the virtuosity of their guit ...
as an opening act. Reviewers called 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 recorded their concert at
Hammersmith Odeon The Hammersmith Apollo, currently called the Eventim Apollo for sponsorship reasons, and formerly and still commonly known as the Hammersmith Odeon, is a live entertainment performance venue, originally built as a cinema called the Gaumont Pa ...
in June 1978, which was released on video as '' Never Say Die''. The final show of the tour and Osbourne's last appearance with Black Sabbath for another seven years, until 1985, was in
Albuquerque, New Mexico Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
on 11 December. In 1979, Black Sabbath returned to the studio, but tension and conflict arose between band members. Osbourne recalls being asked to record his vocals over and over, and tracks were manipulated endlessly by Iommi. The relationship between Osbourne and Iommi became contentious. On 27 April 1979, at Iommi's insistence but with the support of Butler and Ward, Osbourne was ejected from Black Sabbath. The reasons provided to him were that he was unreliable and had excessive
substance abuse Substance misuse, also known as drug misuse or, in older vernacular, substance abuse, is the use of a drug in amounts or by methods that are harmful to the individual or others. It is a form of substance-related disorder, differing definition ...
issues compared to the other members. Osbourne claims his use of alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs at that time was neither better nor worse than that of the other members. The band replaced Osbourne with former
Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
singer
Ronnie James Dio Ronald James Padavona (July 10, 1942 – May 16, 2010), known professionally as Ronnie James Dio, was an American heavy metal singer. He fronted numerous bands throughout his career, including Elf, Rainbow, Black Sabbath, Dio and Heaven & Hel ...
. In a 21 August 1987 interview with
Tommy Vance Richard Anthony Crispian Francis Prew Hope-Weston (11 July 1940 – 6 March 2005), known professionally as Tommy Vance, was an English radio broadcaster. He was an important factor in the rise of the new wave of British heavy metal, along with ...
on
BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
's ''
Friday Rock Show The ''Friday Rock Show'' was a radio show in the United Kingdom that was broadcast on BBC Radio 1 from 10pm to midnight on Friday nights, from 17 November 1978 until 2 April 1993. For most of its existence, it was hosted by Tommy Vance. Vance ...
'', Dio said, "I was not, and never will be, Ozzy Osbourne. He was the vocalist and songwriter in that era who helped create that band and make it what it was, and what it is in its classic form." The conflict between Iommi and Osbourne commenced almost immediately in their working collaboration. Responding to a 1969 flyer that read, "Ozzy Zig Needs Gig- has own PA", which was posted by Osbourne in a record store, Iommi and Ward arrived at the listed address to speak with Ozzy Zig, as he then called himself. When Iommi saw Osbourne emerge from another room of the house, he recalled that he knew him as a "pest" from their school days. Following Black Sabbath's formation, Iommi reportedly "punched out" Osbourne several times over the years when the singer's drunken antics became too much to take. Iommi recalls one incident in the early 1970s in which Osbourne and 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 Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
, Osbourne recalled, "I'd got £96,000 for my share of the name, so I'd just locked myself away and spent three months doing coke and booze. My thinking was, 'This is my last party, because after this I'm going back to
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
and the dole." However,
Don Arden Don Arden (born Harry Levy; 4 January 1926 – 21 July 2007) was an English music manager, agent, and businessman. He managed the careers of rock acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, Gene Vincent, Air Supply, Small Faces, The Mo ...
signed him to
Jet Records Jet Records was a British record label started by Don Arden in 1974, featuring musicians such as Lynsey de Paul, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), Roy Wood, Gary Moore, Ozzy Osbourne, Alan Price, Adrian Gurvitz, Riot (band), Riot, Magnum (band ...
with the aim of recording new material. Arden dispatched his daughter Sharon to Los Angeles to "look after Ozzy's needs, whatever they were", to protect his investment. Arden initially hoped Osbourne would return to Sabbath, who he was personally
managing Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...
at that time, and 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 supergroup with guitarist
Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career, he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, Heavy metal music, heavy ...
. "When I lived in Los Angeles", Moore recalled, "'' oore's band' G-Force helped him to audition musicians. If drummers were trying out, I played guitar, and if a bassist came along, my drummer would help out. We felt sorry for him, basically. He was always hovering around trying to get me to join, and I wasn't having any of it." In late 1979, under the management of the Ardens, Osbourne formed the Blizzard of Ozz, featuring drummer
Lee Kerslake Lee Gary Kerslake (16 April 1947– 19 September 2020) was an English musician, best known as the longtime drummer and backing vocalist for the rock band Uriah Heep and for his work with Ozzy Osbourne in the early 1980s. Biography Early life a ...
(of Uriah Heep), bassist-lyricist
Bob Daisley Robert John Daisley (born 13 February 1950) is an Australian musician and songwriter. A bassist, he is perhaps best known for his intermittent relationship with vocalist Ozzy Osbourne, for whom he contributed bass, co-production and songwriti ...
(of
Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
and, later, Uriah Heep), keyboardist
Don Airey Donald Smith Airey (born 21 June 1948) is an English musician. He came to prominence as the keyboardist of the rock band Rainbow during 1979–1982. He has been the keyboardist of Deep Purple, the band from which Rainbow was a spinoff, since 2 ...
(of Rainbow and, later,
Deep Purple Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in London in 1968. They are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal music, heavy metal and modern hard rock, although their musical style has varied throughout their career. Originally for ...
), and guitarist
Randy Rhoads Randall William Rhoads (December 6, 1956 – March 19, 1982) was an American guitarist. He was the co-founder and original guitarist of the heavy metal band Quiet Riot, and the guitarist and co-songwriter for Ozzy Osbourne's first two solo albu ...
(of
Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Kelly Garni, and vocalist Kevin DuBrow. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin Du ...
). The record company eventually titled the group's debut album ''
Blizzard of Ozz ''Blizzard of Ozz'' is the debut studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released on 12 September 1980 in the UK and on 27 March 1981 in the US. The album was Osbourne's first release following his firing from Black Sabbath in ...
'', credited simply to Osbourne, thus commencing his solo career. Co-written with Daisley and Rhoads, it brought Osbourne considerable success on his first solo effort. Though it is generally accepted that Osbourne and Rhoads started the band, Daisley later claimed that he and Osbourne formed the band in England before Rhoads officially joined. ''Blizzard of Ozz'' is one of the few albums amongst the 100 best-sellers of the 1980s to have achieved multi-platinum status without the benefit of a top-40 single. As of August 1997, it had achieved quadruple platinum status, according to
RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
. "I envied Ozzy's career..." remarked former Sabbath drummer Bill Ward. "He seemed to be coming around from whatever it was that he'd gone through, and he seemed to be on his way again; making records and stuff… I envied it because I ''wanted'' that... I was bitter. And I had a thoroughly miserable time." Osbourne's second album, '' Diary of a Madman'', featured more songs co-written with Lee Kerslake. For his work on this album and ''Blizzard of Ozz'', 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 "Over the Mountain" is the opening track of heavy metal musician Ozzy Osbourne's album '' Diary of a Madman''. The song debuted at number 42 on the ''Billboard'' Top Tracks chart and reached number 38. The song was written by Osbourne, Bob Dais ...
" and "
Flying High Again "Flying High Again" is a song performed by English heavy metal musician Ozzy Osbourne, who additionally was one of its songwriters. It came out in 1981 as a part of his second album as a solo artist, which Osbourne titled '' Diary of a Madman''. ...
" and, as Osbourne explains in his autobiography, is his personal favourite.
Tommy Aldridge Tommy Aldridge (born August 15, 1950) is an American heavy metal and hard rock drummer. He is noted for his work with numerous bands and artists since the 1970s, such as Black Oak Arkansas, Pat Travers Band, Ozzy Osbourne, Gary Moore, Whitesn ...
and
Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban-American musician. He remains best known as the bassist for Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played with several well k ...
soon replaced Kerslake and Daisley. Aldridge had been Osbourne's original choice for drummer, but a commitment to
Gary Moore Robert William Gary Moore (4 April 19526 February 2011) was a Northern Irish musician. Over the course of his career, he played in various groups and performed a range of music including blues, blues rock, hard rock, Heavy metal music, heavy ...
had made him unavailable. Sarzo had played in Quiet Riot with Rhoads, who recommended him for the position. On 19 March 1982, the band was in
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
for its ''Diary of a Madman'' tour, a week away from playing
Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as the Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh Avenue (Manhattan), Seventh and Eighth Avenue (Manhattan), Eig ...
in New York City. A light aircraft piloted by Andrew Aycock, the band's tour bus driver, carrying Rhoads and Rachel Youngblood, the band's costume and make-up designer, crashed while performing low passes over the band's tour bus. The left wing of the aircraft clipped the bus, causing the plane to graze a tree and crash into the garage of a nearby mansion, killing Rhoads, Aycock, and Youngblood. The crash was 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 bandmate, Osbourne fell into a deep depression. The tour was cancelled for two weeks while Osbourne, Sharon, and Aldridge returned to Los Angeles to take stock while Sarzo remained in Florida with family. Gary Moore was the first to be approached to replace Rhoads, but refused. With a two-week deadline to find a new guitarist and resume the tour, Robert Sarzo, brother of the band's bassist Rudy Sarzo, was chosen to replace Rhoads. Former Gillan guitarist
Bernie Tormé Bernie Tormé (born Bernard Joseph Tormey; 18 March 1952 – 17 March 2019) was an Irish rock guitarist, songwriter, record label and recording studio owner. Tormé is best known for his work with Gillan, as well as his brief stint with Ozzy Os ...
, however, flew to California from England with the promise from Jet Records that he had the job. Once Sharon realised that Jet Records had already paid Tormé an advance, he was reluctantly hired instead of Sarzo. The tour resumed on 1 April 1982, but Tormé's blues-based style was unpopular with fans. After a handful of shows he informed Sharon that he would be returning to England to continue work on a solo album he had begun before coming to America.Sarzo, Rudy (2017). Off the Rails (third edition). CreateSpace Publishing. At an audition in a hotel room, Osbourne selected
Night Ranger Night Ranger is an American hard rock band from San Francisco, California. The band formed in 1982 and experienced a surge of popularity during the 1980s with the release of several successful albums and hit singles. Guitarist Brad Gillis and ...
's
Brad Gillis Bradley Frank Gillis (born June 15, 1957) is an American guitarist most famous for playing with the band Night Ranger. He grew up in Alameda, California. He was in the band Rubicon during the 1970s before Night Ranger. Since forming in 1979, Gi ...
to finish the tour. The tour culminated in the release of the 1982 live album ''
Speak of the Devil "Speak of the devil" is the short form of the English-language idiom "Speak of the devil and he doth appear" (or its alternative form "speak of the devil and he shall appear"). The form "talk of the devil" is also in use in the United Kingdom ...
'', 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 "Speak of the devil" is the short form of the English-language idiom "Speak of the devil and he doth appear" (or its alternative form "speak of the devil and he shall appear"). The form "talk of the devil" is also in use in the United Kingdom ...
