He
had several jobs before turning to music, including testing car
horns in the Lucas car factory and on the kill floor of an abattoir.
Osbourne slowly began to realize his ambitions in 1967; after filling
in on vocals for a band called The Music Machine, he landed the
singer's duties in an outfit called The Approach, playing R&B
tunes in a church basement. Personal differences led Ozzy to split
with the group, however. Thanks in part to the advantage of owning
his own P.A. equipment his next gig was with a group called Rare
Breed, where he met and played with future Black Sabbath bandmate,
bassist Terence "Geezer" Butler. Rare Breed did not last
long, but Osbourne's collaboration with Butler did; in late 1968,
Butler was invited to form a new group with guitarist Tony Iommi
and drummer Bill Ward, both formerly of a fairly successful local
group called Mythology. At Butler's urgings, Osbourne was brought
on board, along with saxophonist Alan Clarke and another guitar
player, Jim Phillips, to form the Polka Tulk Blues Band. Ozzy came
up with the name after seeing it on a can of talcum powder. Iommi's
style of guitar playing did not mesh well with Phillips's, however,
nor with Clarke's saxophone. Polka Tulk disbanded, to reform almost
immediately as a four-piece consisting of Osbourne, Iommi, Butler,
and Ward.
Black
Sabbath
Black Sabbath met with swift and enduring success; their early records
such as their self-titled debut, Paranoid and Master of Reality
in particular are considered heavy metal canon, and selections from
Ozzy's Sabbath days have featured prominently in his solo performances.
The rigors of touring and financial success combined to lead some
of the band members to drug and alcohol abuse, including Osbourne.
Nevertheless, the group remained a steadily successful act for over
eight years. Over the duration, however, Iommi began to take the
band's music in a more progressive and experimental direction, to
Osbourne's distaste. Osbourne was kicked out of the group briefly
after the band's 1976 effort Technical Ecstasy, and Sabbath went
so far as to begin writing and recording with a new singer. Ozzy
returned however, to record and tour behind 1978's Never Say Die,
after which he left the group again in 1979, to be replaced by Ronnie
James Dio. Depressed, his drug and alcohol abuse continued. He divorced
his first wife, Thelma, and developed bipolar disorder. Undaunted,
Osbourne attempted to launch a solo career, and met with considerable
success on his very first effort.
Sharon and Randy
By his own account, Ozzy's saving graces were the woman who would
become his wife and manager, Sharon Arden (daughter of his first
manager, Don "Machine Gun" Arden), and a young guitarist
named Randy Rhoads from the band Quiet Riot. Like Edward Van Halen,
Rhoads was one of the most influential rock guitarists of his generation,
and for similar reasons: both players combined a high degree of
technical proficiency on the instrument, a fusion of classically-inspired
and blues-oriented melodic ideas in improvisation, and a sense of
showmanship that kept audiences engaged during performances. Moreover,
Rhoads was willing to compose music that stayed within the rock
and metal genres Osbourne was comfortable with. Upon this solid
foundation, Osbourne produced two studio albums (Blizzard of Ozz
and Diary of a Madman) with Rhoads, bassist Bob Daisley and drummer
Lee Kerslake. The live act, which substituted bass player Rudy Sarzo
and drummer Tommy Aldrige, became known for controversial production
decisions involving raw meat and dead or fake animals, which led
to much negative press.
Misbehaviour
According to press accounts, Osbourne's antics progressively worsened
during the 1980s, his alcohol and drug abuse continuing. He famously
bit off the head of a dove during a meeting with his newly signed
record company, CBS — though it has been speculated that this was
a calculated stunt meant to intimidate the label executives into
giving Osbourne more favorable contractual terms. Ozzy was also
hospitalized for rabies vaccinations after biting the head off of
a stunned bat (which he later claimed to have thought was a rubber
toy) thrown on stage by a fan. He was arrested after urinating on
the Alamo while wearing one of his wife's dresses, for which he
was banned from San Antonio, Texas for the next ten years. He later
underwent a number of treatments for alcoholism and drug abuse.
In March 1982, while in Florida for the Diary of A Madman tour,
a light aircraft carrying Rhoads crashed while performing low passes
over the band's tour bus. The pilot (also the tour bus driver) clipped
the parked bus and crashed into a nearby house, killing himself,
Rhoads, and the band's tour hairdresser. Osbourne subsequently fell
into a deep depression, compounded by the death of his father.
Recovery, Or Not?
During the 1980s and 1990s, Osbourne's career was an effort on two
fronts: continuing to make music without Rhoads, and getting clean.