'', 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 Sabbath covers recorded with Gillis, Sarzo and Tommy Aldridge. In 1982, Osbourne appeared as lead vocalist on the
Was (Not Was) Was (Not Was) is an American band founded in 1979 in Detroit, Michigan, by David Weiss and Don Fagenson, who adopted the stage names David Was and Don Was. Their song catalog features an eclectic mix of pop and rock styles, often featuring g ...
pop dance track " Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)". Remixed and rereleased in the early 1990s for a Was (Not Was) hits album in Europe, it reached number four on the UK Singles Chart. In 1983, Jake E. Lee, formerly of
Ratt Ratt (stylized as RATT) was an American glam metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum and multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA. ...
and
Rough Cutt Rough Cutt is an American glam metal band from Los Angeles that released two studio albums on Warner Bros. Records in the mid-1980s. Rough Cutt never achieved the commercial success enjoyed by many other Los Angeles bands of that time, but var ...
, joined Osbourne to record ''
Bark at the Moon ''Bark at the Moon'' is the third studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released in 14 November 1983 in the US and on 2 December 1983 in the UK. The album marks Ozzy's change to a synth infused pop-metal sound, with both i ...
''. The album, cowritten with Daisley, featured Aldridge and former
Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...
keyboard player Don Airey. The album contains the fan favourite "
Bark at the Moon ''Bark at the Moon'' is the third studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released in 14 November 1983 in the US and on 2 December 1983 in the UK. The album marks Ozzy's change to a synth infused pop-metal sound, with both i ...
". The music video for "Bark at the Moon" was partially filmed at the Holloway Sanitorium outside London, England. Within weeks the album became certified gold. It has sold three million copies in the US. 1986's ''
The Ultimate Sin ''The Ultimate Sin'' is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. It was released on 24 January 1986, and was remastered and re-issued on CD on 22 August 1995. It is the second and last of Osbourne's albums to featur ...
'' followed (with bassist
Phil Soussan Philip Raphael Soussan (born 23 June 1961) is an English bass guitarist, songwriter and producer, known as a member of the rock bands Last in Line, Ozzy Osbourne, Vince Neil Band and Big Noize, as well as writing and producing for Dokken and Tot ...
and drummer
Randy Castillo Randolpho Francisco Castillo (December 18, 1950 – March 26, 2002) was an American musician. He was Ozzy Osbourne's drummer during the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, and later as drummer for Mötley Crüe, from 1999 to 2000. Early life Castil ...
), and touring behind both albums with former 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 The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...
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 A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of lands which the state con ...
'', a collection of live recordings from 1981. In 1988, Osbourne appeared in '' The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years'' and told the director
Penelope Spheeris Penelope Spheeris (born December 2, 1945) is an American film director, film producer, producer, and screenwriter. She has directed both documentary film, documentary and scripted films. Her best-known works include the trilogy titled ''The Decl ...
that "sobriety fucking sucks". Meanwhile, Osbourne found
Zakk Wylde Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American rock musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heav ...
, 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 Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heave ...
on bass. A live EP (entitled ''
Just Say Ozzy ''Just Say Ozzy'' is a live Extended play, EP by Ozzy Osbourne. It was released on 5 March 1990 and entered the UK charts on 17 March, reaching number 69. The EP was remastered and reissued on 22 August 1995. Overview The sleeve states that ''Ju ...
'') featuring Geezer was released two years later. In 1988, Osbourne performed on the rock ballad "
Close My Eyes Forever "Close My Eyes Forever" is a duet by Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the h ...
", a duet with
Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born September 19, 1958) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, and then embarked on a successful glam metal solo career tha ...
, reaching No. 8 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 1989, Osbourne performed at the
Moscow Music Peace Festival The Moscow Music Peace Festival was a rock concert that took place in the USSR on 12 and 13 August 1989 at Central Lenin Stadium (now called Luzhniki Stadium) in Moscow. Occurring during the glasnost era, it was one of first hard rock and heavy ...
. Successful through the 1980s, Osbourne sustained commercial success into the 1990s, starting with 1991's ''
No More Tears ''No More Tears'' is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. Released on 17 September 1991, the album charted at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and number seven on the US ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. ''No More ...
'', featuring "
Mama, I'm Coming Home "Mama, I'm Coming Home" is a power ballad by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne from Osbourne's sixth studio album '' No More Tears'', which first released on 17 November 1991. The song features Osbourne on vocals, Zakk Wylde on guitar, ...
". The album enjoyed much radio and
MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
exposure. It also initiated a practice of bringing in outside composers to help pen Osbourne's solo material instead of relying on his recording ensemble. The album was mixed by veteran rock producer
Michael Wagener Michael Wagener (born 25 April 1949) is a German retired record producer, mixer and engineer from Hamburg, best known for his work with many popular American hard rock and heavy metal music, heavy metal bands in the late 1980s. He is particularly ...
. Osbourne was awarded a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for the track "I Don't Want to Change the World" from ''
Live & Loud ''Live & Loud'' is a live album recorded by the former Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne, released on 7 June 1993. At the time, it was to be Osbourne's final album following Osbourne's final tour before retiring, aptly titled "No More Tours" ...
'', for
Best Metal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...
of
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
. Wagener also mixed the live album ''
Live & Loud ''Live & Loud'' is a live album recorded by the former Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne, released on 7 June 1993. At the time, it was to be Osbourne's final album following Osbourne's final tour before retiring, aptly titled "No More Tours" ...
'' released on 28 June 1993. Intended to be Osbourne's final album, it went
platinum Platinum is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a density, dense, malleable, ductility, ductile, highly unreactive, precious metal, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name origina ...
four times over, and ranked at number 10 on that year's ''Billboard'' rock charts. At this point Osbourne expressed his fatigue with touring, and proclaimed his "retirement tour" (which was to be short-lived). It was called "No More Tours", a pun on ''No More Tears''.
Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...
'
Mike Inez Michael Allen Inez (born May 14, 1966) is an American rock musician and bassist. Since 1993, Inez has been the bassist of the American rock band Alice in Chains. He is also recognized for his work with Ozzy Osbourne from 1989 to 1993. Inez also ...
took over on bass and Kevin Jones played keyboards as Sinclair was touring with
the Cult The Cult are an English Rock music, rock band formed in Bradford in 1983. Before settling on their current name in January 1984, the band had performed under the name Death Cult, which was an evolution of the name of lead vocalist Ian Astbury ...
. Osbourne's entire CD catalogue was remastered and reissued in 1995. In 1995, Osbourne released ''
Ozzmosis ''Ozzmosis'' is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. Recorded in Paris and New York with producer Michael Beinhorn, it was released on 23 October 1995 by Epic Records. The album reached number 22 on the UK Albu ...
'' and returned to touring, dubbing his concert performances "The Retirement Sucks Tour". The album reached number 4 on the US  ''Billboard'' 200. The RIAA certified the album gold and platinum in that same year, and double platinum in April 1999. The line-up on ''Ozzmosis'' was Wylde, Butler (who had just quit Black Sabbath again),
Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai ( ; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a Transcription (music), transc ...
, and
Hardline In politics, hardline or hard-line is an adjective describing a stance on an issue that is inflexible and not subject to compromise. A hardliner is a person holding such views. The stance is usually far from the centrist view. People, policies, ...
drummer
Deen Castronovo Deen Joseph Castronovo (born August 17, 1964) is an American drummer and singer best known for being a member of classic rock band Journey and hard rock acts Bad English and Hardline. He currently plays drums and sings for the bands Journey, ...
, who later joined Journey. Keyboards were played by
Rick Wakeman Richard Christopher Wakeman (born 18 May 1949) is an English keyboardist and composer best known as a member of the progressive rock band Yes across five tenures between 1971 and 2004, and for his prolific solo career. AllMusic describes Wakema ...
and producer
Michael Beinhorn Michael James Beinhorn is a North American record producer, composer, author, and musician. He has produced albums for Red Hot Chili Peppers, Soundgarden, Hole, Korn, Kensington and Marilyn Manson. Career 1977–1983: early years, Material, Her ...
. The tour maintained Butler and Castronovo and saw Sinclair return, but a major line-up change was the introduction of former
David Lee Roth David Lee Roth (born October 10, 1954) is an American rock singer. Known for his wild and energetic stage persona, he was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Van Halen for three stints: from 1974 to 1985, during 1996, and from 2006 to when ...
guitarist
Joe Holmes Joe Holmes (born June 11, 1963) is an American heavy metal guitarist best known for his stint with Ozzy Osbourne between 1995 and 2001. He has also played with Van Halen frontman David Lee Roth and the L.A. band Lizzy Borden in addition to le ...
. Wylde was considering an offer to join
Guns N' Roses Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1985 as a merger of local bands L.A. Guns and Hollywood Rose. When they signed to Geffen Records in 1986, the band's "classic" line-up consisted of vocalist Axl R ...
. Unable to wait for a decision on Wylde's departure, Osbourne replaced him. In early 1996, Butler and Castronovo left. Inez and
Randy Castillo Randolpho Francisco Castillo (December 18, 1950 – March 26, 2002) was an American musician. He was Ozzy Osbourne's drummer during the mid-1980s to the early 1990s, and later as drummer for Mötley Crüe, from 1999 to 2000. Early life Castil ...
(
Lita Ford Lita Rossana Ford (born September 19, 1958) is an American guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the lead guitarist for the all-female rock band the Runaways in the late 1970s, and then embarked on a successful glam metal solo career tha ...
,
Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...
) filled in. Ultimately,
Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...
's
Mike Bordin Michael Andrew Bordin (born November 27, 1962) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Faith No More. He has amicably been known as "Puffy", "Puffster" or "The Puff", in reference to the afro hair style he wore in ...
and former
Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice, California, by vocalist Mike Muir. The band has undergone various lineup changes, with Muir as the only remaining original member. Their current lineup includes ...
and future
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
bassist
Robert Trujillo Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (; born October 23, 1964) is an American musician who has been the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash band ...
joined on drums and bass respectively. A greatest hits package, ''
The Ozzman Cometh ''The Ozzman Cometh'' is a compilation album by British heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne released in 1997. It is his third greatest hits collection. Its initial, limited-edition 2-CD pressing contained five previously unreleased songs. Version ...
'', was issued in 1997.


Ozzfest

Osbourne's biggest financial success of the 1990s was a venture named
Ozzfest Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...
, created and managed by his wife/manager Sharon and assisted by his son
Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...
. The first Ozzfest was held in
Phoenix, Arizona Phoenix ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities and towns in Arizona#List of cities and towns, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arizona. With over 1.6 million residents at the 2020 census, it is the ...
, on 25 October 1996 and in
Devore, California Devore Heights, or Devore, is a residential rural neighborhood of the city of San Bernardino, California. It is located just north of the junction of Interstate 15 and Interstate 215, about 12 miles northwest of downtown San Bernardino. It is ...
, on 26 October. Ozzfest was an instant hit with metal fans, helping 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 West Palm Beach is a city in and the county seat of Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. It is located immediately to the west of the adjacent Palm Beach, Florida, Palm Beach, which is situated on a barrier island across the Lake Worth Lag ...
,
Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. Osbourne reunited with the original members of Sabbath in 1997 and has performed periodically with them since. 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 ''Battle for Ozzfest'' is a reality television show that aired during autumn 2004 on MTV, where eight bands 'battle' it out in a series of challenges to win a spot on the stage of the metal festival Ozzfest Ozzfest was an annual music festiv ...
". 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 Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...
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 Shoreline Amphitheatre is an outdoor amphitheater located in Mountain View, California, in the San Francisco Bay Area. The venue has a capacity of 22,500, with 6,500 reserved seats and 16,000 general admission on the lawn. When the parking lot ...
in
Mountain View, California Mountain View is a city in Santa Clara County, California, United States, part of the San Francisco Bay Area. Named for its views of the Santa Cruz Mountains, the population was 82,376 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Mountain V ...
on 1 July as well as
Randalls Island Randalls Island (sometimes called Randall's Island) and Wards Island are conjoined islands, collectively called Randalls and Wards Island, in New York City.
, New York on 29 July. After the concert in
Bristol, Virginia Bristol is an independent city (United States), independent city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 17,219. It is the Twin cities (geographical proxi ...
, 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 Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
, where Osbourne played, along with
Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...
and
King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...
. In 2010, the tour opened with a
Jersey Shore The Jersey Shore, commonly called the Shore by locals, is the coast, coastal region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The term encompasses about of shore, oceanfront bordering the Atlantic Ocean, from Perth Amboy, New Jersey, Perth Amboy in the n ...
spoof skit starring Osbourne. Osbourne appeared as the headliner closing the show after opening acts Halford and
Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...
. The tour, though small (only six US venues and one UK venue were played), generated rave reviews.


2000s

'' Down to Earth'', Osbourne's first album of new studio material in six years, was released on 16 October 2001. A live album, '' Live at Budokan'', followed in 2002. ''Down to Earth'', which achieved platinum status in 2003, featured the single "
Dreamer The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors Act, known as the DREAM Act, is a United States legislative proposal that would grant temporary #For conditional resident status, conditional residency, with the right to work, for Illegal ...
", a song which peaked at number 10 on ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
''s
Mainstream Rock Tracks Mainstream Rock is a music chart published by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks the most-played songs on mainstream rock radio stations in the United States. It is an administrative category that combines the " active rock" and " heritage rock" ...
. In June 2002, Osbourne was invited to participate in the
Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II The Golden Jubilee of Elizabeth II was the international celebration held in 2002 marking the 50th anniversary of the accession of Queen Elizabeth II on 6 February 1952. It was intended by the Queen to be both a commemoration of her 50 years as ...
, performing the Black Sabbath anthem "
Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of con ...
" at the
Party at the Palace The Party at the Palace was a British pop/rock music concert held at Buckingham Palace Garden in London on 3 June 2002. The event was in commemoration of the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II held over the Golden Jubilee Weekend. It was t ...
concert in the grounds of
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...
. In 2003, Osbourne recruited former Metallica bassist
Jason Newsted Jason Curtis Newsted (born March 4, 1963) is an American musician, best known as the bassist of heavy metal band Metallica from 1986 to 2001. He performed with thrash metal band Flotsam and Jetsam for the first five years of his career before ...
, though his time with Osbourne would be short. Osbourne's former bassist Robert Trujillo replaced Newsted in Metallica during this same period. On 8 December 2003, Osbourne was rushed into emergency surgery at
Slough Slough () is a town in Berkshire, England, in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the M4, M40 and M25 motorways. It is part of the historic county of Buckinghamshire. In 2021, the ...
's Wexham Park Hospital when he had an accident with his
quad bike An all-terrain vehicle (ATV), also known as a light utility vehicle (LUV), a quad bike or quad (if it has four wheels), as defined by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), is a vehicle that travels on low-pressure tires, has a seat ...
on his estate in
Jordans, Buckinghamshire Jordans is a village in Chalfont St Giles parish, Buckinghamshire, England, and the civil parish of Hedgerley. It is a centre for Quakers, Quakerism, holds the burial place of William Penn, founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, and so is a p ...
. Osbourne broke his
collar bone The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavicle is the ...
, eight ribs, and a neck
vertebra Each vertebra (: vertebrae) is an irregular bone with a complex structure composed of bone and some hyaline cartilage, that make up the vertebral column or spine, of vertebrates. The proportions of the vertebrae differ according to their spina ...
. 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 Changes may refer to: Books * '' Changes: A Love Story'', 1991 novel by Ama Ata Aidoo * ''Changes'' (The Dresden Files) (2010), the 12th novel in Jim Butcher's ''The Dresden Files'' Series * ''Changes'', a 1983 novel by Danielle Steel * ''Chan ...
" with daughter
Kelly Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Kelly'' (Kelly Price album), 2011 * ''Kelly'' (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), by Mark Charlap, 1965 * "Kelly" (song), by Kelly Rowland, 2018 * ''Kelly'' (film), Canada, 1981 * ...
. In doing so, he broke the record of the longest period between an artist's first UK chart appearance (with Black Sabbath's "
Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of con ...
", number four in August 1970) and their first number one hit: a gap of 33 years. Since the quad accident, apart from some short-term memory problems, he fully recovered and headlined the 2004 Ozzfest, in the reunited Black Sabbath. In March 2005, Osbourne released a box set called '' Prince of Darkness''. The first and second discs are collections of live performances,
B-sides The A-side and B-side are the two sides of vinyl records and cassettes, and the terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side of a single usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or ...
, demos and singles. The third disc contained duets and other odd tracks with other artists, including " Born to Be Wild" with
Miss Piggy Miss Piggy is a The Muppets, Muppet character known for her Breakthrough role, breakout role in the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show''. She is notable for her temperamental diva superstar personality, her tendency to use French l ...
. The fourth disc, is entirely new material where Osbourne covers his favourite songs by his biggest influences and favourite bands, including
the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...
,
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer-songwriter, musician and activist. He gained global fame as the founder, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the Beatles. Lennon's ...
,
David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...
and others. In November 2005, Osbourne released the covers album ''
Under Cover ''Under Cover'' is the ninth studio album by English Heavy metal music, heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. The album consists entirely of cover version, cover songs, with an emphasis on rock music from the 1960s and 1970s. This is Osbourne's ...
'', featuring 10 songs from the fourth disc of ''Prince of Darkness'' and 3 more songs. Osbourne's band for this album included
Alice in Chains Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AiC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Voca ...
guitarist
Jerry Cantrell Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. (born March 18, 1966) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the founder, lead guitarist, co-lead vocalist, and main songwriter of the rock band Alice in Chains. The band rose to internatio ...
, bassist
Chris Wyse Chris Wyse (born July 15, 1969) is an American bassist and vocalist. He is best known for his performances with The Cult, Ozzy Osbourne, Ace Frehley and Hollywood Vampires. He is also the vocalist and bassist for Owl, a band he founded in 2007 ...
and
Faith No More Faith No More is an American Rock music, rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before September 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/rhythm guitarist ...
drummer
Mike Bordin Michael Andrew Bordin (born November 27, 1962) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Faith No More. He has amicably been known as "Puffy", "Puffster" or "The Puff", in reference to the afro hair style he wore in ...
. Osbourne also helped judge the 2005 UK series of ''
the X-Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' where his wife Sharon was one of the main judges. In March 2006, he said that he hoped to release a new studio album soon with longtime on-off guitarist,
Zakk Wylde Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American rock musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heav ...
of
Black Label Society Black Label Society is an American heavy metal/southern metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three ...
. In October 2006, it was announced that
Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. (born 19 February 1948) is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over ...
, Ronnie James Dio,
Vinny Appice Vincent Samson Appice (born September 13, 1957) is an American rock and metal drummer best known for his work with the bands Dio (band), Dio, Black Sabbath, and Heaven & Hell (band), Heaven & Hell. Of Italian descent, he is the younger brother ...
, and Geezer Butler would be touring together again, though not as Black Sabbath but under the moniker " Heaven & Hell", the title of Dio's first Black Sabbath album. Osbourne's next album, titled ''
Black Rain Black rain is liquid precipitation polluted with dark particulates, especially soot and ashes (including coal ash) resulting from wildfires, coal combustion, or nuclear explosions (a liquid type of nuclear fallout Nuclear fallout is res ...
'', was released on 22 May 2007. His 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 o pieces", Osbourne stated to ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' magazine. 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 Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American rock musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heav ...
, he said he felt his songs were beginning to sound like
Black Label Society Black Label Society is an American heavy metal/southern metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1998 by guitarist/singer Zakk Wylde. To date, the band has released eleven studio albums, two live albums, two compilation albums, one EP, and three ...
and fancied a change. In August 2009, Osbourne performed at the gaming festival
BlizzCon BlizzCon is an annual gaming convention held by Blizzard Entertainment to promote its major franchises including '' Warcraft'', '' StarCraft'', '' Diablo'', ''Hearthstone'', ''Heroes of the Storm,'' and '' Overwatch''. The first BlizzCon was h ...
with a new guitarist in his line-up,
Gus G Konstantinos Karamitroudis (born 12 September 1980), better known as Gus G, is a Greek heavy metal guitarist. He currently plays with his band Firewind. He has also played in Mystic Prophecy, Nightrage, Arch Enemy, Dream Evil and Ozzy ...
. Osbourne also provided his voice and likeness to the video game ''
Brütal Legend ''Brütal Legend'' is an action-adventure video game with real-time strategy game elements created by Double Fine and published by Electronic Arts for the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. The game was released during October 2009 in North America, ...
'' character The Guardian of Metal. In November,
Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...
featured Osbourne on vocals in his single "Crucify the Dead", and Osbourne with wife
Sharon Sharon ( 'plain'), also spelled Saron, is a given name as well as a Hebrew name. In Anglosphere, English-speaking areas, Sharon is now predominantly a feminine given name, but historically it was also used as a masculine given name. In Israel, ...
were guest hosts on ''
WWE Raw ''WWE Raw'', also known as ''Monday Night Raw'' or simply ''Raw'', is an American professional wrestling television program produced by WWE. It currently airs Live television, live every Monday at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (ET) on Netflix. The show fe ...
''. In December, Osbourne announced he would be releasing a new album titled ''Soul Sucka'' with Gus G,
Tommy Clufetos Tommy Clufetos (born December 30, 1979) is an American session drummer most noted for his work with Black Sabbath during their Black Sabbath Reunion Tour, which highlighted their new album '' 13''. He also toured with them on their final tour. ...
on drums, and
Blasko Blasko is both a given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: *Blaško Rajić (1878–1951), Croat priest, writer, and politician * Milan Blaško (1961–2016), Slovak ski mountaineer *Sarah Blasko (born 1976), Australian musicia ...
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 Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream (Six Flags drop tower), at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream (roller coaster), at ...
''.