Rhoads's first replacement was Bernie Torme (who reportedly could
not cope with the pressures of live performance, and who never recorded
with Ozzy), followed by Brad Gillis of Night Ranger, who filled
in for an album called Speak of the Devil. This live title, known
in the United Kingdom as Talk of the Devil, was originally planned
to consist of live recordings from 1981, primarily of Ozzy's solo
material, but after Rhoads's death, Osbourne changed his mind, and
the album ended up consisting entirely of Ozzy's Black Sabbath material,
recorded with Gillis, Sarzo, and Aldridge.
In 1982 Ozzy was the guest vocalist on the Was (not Was) pop dance
track Shake Your Head (Let's Go To Bed). He replaced the original
first choice, Madonna. Her original vocal today remains just one
of many Unreleased Madonna Songs. Ozzy's cut was remixed and re-released
in the early 1990s for a Was (not Was) Greatest Hits album in Europe
and it cracked the UK pop chart. Madonna asked that her vocal not
be restored for the hits package, so new vocals by Kim Basinger
were added to complement the Ozzy lead.
Jake E. Lee, formerly of Ratt and Rough Cutt, was a more successful
recruit than Torme, recording 1983's Bark at the Moon (with Daisley,
Aldridge, and keyboard player Don Airey) and 1986's The Ultimate
Sin (with bassist Phil Soussan and drummer Randy Castillo) and touring
behind both albums.
Meanwhile, Ozzy was becoming involved in a legal battle of his own.
In late 1986, he was the target in the first of a series of lawsuits
brought against him, alleging that one of his songs, Suicide Solution,
drove two teenagers to commit suicide because of its subliminal
lyrics. Ozzy would ultimately prevail in all of the suits, which
the judges would basically rule that Ozzy cannot be held accountable
for a listener's actions. Soon after, Ozzy publicly acknowledged
he wrote Suicide Solution about his friend, AC/DC lead singer Bon
Scott, who died from alcohol abuse, and that alcohol as a solution
to one's problems is not the answer (hence the song's title).
Jake E. Lee and Osbourne parted ways in 1987, however, reportedly
due to musical differences. Ozzy continued to struggle with his
chemical dependencies, and commemorated the fifth anniversary of
Rhoads's death with Tribute, the live recordings from 1981 that
had gone unreleased for years. Excellently recorded, the album cemented
Rhoads's legendary stature as an imaginative and talented musician.
Meanwhile, Ozzy found his most enduring replacement for Rhoads to
date, a guitarist named Zakk Wylde, plucked from a New Jersey bar.
Wylde joined Ozzy for his 1988 effort, No Rest for the Wicked, in
which Castillo remained on drums and Daisley returned to bass duties.
The subsequent tour saw Osbourne reunited with erstwhile Black Sabbath
bandmate Geezer Butler on bass, and a live EP (entitled Just Say
Ozzy) featuring this lineup was released two years later.
Commercial success
While quite successful as a heavy metal act in the 1980s, Osbourne
began to enjoy much broader commercial success in the 1990s, starting
with 1991's No More Tears, which enjoyed much radio and MTV exposure.
It also initiated a practice of bringing in outside composers to
pen much of Ozzy's solo material, instead of relying solely upon
the recording ensemble to write and arrange the music. Yet another
live album followed in 1993, Live and Loud. At this point Osbourne
expressed his fatigue with the process of touring, and proclaimed
his "retirement", which was to be short-lived. Osbourne's
entire CD catalog was remastered and reissued in 1995. Also that
year, he released Ozzmosis and went on stage again, dubbing his
concert performances "The Retirement Sucks Tour". A greatest
hits package, The Ozzman Cometh was issued in 1997.
Ozzy's biggest financial success of the 1990s was a venture named
Ozzfest, created by his wife Sharon and managed loosely by his son
Jack. Ozzfest was a quick hit with metal fans, spurring groups like
Incubus and Papa Roach to broad exposure and commercial success.
Some acts even had the pleasure to share the bill with a reformed,
yet much older Black Sabbath.
Osbourne's first album of new studio material in seven years, 2001's
Down to Earth met with only mediocre success, as did its live followup,
Live at Budokan.
In the wake of a lawsuit by former band members Daisley and Kerslake,
reportedly for unpaid royalties, Osbourne's catalogue was "remastered"
again in 2002. The bass guitar and drum tracks from Osbourne's first
two albums were re-recorded entirely, and the original versions
(which featured Daisley and Kerslake) were dropped. At least two
titles, Speak of the Devil and The Ultimate Sin, were permitted
to go out of print entirely.