2010s

On 13 April 2010, Osbourne announced the release date for ''Scream'' would be 15 June 2010. The release date was later changed to a week later. A single from the album, "Let Me Hear You Scream", debuted on 14 April 2010 episode of '' CSI: NY''. The song spent eight weeks on the Billboard Rock Songs chart, peaking at No. 7. On 9 August 2010, 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 Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...
. 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 Tommy Clufetos (born December 30, 1979) is an American session drummer most noted for his work with Black Sabbath during their Black Sabbath Reunion Tour, which highlighted their new album '' 13''. He also toured with them on their final tour. ...
, 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". In October 2014, Osbourne released ''
Memoirs of a Madman ''Memoirs of a Madman'' () is an autobiographical text written by Gustave Flaubert in 1838. The next year, Flaubert dedicated it to his friend, . The manuscript changed hands twice before being finally published in ''La Revue Blanche'' from Dece ...
'', a collection celebrating his entire solo career. A CD version contained 17 singles from across his career, never before compiled together. The DVD version contained music videos, live performances, and interviews. In August 2015,
Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
president
Sylvia Rhone Sylvia Rhone (born March 11, 1952) is an American record company executive. Since 2019, she is the Chairman and CEO, chair and CEO of Epic Records, a label owned by Sony Music Entertainment. Rhone served previously in senior positions at Vested ...
confirmed with ''
Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' that Osbourne was working on another studio album; in September 2019, Osbourne announced he had finished the album in four weeks following his collaboration with
Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...
. In April 2017, it was announced that guitarist Zakk Wylde would reunite with Osbourne for a summer tour to mark the 30th anniversary of their first collaboration on 1988's ''No Rest for the Wicked''. The first show of the tour took place on 14 July at the Rock USA Festival in
Oshkosh, Wisconsin Oshkosh () is a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. It is located on the western shore of Lake Winnebago and had a population of 66,816 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List o ...
. On 6 November 2017, Osbourne was announced as the headline act for the Sunday of the 2018
Download Festival Download Festival is a rock festival created by Andy Copping, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington ...
held annually at
Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport Race track, circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, sti ...
in Leicestershire, England. Having previously graced the main stage in previous years fronting Black Sabbath, this will be his first-ever Download headline solo appearance. The Download Festival set comes as part of Osbourne's final world tour announcement that morning. On 6 February 2018, Osbourne announced that he would embark on his final world tour dubbed ''
No More Tours II No More Tours II was the second farewell and final tour by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, the first being No More Tours Tour in 1992. Background The tour's South American and European legs were announced in November 2017. In the p ...
'', a reference to his 1992 tour of the same name, with support from
Stone Sour Stone Sour was an American rock band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1992. The band performed for five years before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000; since 2015, the group has consisted of Corey Taylor (lead vocals, guitar), Josh Rand ...
on the North American portion of the tour. He later insisted that he would not retire, "It's 'No More Tours', so I'm just not doing world tours anymore. I'm still going to be doing gigs, but I'm not going on tour for six months at a time anymore. I'd like to spend some time at home." On 6 September 2019, Osbourne featured on the song "
Take What You Want "Take What You Want" is a song by American singer Post Malone featuring British singer Ozzy Osbourne and American rapper Travis Scott. Written alongside Billy Walsh and producers Louis Bell & Andrew Watt, the song appears on the former's third ...
" by
Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...
. The song would peak on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 charts at number 8, making it Osbourne's first US Top 10 single in 30 years since he was featured on Lita Ford's "
Close My Eyes Forever "Close My Eyes Forever" is a duet by Lita Ford and Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the h ...
".


2020s

On 21 February 2020, Osbourne released his first solo album in almost ten years, '' Ordinary Man'', which received positive reviews from music critics and debuted at number three on the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
. A few days after the release, Osbourne told
iHeartRadio iHeartRadio (often shortened to just "iHeart") is an American freemium broadcast, podcast, radio streaming and Music Streaming platform owned by iHeartMedia. Founded in August 2008, iHeartRadio serves as the national umbrella brand for iHeart ...
that he wanted to make another album with
Andrew Watt Andrew Wotman (born October 20, 1990), known professionally as Andrew Watt or mononymously as Watt, is an American record producer, songwriter and musician from Great Neck, New York. As a songwriter, he signs ''Wotman'', while as a producer he ...
, the main producer of ''Ordinary Man''. One week after the release of the album, an 8-bit video game dedicated to Osbourne was released, called ''Legend of Ozzy.'' Osbourne has started working on his follow up album, once again with Andrew Watt. In November 2021, Sony announced that Osbourne's album would be released within six months; it was also announced that Zakk Wylde will have full involvement in the album following his absence on ''Ordinary Man''. On 24 June 2022, Osbourne announced his thirteenth album would be titled ''
Patient Number 9 ''Patient Number 9'' is the thirteenth and final studio album by the English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. It was released on 9 September 2022 through Epic Records and was produced by Andrew Watt. ''Patient Number 9'' received favourable r ...
'' and released the title track along with an accompanying music video that same day. The album was released on 9 September 2022. In January 2023, Osbourne announced that the European leg of the No More Tours II would be canceled after almost two years of being postponed. Osbourne effectively retired from touring, citing his accident in 2019 which resulted in the singer suffering spinal damage, while affirming his plan to continue smaller-scale live performances as his health permitted. In September 2023, he revealed that he was working on a new album with a planned 2024 release while also preparing to go on the road following a successful spinal surgery earlier that month. In 2023, ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' ranked Osbourne at number 112 on its list of the 200 Greatest Singers of All Time.


Other production work

Osbourne achieved greater celebrity status via his own brand of reality television. ''
The Osbournes ''The Osbournes'' is an American reality television series featuring the domestic life of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and his family—his wife Sharon, their daughter Kelly, and their son Jack. The series premiered on MTV on March 5, 200 ...
'', 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 on 21 March 2005. The success of ''The Osbournes'' led Osbourne and the rest of his family to host the 30th Annual
American Music Award The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show produced by Dick Clark Productions since 1974. Nominees are selected on commercial performance such as sales and airplay. Winners are determined by a poll of the public and ...
s 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 Patricia Helen Heaton (born March 4, 1958) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring role in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC drama series ''Thirtysomething'' (1989–1991) and later appearing in the comedy film ...
walked out midway in disgust. On 20 February 2008, Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly and Jack Osbourne hosted the
2008 BRIT Awards Brit Awards 2008 was the 28th edition of the Brit Awards, an annual music awards ceremony in the United Kingdom. It was organised by the British Phonographic Industry and took place on 20 February 2008 at the Earls Court Exhibition Centre, Ear ...
held at
Earls Court Earl's Court is a district of Kensington in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in West London, bordering the rail tracks of the West London line and District line that separate it from the ancient borough of Fulham to the west, the ...
, London. Ozzy appeared in a TV commercial for ''
I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! I Can't Believe It's Not Butter! is a brand of margarine,Calvani Terry. ''Antitrust Law Journal'', 1989, "Advertising Regulation: The States v. FTC. "...a nationally distributed butter substitute, 'I Can't Believe It's Not Butter.'") produced by ...
'' which began airing in the UK in February 2006. Osbourne appears in a commercial for the online video game ''
World of Warcraft ''World of Warcraft'' (''WoW'') is a 2004 massively multiplayer online role-playing (MMORPG) video game developed and published by Blizzard Entertainment for Windows and Mac OS X. Set in the '' Warcraft'' fantasy universe, ''World of War ...
''. He was also featured in the
music video game A music video game, also commonly known as a music game, is a video game where the gameplay is meaningfully and often almost entirely oriented around the player's interactions with a musical score or individual songs. Music video games may take a ...
''
Guitar Hero World Tour ''Guitar Hero World Tour'' is a 2008 rhythm game developed by Neversoft and published by Activision. It is the fourth main installment and the sixth overall installment in the Guitar Hero, ''Guitar Hero'' series. The game was launched in North A ...
'' as a playable character. He becomes unlocked upon completing " Mr. Crowley" and "
Crazy Train "Crazy Train" is the debut solo single by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released in 1980 from his debut album as a solo artist, '' Blizzard of Ozz'' (1980). The song was written by Osbourne, Randy Rhoads, and Bob Daisley. The lyri ...
" in the vocalist career. The 2002
dark fantasy Dark fantasy, also called fantasy horror, is a subgenre of fantasy literary, artistic, and cinematic works that incorporates disturbing and frightening themes. The term is ambiguously used to describe stories that combine horror fiction, horror ...
combat flight simulator Combat flight simulators are vehicle simulation games, amateur flight simulation computer programs used to simulate military aircraft and their operations. These are distinct from dedicated flight simulators used for professional pilot and mil ...
'' Savage Skies'' was initially developed under the title ''Ozzy's Black Skies'' and was to feature his likeness as well as songs from both his stint in Black Sabbath as well as his solo career, but licensing issues forced developer iRock Interactive to re-tool the game and release it without the Osbourne branding. In October 2009, Osbourne published ''
I Am Ozzy ''I Am Ozzy'' is the autobiography of Ozzy Osbourne, singer of Black Sabbath and solo artist. It chronicles his life, beginning as a child, followed by his career as a vocalist. The book was widely praised by its readers for its level of detail ...
'', his autobiography. 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, while Sharon stated she would choose established English actress
Carey Mulligan Carey Hannah Mulligan (born 28 May 1985) is a British actress. She has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, four Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. She w ...
to play her. A documentary film about Osbourne's life and career, entitled ''God Bless Ozzy Osbourne'', premiered in April 2011 at the
Tribeca Film Festival The Tribeca Festival is an annual film festival organized by Tribeca Enterprises. It takes place each spring in New York City, showcasing a diverse selection of film, episodic, talks, music, games, art, and immersive programming. The 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". The
History Channel History (formerly and commonly known as the History Channel) is an American pay television television broadcaster, network and the flagship channel of A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Disney General Entertainme ...
premiered a comedy
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...
series starring Ozzy Osbourne and his son
Jack Osbourne Jack Joseph Osbourne (born 8 November 1985) is a British-American media personality. He is the son of heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne. He starred on MTV's reality series '' The Osbournes'' (2002–2005), along with his ...
on 24 July 2016, named ''
Ozzy & Jack's World Detour ''Ozzy & Jack's World Detour'' is an American reality television series starring Ozzy Osbourne and his son Jack Osbourne. The first season, consisting of 10 episodes, premiered on July 24, 2016, on History. A second season of 10 episodes began a ...
''. During each episode Ozzy and Jack visit one or more sites to learn about history from experts, and explore unusual or quirky aspects of their background. Osbourne appeared in a November 2017 episode of ''
Gogglebox ''Gogglebox'' is a British reality television series created by Stephen Lambert, Tania Alexander and Tim Harcourt, and broadcast on Channel 4. The series documents families and groups of friends around the United Kingdom who are filmed for the ...
'' along with other UK celebrities such as
Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...
, former
Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; : oases ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environmentLiam Gallagher William John Paul Gallagher (born 21 September 1972) is an English singer and songwriter. He is the lead singer and co-founder of the rock band Oasis (band), Oasis and fronted the rock band Beady Eye from 2010 to 2014, before starting a succes ...
, and Labour Party leader
Jeremy Corbyn Jeremy Bernard Corbyn (; born 26 May 1949) is a British politician who has been Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Member of Parliament (MP) for Islington North (UK Parliament constituency), Islington North since 1983. Now an Independent ...
as part of Channel 4 and
Cancer Research UK Cancer Research UK (CRUK) is the world's largest independent cancer research organisation. It is registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man, and was formed on 4 February 2002 by the merger of The Cancer Research Campaign and t ...
's ''
Stand Up to Cancer Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C) is a charitable organization that was established as a division of the Entertainment Industry Foundation (EIF). In 2022, SU2C was separately incorporated and was recognized by the IRS as a Section 501(c)(3) public charit ...
'' fundraising campaign. In November 2017, Osbourne entered into a new realm of sponsorship as he signed on as an ambassador of a rock-themed online casino known as Metal Casino, which was founded by metal music fans in August 2017. In February 2019, Osbourne's merchandising partner announced that Ozzy would have his own branded online slots game as part of the NetEnt Rocks music-themed portfolio.


Black Sabbath reunions

It was announced on 11 November 2011 during a news conference at the
Whisky a Go Go The Whisky a Go Go (informally nicknamed The Whisky) is a historic nightclub in West Hollywood, California, United States. It is located at 8901 Sunset Boulevard on the Sunset Strip, corner North Clark Street, opposite North San Vicente Boulev ...
club on West Hollywood's
Sunset Strip The Sunset Strip is the stretch of Sunset Boulevard that passes through the city of West Hollywood, California, United States. It extends from West Hollywood's eastern border with the city of Los Angeles near Marmont Lane to its western bord ...
that the original Black Sabbath lineup of Ozzy,
Tony Iommi Anthony Frank Iommi Jr. (born 19 February 1948) is an English musician. He co-founded the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, and was the band's guitarist, leader, primary composer, and sole continuous member for over ...
,
Geezer Butler Terence Michael Joseph "Geezer" Butler (born 17 July 1949) is an English musician, best known as the bassist and primary lyricist of the pioneering Heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He has also recorded and performed with Heave ...
, and Bill Ward would reunite for a world tour and new album, to be produced by
Rick Rubin Frederick Jay Rubin (, ; born March 10, 1963) is an American record producer. He is a co-founder of Def Jam Recordings, founder of American Recordings, and former co-president of Columbia Records. Rubin helped popularize hip hop by produci ...
. Ward dropped out for contractual reasons, but the project continued with
Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...
's
Brad Wilk Bradley Joseph Wilk (born September 5, 1968) is an American musician. He is best known as the drummer of the rock bands Rage Against the Machine (1991–2000, 2007–2011, 2019–2024), Audioslave (2001–2007, 2017), and Prophets of Rage (201 ...
stepping in for Ward on drums. On 21 May 2012, Black Sabbath played at the
O2 Academy The O2 Academy may refer to one of a number of Academy Music Group venues in the United Kingdom (in alphabetical order): * O2 Academy Birmingham * O2 Academy Bournemouth * O2 Academy Bristol * O2 Academy Brixton * O2 Academy Edinburgh * O2 Acade ...
in their hometown
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
, their first concert since their reunion. The album, entitled '' 13'', was released on 11 June 2013, and topped both the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...
and the US ''Billboard'' 200. In January 2016, the band began a farewell tour, titled "
The End The End may refer to: Film * The End (1953 film), ''The End'' (1953 film), a film by Christopher Maclaine * The End (1978 film), ''The End'' (1978 film), a comedy by Burt Reynolds * ''The End'' (1995 film), a List of Canadian films of 1995, Cana ...
", signifying the final performances of Black Sabbath. The final shows of The End tour took place at the
Genting Arena bp pulse LIVE is a multipurpose indoor arena located at the National Exhibition Centre (NEC) in Solihull, England, just outside Birmingham. It has a capacity of 15,685 seats. The venue was built as the seventh hall of the NEC complex. After 18 ...
in their home city of Birmingham, England on 2 and 4 February 2017, with
Tommy Clufetos Tommy Clufetos (born December 30, 1979) is an American session drummer most noted for his work with Black Sabbath during their Black Sabbath Reunion Tour, which highlighted their new album '' 13''. He also toured with them on their final tour. ...
replacing Bill Ward as the drummer for the final show. On 8 August 2022, Osbourne and Iommi made a surprise appearance, during the closing ceremony of the
2022 Commonwealth Games The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, were an international multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England betw ...
in Birmingham. This marked Osbourne's first live performance in three years, following a period of ill health. On 5 February 2025, Osbourne announced his final show alongside his band Black Sabbath, for a charity show at
Villa Park Villa Park is a association football, football stadium in Aston, Birmingham, with a seating capacity of 42,918. It has been the home of Premier League club Aston Villa F.C., Aston Villa since 1897. The ground is less than a mile from both Witt ...
in Birmingham on 5 July.


Controversies

Throughout his career, many religious groups have accused Osbourne of being a negative influence on teenagers, stating that his genre of rock music has been used to glorify
Satanism Satanism refers to a group of religious, ideological, or philosophical beliefs based on Satan—particularly his worship or veneration. Because of the ties to the historical Abrahamic religious figure, Satanism—as well as other religious ...
. Scholar Christopher M. Moreman compared the controversy to those levelled against the occultist
Aleister Crowley Aleister Crowley ( ; born Edward Alexander Crowley; 12 October 1875 – 1 December 1947) was an English occultist, ceremonial magician, poet, novelist, mountaineer, and painter. He founded the religion of Thelema, identifying himself as the pr ...
. Both were demonised by the media and some religious groups for their antics. Although Osbourne tempts the comparison with his song " Mr. Crowley", he denies being a Satanist; conversely, it has been reported that Osbourne is a member of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
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 CBS Records may refer to: * CBS Records, a former name of Sony Music, a global music company * CBS/Sony, a former name of Sony Music Entertainment Japan, a Japanese music company division of Sony * CBS Records International, a label for Columbia Re ...
executives in Los Angeles. Apparently, he had planned to release doves into the air as a sign of peace, but due to being intoxicated and high 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. As security was escorting Osbourne out of the building, he grabbed a second dove and also bit its head off. Due to 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 Bats are flying mammals of the order Chiroptera (). With their forelimbs adapted as wings, they are the only mammals capable of true and sustained flight. Bats are more agile in flight than most birds, flying with their very long spread-out ...
that he thought was rubber while performing at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in
Des Moines, Iowa Des Moines is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of cities in Iowa, most populous city in the U.S. state of Iowa. It is the county seat of Polk County, Iowa, Polk County with parts extending into Warren County, Iowa, Wa ...
. According to a 2004 ''
Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...
'' article, the bat was alive at the time; however, 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 Rabies is a viral disease that causes encephalitis in humans and other mammals. It was historically referred to as hydrophobia ("fear of water") because its victims panic when offered liquids to drink. Early symptoms can include fever and abn ...
. On 20 January 2019, Osbourne commemorated the 37th anniversary of the bat incident by offering an "Ozzy Plush Bat" toy "with detachable head" for sale on his personal web-store. The site claimed the first batch of toys sold out within hours. On New Year's Eve 1983, Canadian teenager James Jollimore killed a woman and her two sons in
Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and most populous municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the most populous municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of 2024, it is estimated that the population of the H ...
, after listening to the "
Bark at the Moon ''Bark at the Moon'' is the third studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released in 14 November 1983 in the US and on 2 December 1983 in the UK. The album marks Ozzy's change to a synth infused pop-metal sound, with both i ...
" song. A friend of the murderer quoted: "Jimmy said that every time he listened to the song, he felt strange inside ... He said when he heard it on New Year's Eve, he went out and stabbed someone". In 1984, California teenager John McCollum committed suicide while listening to Osbourne's "
Suicide Solution "Suicide Solution" is a song by the English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, from his 1980 debut album '' Blizzard of Ozz''. Overview Osbourne said in 1991 that the song was about the alcohol-related death of AC/DC's Bon Scott in 1980, but Bo ...
". The song deals with the dangers of alcohol misuse. McCollum's suicide led to allegations that Osbourne promoted suicide in his songs. McCollum had clinical depression. His parents sued Osbourne (''McCollum v. CBS'') for their son's death, saying 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 once again ruled in Osbourne's favour. In lawsuits filed in 2000 and 2002 which were dismissed by the courts in 2003, former band members Bob Daisley, Lee Kerslake, and
Phil Soussan Philip Raphael Soussan (born 23 June 1961) is an English bass guitarist, songwriter and producer, known as a member of the rock bands Last in Line, Ozzy Osbourne, Vince Neil Band and Big Noize, as well as writing and producing for Dokken and Tot ...
stated that Osbourne was delinquent in paying them
royalties A royalty payment is a payment made by one party to another that owns a particular asset, for the right to ongoing use of that asset. Royalties are typically agreed upon as a percentage of gross or net revenues derived from the use of an asset or ...
and had denied them due credit on albums they played on. In November 2003, a Federal Appeals Court unanimously upheld the dismissal by the US District Court for the Central District of California of the lawsuit brought by Daisley and Kerslake. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that Osbourne does not owe any royalties or credit to the former band members 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 Roberto Agustín Miguel Santiago Samuel Trujillo Veracruz (; born October 23, 1964) is an American musician who has been the bassist for heavy metal band Metallica since 2003. He first rose to prominence as the bassist of crossover thrash band ...
on bass and
Mike Bordin Michael Andrew Bordin (born November 27, 1962) is an American musician, best known as the drummer for the rock band Faith No More. He has amicably been known as "Puffy", "Puffster" or "The Puff", in reference to the afro hair style he wore in ...
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 Tony Iommi decided to discontinue the court proceedings over ownership of the Black Sabbath
trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a form of intellectual property that consists of a word, phrase, symbol, design, or a combination that identifies a Good (economics and accounting), product or Service (economics), service f ...
. 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."