TV show
Osbourne garnered still greater celebrity status by the unlikely
success of his own bizarre brand of reality television. The Osbournes,
a program featuring the domestic life of Osbourne and his family
(wife Sharon, children Jack and Kelly, but not daughter Aimee, who
declined to participate), has turned into one of MTV's greatest
hits.
Recent news
During 2003, a member of Birmingham City Council campaigned for
him to be given Freedom of the City.
On December 8, 2003, Osbourne was rushed into emergency surgery
when he was involved in an accident involving the use of his all-terrain
vehicle on his estate in Chalfont St Peter, Buckinghamshire, UK.
Osbourne broke his collar bone, eight ribs and a vertebra in his
neck. 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 a security
guard. Hospital reports indicated that, despite the severity of
his injuries, a full recovery was expected.
While in hospital, Osborne achieved his first ever UK number one
single, a duet of the Black Sabbath song Changes with daughter Kelly.
In doing so, he broke the record of the longest period between an
artists's first UK chart appearance (with Black Sabbath, Paranoid,
number four in August 1970) and their first number one hit — a gap
of 33 years.
Since the accident, he has fully recovered and headlined the 2004
Ozzfest, where he again reunited with Black Sabbath. He has also
turned his hand to writing a Broadway musical. The reputed topic
is that of the Russian mad monk, Grigory Rasputin, who held sway
with Russia's royal Romanov family. He is slated to release a box
set of his solo work entitled the Bible of Ozz in February of 2005.
It is rumoured to contain two long-awaited discs, one being a collection
of outtakes, rare demos and duets, and the other being a set of
cover songs. He takes on the Beatles, King Crimson and the Rolling
Stones on this much-anticipated release.
He and wife Sharon are also on yet another MTV show, this time a
competition cum reality show entitled "Battle for Ozzfest".
A number of yet unsigned bands send one member to compete in a challenge
to win a spot on the 2005 Ozzfest and a possible recording contract.
Favourite British albums
In June 2004 British newspaper The Observer asked Osbourne to name
his top ten favourite British albums of all time. He named:
Revolver - The Beatles
Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band - The Beatles
Band on the Run - Paul McCartney
So - Peter Gabriel
Dark Side of the Moon - Pink Floyd
Abbey Road - The Beatles
Imagine - John Lennon
Blizzard of Ozz - Ozzy Osbourne/Randy Rhoads
Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
Machine Head - Deep Purple
Solo discography
Blizzard Of Ozz - 1981, #7 UK, #21 US, US Sales: 4,000,000
Diary of a Madman - 1981, #14 UK, #16 US, US Sales: 3,000,000
Speak of the Devil - 1982 (live), #21 UK, #14 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
Bark at the Moon - 1983, #24 UK, #19 US, US Sales: 3,000,000
The Ultimate Sin - 1986, #8 UK, #6 US, US Sales: 2,000,000
Tribute - 1987 (live), #13 UK, #6 US, US Sales: 2,000,000
No Rest for the Wicked - 1988, #23 UK, #13 US, US Sales: 2,000,000
Best of Ozz - 1989 (compilation)
Ten Commandments - 1990, (rare out of print, greatest hits)
Just Say Ozzy - 1990 (live, EP), #58 US, US Sales: 500,000
No More Tears - 1991, #17 UK, #7 US, US Sales: 4,000,000
Live and Loud - 1993 (live), #22 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
Ozzmosis - 1995, #22 UK, #4 US, US Sales: 2,000,000
The Ozzman Cometh - 1997 (compilation), #13 US, US Sales: 2,000,000
The Ozzfest - 1997 (compilation, out of print)
Down to Earth - 2001, #19 UK, #4 US, US Sales: 1,000,000
Ozzfest - Second Stage Live - 2001 (compilation)
Ozzfsest 2001 The Second Millenium - 2001 (compilation)
The Osbournes Family Album - 2002 (compilation)
Live At Budokan - 2002 (live), #70 US
The Essential Ozzy Osbourne - 2003 (compilation), #21 UK, #81 US
Bible of Ozz - 2005 (box)
Solo hit singles
1983 "Bark at the Moon" #21 UK
1984 "So Tired" #20 UK
1986 "Shot in the Dark" #20 UK
1991 "No More Tears" #31 UK
1992 "Mama, I'm Coming Home" #28 US
1995 "Perry Mason" #23 UK
2002 "Dreamer/Gets Me Through" #18 UK
Duet
2003 "Changes" (with Kelly Osbourne) #1 UK
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