Personal life

Osbourne has five biological and two adopted children. In 1971, Osbourne met his first wife Thelma Riley at the
Rum Runner Rum-running, or bootlegging, is the illegal business of smuggling alcoholic beverages where such transportation is forbidden by law. The term ''rum-running'' is more commonly applied to smuggling over water; ''bootlegging'' is applied to smuggl ...
, the
Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
nightclub where she worked. They were married later that year and children Jessica and Louis were soon born. Osbourne also adopted Riley's five year old son Elliot from a previous relationship. Osbourne later referred to his first marriage as "a terrible mistake". His use of alcohol and other drugs, coupled with his frequent absences while touring with Black Sabbath, took their toll on his family life; his children later complained that he was not a good father. In the 2011 documentary film ''God Bless Ozzy Osbourne'', produced by his son Jack, Osbourne admitted that he could not even remember when Louis and Jessica were born. Osbourne married his manager
Sharon Arden Sharon Rachel Osbourne (; born 9 October 1952) is an English-American television personality, music manager, and author. She is married to heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne and came to prominence while appearing on ''The Osbournes'' (2002–20 ...
on 4 July 1982 and the couple had three children together: Aimee (born 2 September 1983),
Kelly Kelly may refer to: Art and entertainment * ''Kelly'' (Kelly Price album), 2011 * ''Kelly'' (Andrea Faustini album) * ''Kelly'' (musical), by Mark Charlap, 1965 * "Kelly" (song), by Kelly Rowland, 2018 * ''Kelly'' (film), Canada, 1981 * ...
(born 27 October 1984), and
Jack Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, incl ...
(born 8 November 1985). After Jack's birth Osbourne had a
vasectomy Vasectomy is an elective surgical procedure that results in male sterilization, often as a means of permanent contraception. During the procedure, the male vasa deferentia are cut and tied or sealed so as to prevent sperm from entering into ...
. He later confessed that the well-known "Fourth of July"
Independence Day An independence day is an annual event memorialization, commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or Sovereign state, statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or after the end of a milit ...
date was chosen so that he would never forget his anniversary. Guitarist Randy Rhoads predicted in 1981 that the couple would "probably get married someday" despite their constant bickering and the fact that Osbourne was still married to Thelma at the time. Osbourne has multiple grandchildren. Osbourne wrote a song for his daughter Aimee, which appeared as a B-side on the album ''
Ozzmosis ''Ozzmosis'' is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. Recorded in Paris and New York with producer Michael Beinhorn, it was released on 23 October 1995 by Epic Records. The album reached number 22 on the UK Albu ...
''. At the end of the song, said daughter can be heard saying "I'll always be your angel", referring to the song's chorus lyrics. The song "My Little Man", which appears on ''Ozzmosis'', was written about his son Jack. The Osbourne family divide their time between homes in
Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (, abbreviated ''Bucks'') is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England and one of the home counties. It is bordered by Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-east, Hertfordshir ...
and
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
. Though Osbourne has long been accused of being a Satanist, ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' reported in 1992 that he was a practising member of the
Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...
and prayed before each show. In 2002, Osbourne and wife Sharon were invited to the
White House Correspondents' Association The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor ...
dinner by
Fox News Channel The Fox News Channel (FNC), commonly known as Fox News, is an American multinational conservative news and political commentary television channel and website based in New York City, U.S. It is owned by Fox News Media, which itself is ow ...
correspondent
Greta Van Susteren Greta Conway Van Susteren (born June 11, 1954) is an American journalist, lawyer, and television news anchor for Newsmax TV. She was previously on CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC. She hosted Fox News's '' On the Record w/ Greta Van Susteren'' for 14 y ...
for that year's event. Then-President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
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 ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' is the fifth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in November 1973. It was produced by the band and recorded at Morgan Studios in London in September 1973. The writing process for the al ...
', 'Facing Hell', 'Black Skies' and 'Bloodbath in Paradise'. Ozzy,
Mom A mother is the female parent of a child. A woman may be considered a mother by virtue of having given birth, by raising a child who may or may not be her biological offspring, or by supplying her ovum for fertilisation in the case of gestatio ...
loves your stuff." In 2010, during an interview on the
Howard Stern Show ''The Howard Stern Show'' is an American radio show hosted by Howard Stern that gained wide recognition when it was radio syndication, nationally syndicated on terrestrial radio from WINS-FM, WXRK in New York City, between 1986 and 2005. The sho ...
, Ozzy said that it took him 19 attempts to get his driver’s license because he was so drunk. Ozzy and his wife 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 A sewing needle, used for hand-sewing, is a long slender tool with a pointed tip at one end and a hole (or ''eye'') to hold the sewing thread. The earliest needles were made of bone or wood; modern needles are manufactured from high carbon steel ...
and
pencil lead A pencil () is a writing or drawing implement with a solid pigment core in a protective casing that reduces the risk of core breakage and keeps it from marking the user's hand. Pencils create marks by physical abrasion (mechanical), abrasi ...
. A longtime fan of the comedy troupe
Monty Python Monty Python, also known as the Pythons, were a British comedy troupe formed in 1969 consisting of Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Michael Palin. The group came to prominence for the sketch comedy ser ...
, in a 2010 interview with ''
Us Weekly ''Us Weekly'' is an American weekly celebrity and entertainment magazine based in New York City. ''Us Weekly'' was founded in 1977 by The New York Times Company, which sold it in 1980. It was acquired by Wenner Media in 1986, and sold to Ameri ...
'' Osbourne stated, "My favourite movie is ''
Monty Python's Life of Brian ''Monty Python's Life of Brian'' (also known as ''Life of Brian'') is a 1979 British biblical black comedy film starring and written by the comedy group Monty Python (Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones and Micha ...
''". Osbourne suffered minor burns after a small house fire in January 2013. On his 65th birthday on 3 December 2013, he asked fans to celebrate his birthday by donating to the Royal Marsden cancer charity in London."The Prince of Darkness is a pensioner! Ozzy Osbourne turns 65-years-old"
Daily Express. Retrieved 7 February 2014
On 6 February 2019, Osbourne was hospitalised in an undisclosed location on his doctor's advice due to flu complications, postponing the European leg of his "
No More Tours II No More Tours II was the second farewell and final tour by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, the first being No More Tours Tour in 1992. Background The tour's South American and European legs were announced in November 2017. In the p ...
" tour. The issue was described as a "severe upper-respiratory infection" following a bout with the flu which his doctor feared could develop into
pneumonia Pneumonia is an Inflammation, inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as Pulmonary alveolus, alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of Cough#Classification, productive or dry cough, ches ...
, given the physicality of the live performances and an extensive travel schedule throughout Europe in harsh winter conditions. Pneumonia targets the airway and breathing and is frequently fatal in elderly patients, necessitating the preventive measures. By 12 February 2019, Osbourne had been moved to intensive care. Tour promoters
Live Nation Live Nation Entertainment, Inc. is an American multinational Entertainment industry, entertainment company that was founded in 2010 following the Mergers and acquisitions, merger of Live Nation (events promoter), Live Nation and Ticketmaster. It ...
said in a statement that they were hopeful that Osbourne would be "fit and healthy" and able to honour tour dates in Australia and New Zealand in March. Osbourne later cancelled the tour entirely, and ultimately all shows scheduled for 2019, after sustaining serious injuries from a fall in his Los Angeles home while still recovering from pneumonia. He was diagnosed with
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
in February 2019, which he publicly revealed in January 2020. He lost his ability to walk due to the disease. In 2020, Osbourne also revealed that he had the smoking-induced lung condition,
emphysema Emphysema is any air-filled enlargement in the body's tissues. Most commonly emphysema refers to the permanent enlargement of air spaces (alveoli) in the lungs, and is also known as pulmonary emphysema. Emphysema is a lower respiratory tract di ...
. In February 2020, Osbourne cancelled the 2020 North American tour, seeking treatment in Switzerland until April.


Drugs

Osbourne has used tobacco, alcohol, street drugs, and prescription drugs for most of his adult life. He admitted to ''
Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the br ...
'' in 1978, "I get high, I get fucked up ... 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 A joint or articulation (or articular surface) is the connection made between bones, ossicles, or other hard structures in the body which link an animal's skeletal system into a functional whole.Saladin, Ken. Anatomy & Physiology. 7th ed. McGraw- ...
or whatever afterwards." Black Sabbath bandmate Tony Iommi said that while all the band were involved with alcohol and other 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". Longtime guitarist Zakk Wylde has attributed Osbourne's longevity in spite of decades of substance misuse to "a very special kind of fortitude that's bigger than King Kong and Godzilla combined... seriously, he's hard as nails, man!" Osbourne's first experience with
cocaine Cocaine is a tropane alkaloid and central nervous system stimulant, derived primarily from the leaves of two South American coca plants, ''Erythroxylum coca'' and ''Erythroxylum novogranatense, E. novogranatense'', which are cultivated a ...
was in early 1971 at a hotel in
Denver, Colorado Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, after a show Black Sabbath had done with
Mountain A mountain is an elevated portion of the Earth's crust, generally with steep sides that show significant exposed bedrock. Although definitions vary, a mountain may differ from a plateau in having a limited summit area, and is usually higher t ...
. He states that Mountain's guitarist,
Leslie West Leslie Abel West (born Weinstein; October 22, 1945 – December 23, 2020) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. He was the co-founder, guitarist and co-lead vocalist of the rock band Mountain. West was named the 245th greatest guit ...
, introduced him to the drug. Though West was reluctant to take credit for introducing Osbourne to cocaine, Osbourne remembers the experience quite clearly: "When you come from Aston and you fall in love with cocaine, you 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." Osbourne claimed to have taken
LSD Lysergic acid diethylamide, commonly known as LSD (from German ; often referred to as acid or lucy), is a semisynthetic, hallucinogenic compound derived from ergot, known for its powerful psychological effects and serotonergic activity. I ...
for two years while in Black Sabbath. During the end of his time with the band, he said he "got very drunk and very stoned every single day." Osbourne's misuse of tobacco, alcohol, street drugs and prescription drugs has, at times, caused friction within his band.
Don Airey Donald Smith Airey (born 21 June 1948) is an English musician. He came to prominence as the keyboardist of the rock band Rainbow during 1979–1982. He has been the keyboardist of Deep Purple, the band from which Rainbow was a spinoff, since 2 ...
, keyboardist for Osbourne during his early solo career, has said that the vocalist's substance-misuse issues were what ultimately caused him to leave the band. In his memoir ''Off the Rails'', former bassist
Rudy Sarzo Rodolfo Maximiliano Sarzo Lavieille Grande Ruiz Payret y Chaumont (born November 18, 1950) is a Cuban-American musician. He remains best known as the bassist for Quiet Riot, Ozzy Osbourne, and Whitesnake, and has also played with several well k ...
detailed the frustrations felt by him and his bandmates as they coped with life on the road with the vocalist, who was in a state of near-constant inebriation and was often so hungover that he would refuse to perform. When he was able to perform, his voice was often so damaged from his smoking, drinking, and drug abuse that the performance suffered. Many shows on the American leg of the 1981-82 ''Diary of a Madman'' tour were simply cancelled, and the members of his band quickly began to tire of the unpredictability, coupled with the often violent mood swings he was prone to when either drunk or high. Osbourne claims in his autobiography that he was invited in 1981 to a meeting with the head of CBS Europe in Germany. Intoxicated, he decided to lighten the mood by performing a
striptease A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper", "exotic d ...
on the table and then kissing the record executive on the lips. According to his wife Sharon, he had actually performed a
goose-step The goose step is a special marching step which is performed during formal military parades and other ceremonies. While marching in parade formation, troops swing their legs in unison off the ground while keeping each leg rigidly straight. The ...
up and down the table and urinated in the executive's wine, but was too drunk to remember. On 18 February 1982, while wearing his future wife Sharon's dress for a photoshoot near the
Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a 13-day siege, Mexican troops under President General Antonio López de Santa Anna reclaimed the Alam ...
, Osbourne drunkenly urinated on a
cenotaph A cenotaph is an empty grave, tomb or a monument erected in honor of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere or have been lost. It can also be the initial tomb for a person who has since been reinterred elsewhere. Although t ...
erected in honour of those who died at the
Battle of the Alamo The Battle of the Alamo (February 23 – March 6, 1836) was a pivotal event and military engagement in the Texas Revolution. Following a siege of the Alamo, 13-day siege, Mexico, Mexican troops under president of Mexico, President Antonio Là ...
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 San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...
for a decade. Osbourne had been on a long drinking binge and earlier that same day had drunkenly fired his entire band, including Randy Rhoads, after they had informed him that they would not participate in a planned live album of Black Sabbath songs. He also physically attacked Rhoads and Rudy Sarzo in a hotel bar that morning, and Sharon informed the band that she feared he had "finally snapped". Osbourne later had no memory of firing his band and the tour continued, though his relationship with Rhoads never fully recovered. In May 1984, Osbourne was arrested in
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...
, again for public intoxication. The most notorious incident came in August 1989, when Sharon claimed that Ozzy had tried to strangle her after returning home from the
Moscow Music Peace Festival The Moscow Music Peace Festival was a rock concert that took place in the USSR on 12 and 13 August 1989 at Central Lenin Stadium (now called Luzhniki Stadium) in Moscow. Occurring during the glasnost era, it was one of first hard rock and heavy ...
, in a haze of alcohol and other drugs. The incident led Ozzy to six months in rehabilitation, after which time, Sharon regained her faith in her husband and did not press charges. Though he has managed to remain clean and sober for extended periods in recent years, Osbourne has frequently commented on his former wild lifestyle, expressing bewilderment at his own survival through 40 years of misusing tobacco, alcohol, street drugs, and prescription drugs. Upon being fired from Black Sabbath in 1979, Osbourne spent the next three months locked in his hotel room taking vast amounts of drugs, alcohol, and tobacco all day, every day.Ozzy Osbourne Biography
. Sing365.com. Retrieved on 30 March 2011.
He claims that he would certainly have died if his future wife Sharon had not offered to manage him as a solo artist. In 2003, Osbourne told the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
'' how he was nearly incapacitated by medication prescribed by a
Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...
doctor. The doctor was alleged to have prescribed 13,000 doses of 32 drugs in one year. However, after a nine-year investigation by the Medical Board of California, the Beverly Hills physician was
exonerated Exoneration occurs when the conviction (law), conviction for a crime is reversed, either through demonstration of innocence, a flaw in the conviction, or otherwise. Attempts to exonerate individuals are particularly controversial in death penal ...
of all charges of excessive prescribing. Osbourne experienced
tremor A tremor is an involuntary, somewhat rhythmic muscle contraction and relaxation involving neural oscillations, oscillations or twitching movements of one or more body parts. It is the most common of all involuntary movements and can affect the h ...
s for some years and linked them to his continuous drug misuse. In May 2005, he found out it was actually Parkin syndrome, a genetic condition, the symptoms of which are similar to
Parkinson's disease Parkinson's disease (PD), or simply Parkinson's, is a neurodegenerative disease primarily of the central nervous system, affecting both motor system, motor and non-motor systems. Symptoms typically develop gradually and non-motor issues become ...
. 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 Hearing loss is a partial or total inability to hear. Hearing loss may be present at birth or acquired at any time afterwards. Hearing loss may occur in one or both ears. In children, hearing problems can affect the ability to acquire spo ...
, 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 Knome, Inc. was a human genome interpretation company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Launched in 2007, Knome focused on improving quality of life by applying insights gained from the interpretation of human genomes. They helped identify and ...
, a Massachusetts human genome interpretation company, 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 misusing alcohol, tobacco, and other drugs. In April 2013, Osbourne revealed through Facebook that he had resumed smoking, drinking, and doing 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 apologised to Sharon, his family, friends, bandmates and his fans for his "insane" behaviour during that period. In a February 2021 interview with ''
Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'', Ozzy and his son Jack (who has been sober for 17 years) opened up about their recovery. Ozzy revealed he had been sober for about seven years.


Legacy

Osbourne is considered an icon of
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a heavier subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and Distortion (music), distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the Garage rock, garage, Psychedelic rock, psychedelic and blues ...
music, and one of the founders of
heavy metal music Heavy metal (or simply metal) is a Music genre, genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the United Kingdom and United States. With roots in blues rock, psychedelic rock and acid rock, heavy metal band ...
through his work with Black Sabbath. He dislikes being categorized as metal, stating that while his band "plays heavy", other bands that are considered metal are "really heavy". "When you get pigeonholed with a certain enre it can be very difficult to do something a bit lighter or an acoustic track or whatever you want to do. Back in the day, it was always just rock music. It’s still just rock music."


Band members

Current members: * Ozzy Osbourne – vocals (1979–present) *
Zakk Wylde Zachary Phillip Wylde (born Jeffrey Phillip Wielandt; January 14, 1967) is an American rock musician. He is best known as the lead guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne and as the founder, lead guitarist, lead singer, songwriter and producer of the heav ...
– lead guitar, backing vocals (1987–1992, 1995, 1998, 2001–2004, 2006–2009, 2017–present) *
Rob "Blasko" Nicholson Rob Nicholson (born November 24, 1969) also known as Blasko, is an American bassist, musician and manager. He is the bassist and backing vocalist of Rob Zombie and bassist for Ozzy Osbourne, and is also a manager for Black Veil Brides. He is als ...
– bass (2003–present) *
Adam Wakeman Adam Wakeman (born 11 March 1974) is an English musician and the current keyboardist and rhythm guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne's band; he also played keyboards and guitar off-stage for Black Sabbath. Wakeman has also worked with Annie Lennox, Tra ...
– keyboards, rhythm guitar (2004–present) *
Tommy Clufetos Tommy Clufetos (born December 30, 1979) is an American session drummer most noted for his work with Black Sabbath during their Black Sabbath Reunion Tour, which highlighted their new album '' 13''. He also toured with them on their final tour. ...
– drums (2010–present)


Awards

Osbourne has received several awards for his contributions to the music community. In 1994, he was awarded a
Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...
for the track "
I Don't Want to Change the World "I Don't Want to Change the World" is a Heavy metal music, heavy metal song by Ozzy Osbourne. It first appeared as the second track of the album ''No More Tears''. Though the song was not released as a commercial single, in Britain the song was r ...
" from ''Live & Loud'' for
Best Metal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...
of
1994 The year 1994 was designated as the " International Year of the Family" and the "International Year of Sport and the Olympic Ideal" by the United Nations. In the Line Islands and Phoenix Islands of Kiribati, 1994 had only 364 days, omitti ...
. At the 2004
NME Awards The ''NME'' Awards is an annual music awards show in the United Kingdom, founded by the music magazine ''NME'' (''New Musical Express''). The first awards show was held in 1953 as the ''NME'' Poll Winners Concerts, shortly after the founding o ...
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 The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (RRHOF), also simply referred to as the Rock Hall, is a museum and hall of fame located in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States, on the shore of Lake Erie. The museum documents the history of rock music and the ...
with Black Sabbath bandmates Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Geezer Butler. In 2024, Osbourne was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for his solo career. In 2007 Osbourne was honoured at the second annual VH1 Rock Honors, along with
Genesis Genesis may refer to: Religion * Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of humankind * Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Bo ...
,
Heart The heart is a muscular Organ (biology), organ found in humans and other animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels. The heart and blood vessels together make the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrie ...
, 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 Honour Awards The Classic Rock Roll of Honour was an annual awards program that ran from 2005 to 2016. The awards were founded by ''Classic Rock'' magazine. Winners of the awards were chosen by the awards team and voted on by readers of the magazine. Winners ar ...
. Past recipients include
Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...
,
Lemmy Ian Fraser Kilmister (24 December 1945 – 28 December 2015), better known as Lemmy Kilmister or simply Lemmy, was a British musician. He was the founder, lead vocalist, bassist and primary songwriter of the metal band Motörhead, of which he ...
,
Jimmy Page James Patrick Page (born 9 January 1944) is an English musician and producer who achieved international success as the guitarist and founder of the Rock music, rock band Led Zeppelin. Page began his career as a studio session musician in Lo ...
.
Slash Slash may refer to: * Slash (punctuation), the "/" character Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Slash (Marvel Comics) * Slash (''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'') Music * Harry Slash & The Slashtones, an American rock band * Nash th ...
, 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 Sony Pictures Entertainment Inc. is an American diversified multinational mass media and entertainment studio conglomerate that produces, acquires, and distributes filmed entertainment (theatrical motion pictures, television programs, and rec ...
Studio'' in Culver City, California. Osbourne was presented with the award by Sir
Ben Kingsley Sir Ben Kingsley (born Krishna Pandit Bhanji; 31 December 1943) is an English actor. He has received List of awards and nominations received by Ben Kingsley, various accolades throughout Ben Kingsley on screen and stage, his career spanning fi ...
. The book debuted at No. 2 on the New York Times' hardcover non-fiction best-seller list. Osbourne was also a judge for the 6th, 10th and 11th annual Independent Music Awards to support independent artists' careers. In May 2015, Osbourne received the
Ivor Novello Award The Ivor Novello Awards, named after the Welsh entertainer Ivor Novello, are awards for songwriting and Musical composition, composing. They have been presented annually in London by the The Ivors Academy, Ivors Academy, formerly called the Britis ...
for Lifetime Achievement from the
British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors The Ivors Academy (formerly known as British Academy of Songwriters Composers and Authors – BASCA) is one of the largest professional associations for music writers in Europe. The academy works to protect and support and also campaigns the int ...
at a ceremony held at the
Grosvenor House Hotel ] JW Marriott Grosvenor House London, formerly the Grosvenor House Hotel, is a luxury hotel that opened in 1929 in the Mayfair area of London, England. Across from Hyde Park, London, Hyde Park, the hotel is built on the former site of the 19th ...
, London. In 2016, Osbourne had a
tram A tram (also known as a streetcar or trolley in Canada and the United States) is an urban rail transit in which Rolling stock, vehicles, whether individual railcars or multiple-unit trains, run on tramway tracks on urban public streets; some ...
named after him in his home city of Birmingham. In April 2021, Osbourne was inducted into the celebrity wing of the
WWE World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) is an American professional wrestling promotion. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority-owned subsidiary of Endeavor Group Holdings. A global integrated media and entertainment company, ...
Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...
for his various appearances, notably for his appearance at
WrestleMania 2 WrestleMania 2 was a 1986 professional wrestling pay-per-view (PPV) event produced by the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE). It was the second annual WrestleMania and took place on Monday, April 7, 1986, making it the only WrestleMania ...
in 1986 when he and
Lou Albano Louis Vincent Albano (July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009) was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor, who performed under the ring/stage name "Captain" Lou Albano. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1 ...
managed
The British Bulldogs The British Bulldogs were a professional wrestling tag team consisting of cousins Davey Boy Smith and Dynamite Kid. They competed throughout the 1980s in Britain, North America and Japan and have consistently ranked among the top tag teams i ...
(
Davey Boy Smith David Smith (27 November 1962 – 18 May 2002) was an English professional wrestler best known for his appearances in the United States with the World Wrestling Federation under the ring names Davey Boy Smith and The British Bulldog. Smith ...
and
The Dynamite Kid Thomas Wilton Billington (5 December 1958 – 5 December 2018), best known by the ring name the Dynamite Kid, was a British professional wrestler. Trained by former wrestler "Dr Death" Ted Betley, he competed in the World Wrestling Federation ...
) in their
WWF Tag Team Championship WWF may refer to: Computing and games *WWF (file format), a campaign for unprintable PDF documents *Windows Workflow Foundation, a software component of the .NET Framework *''Words with Friends'', a mobile computer game franchise Non-profit orga ...
win over The Dream Team (
Greg Valentine Jonathan Anthony Wisniski (born September 20, 1951) is a retired American professional wrestler, better known as Greg "the Hammer" Valentine. He is the son of wrestler Johnny Valentine. Over five decades, Valentine held more than 40 championsh ...
and
Brutus Beefcake Edward Harrison Leslie (born April 21, 1957) is an American retired professional wrestler, best known for his work in the World Wrestling Federation (WWF, now WWE) under the ring name Brutus "the Barber" Beefcake. He later worked for World Champ ...
).


Discography


Solo

;Studio albums * ''
Blizzard of Ozz ''Blizzard of Ozz'' is the debut studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released on 12 September 1980 in the UK and on 27 March 1981 in the US. The album was Osbourne's first release following his firing from Black Sabbath in ...
'' (1980) * '' Diary of a Madman'' (1981) * ''
Bark at the Moon ''Bark at the Moon'' is the third studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, released in 14 November 1983 in the US and on 2 December 1983 in the UK. The album marks Ozzy's change to a synth infused pop-metal sound, with both i ...
'' (1983) * ''
The Ultimate Sin ''The Ultimate Sin'' is the fourth studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. It was released on 24 January 1986, and was remastered and re-issued on CD on 22 August 1995. It is the second and last of Osbourne's albums to featur ...
'' (1986) * '' No Rest for the Wicked'' (1988) * ''
No More Tears ''No More Tears'' is the sixth studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. Released on 17 September 1991, the album charted at number 17 on the UK Albums Chart and number seven on the US ''Billboard'' 200 albums chart. ''No More ...
'' (1991) * ''
Ozzmosis ''Ozzmosis'' is the seventh studio album by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. Recorded in Paris and New York with producer Michael Beinhorn, it was released on 23 October 1995 by Epic Records. The album reached number 22 on the UK Albu ...
'' (1995) * '' Down to Earth'' (2001) * ''
Under Cover ''Under Cover'' is the ninth studio album by English Heavy metal music, heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. The album consists entirely of cover version, cover songs, with an emphasis on rock music from the 1960s and 1970s. This is Osbourne's ...
'' (2005) * ''
Black Rain Black rain is liquid precipitation polluted with dark particulates, especially soot and ashes (including coal ash) resulting from wildfires, coal combustion, or nuclear explosions (a liquid type of nuclear fallout Nuclear fallout is res ...
'' (2007) * ''
Scream Scream may refer to: *Screaming, a loud vocalization Amusement rides * Scream (Heide Park), a gyro drop tower in Soltau, Germany * Scream (Six Flags drop tower), at Six Flags Fiesta Texas and Six Flags New England * Scream (roller coaster), at ...
'' (2010) * '' Ordinary Man'' (2020) * ''
Patient Number 9 ''Patient Number 9'' is the thirteenth and final studio album by the English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. It was released on 9 September 2022 through Epic Records and was produced by Andrew Watt. ''Patient Number 9'' received favourable r ...
'' (2022)


Black Sabbath

;Studio albums * ''
Black Sabbath Black Sabbath are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler, and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. After adopting the Black Sabbath name in 1969 (the band ...
'' (1970) * ''
Paranoid Paranoia is an instinct or thought process that is believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety, suspicion, or fear, often to the point of delusion and irrationality. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of con ...
'' (1970) * ''
Master of Reality ''Master of Reality'' is the third studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in United Kingdom on 6 August 1971 by Vertigo Records. It is regarded by some critics as the foundation of doom metal, stoner rock, and slud ...
'' (1971) * '' Vol. 4'' (1972) * ''
Sabbath Bloody Sabbath ''Sabbath Bloody Sabbath'' is the fifth studio album by English heavy metal band Black Sabbath, released in November 1973. It was produced by the band and recorded at Morgan Studios in London in September 1973. The writing process for the al ...
'' (1973) * ''
Sabotage Sabotage is a deliberate action aimed at weakening a polity, government, effort, or organization through subversion, obstruction, demoralization (warfare), demoralization, destabilization, divide and rule, division, social disruption, disrupti ...
'' (1975) * ''
Technical Ecstasy ''Technical Ecstasy'' is the seventh studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, produced by guitarist Tony Iommi and released in October 1976 by Vertigo Records. The album received mixed reviews from critics but was a commercial success ...
'' (1976) * ''
Never Say Die! ''Never Say Die!'' is the eighth studio album by English rock band Black Sabbath, released on 29 September 1978. It was the last studio album with the band's original line-up and the last studio album to feature original vocalist Ozzy Osbourne ...
'' (1978) * '' 13'' (2013)


Tours

*
Blizzard of Ozz Tour The Blizzard of Ozz Tour was the debut concert tour as a solo artist by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, who had been fired from the English group Black Sabbath a year prior. The tour started on 12 September 1980 and concluded on 13 Se ...
(1980–1981) *
Diary of a Madman Tour The Diary of a Madman Tour was the second concert tour by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. It was undertaken in support of Osbourne's second album '' Diary of a Madman'' and covered Europe, North America, and Asia. This was Rhoads's l ...
(1981–1982) * Speak of the Devil Tour (1982–1983) * Bark at the Moon Tour (1983–1985) *
The Ultimate Sin Tour The Ultimate Sin Tour was a concert tour by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne in 1986, supporting his album ''The Ultimate Sin''. Background On 1 April 1986, a live performance promoting the album in Kansas City, Missouri, was filmed a ...
(1986) * No Rest for the Wicked Tour (1988–1989) * Theatre of Madness Tour (1991–1992) *
No More Tours Tour The No More Tours Tour was the first farewell tour by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne. Overview The tour was to be Ozzy Osbourne's last tour to spend time with his family, because he was incorrectly diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. ...
(1992) * Retirement Sucks Tour (1995–1996) * The Ozzman Cometh Tour (1998) * Merry Mayhem Tour (2001) * Down to Earth Tour (2002) * Black Rain Tour (2008) * Scream World Tour (2010–2011) *
Ozzy and Friends Tour The Ozzy and Friends Tour is a concert tour that replaced the majority of the original 2012 dates of the Black Sabbath Reunion Tour. On 17 February 2012, Black Sabbath reshuffled its reunion plans in light of guitarist Tony Iommi's battle with ...
(2012; 2015) *
No More Tours II No More Tours II was the second farewell and final tour by English heavy metal singer Ozzy Osbourne, the first being No More Tours Tour in 1992. Background The tour's South American and European legs were announced in November 2017. In the p ...
(2018)


Filmography


Film


Television


Music videos


Video games


Documentaries


References


External links

* * *
Ozzfest Information

Ozzy Osbourne Live Photo Gallery
{{DEFAULTSORT:Osbourne, Ozzy 1948 births Living people 20th-century Anglicans 20th-century English male singers 21st-century Anglicans 21st-century English male singers Black Sabbath members British harmonica players British people convicted of burglary British musicians with disabilities English Anglicans English autobiographers English expatriate musicians in the United States English heavy metal singers English people with disabilities English male rock singers Glam metal musicians Grammy Award winners Kerrang! Awards winners Singers from Birmingham, West Midlands Musicians with dyslexia Obscenity controversies in music Ozzy Participants in American reality television series People from Aston People from Chalfont St Giles People from Hidden Hills, California People with Parkinson's disease Singers with disabilities The Ozzy Osbourne Band members WWE Hall of Fame inductees