On this day, December 3, the great and terrible Ozzy Osbourne was born in Birmingham, UK. The permanent leader of the Black Sabbath group, a loving father and husband, a style icon for Satanists and a completely successful showman. This multifaceted personality celebrates his 69th birthday today. And half of his life - 34 years - Ozzy, whose real name was John Michael Osbourne, lived with his wife Sharon. Now, they say, this one of the longest marriages among celebrities is bursting at the seams, but this is not a reason on the birthday of such a man not to appreciate him as a family man.
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1. Sharon and Ozzy with the same hairstyles in 1978.
Sharon met her future husband Ozzy at age 18 while working for her father Don Arden, who was Black Sabbath's manager at the time. When Ozzy was fired from the band in 1979, Sharon began dating him and took his music career into her own hands. Three years later, on July 4, 1982, Ozzy and Sharon married in Maui, Hawaii.
2. Ozzy and Sharon on Halloween in 1986.
The couple has three children: Amy (born 1983), Kelly (born 1984) and Jack (born 1985).
3. At home with their children - daughters Amy and Kelly and son Jack - in 1986.
4. Oh, this family life! 1989
“When we got married, our friends made a bet on how many weeks our marriage would last. And we surprised everyone!”
5. A surprisingly ordinary family portrait from the early 90s.
In his autobiography, I Am Ozzy, Osbourne writes candidly about his long-term struggle with alcoholism. According to the singer, he began abusing alcohol at about the age of eighteen, and by the age of forty he became a chronic alcoholic, drinking three to four bottles of strong alcohol (vodka or cognac) a day. He repeatedly tried to get rid of his addiction, going to various rehabilitation centers (including the Betty Ford Clinic), and was a member of Alcoholics Anonymous, but periods of sobriety were followed by binges. During treatment for alcoholism, he also became addicted to drugs (Vicodin, Valium, etc.). Osborne finally stopped drinking and abusing medications only in the mid-2000s.
6. The photo shows the whole family (not counting Amy). The Osbournes allowed cameramen to place cameras throughout the house since the popular TV show The Osbournes began in 2002.
On May 19, 2002, MTV in England and Ireland began showing the documentary television series The Osbournes about Ozzy Osbourne and his family.
In form, this film was a dramatized and real filming of the life of the characters in the “Osborne family,” filled with everyday troubles and joys. There was a carefully hidden scenario (in the last episode of the last season, you can see how they are holding signs with words). The Ozzy family appeared to be similar to the Simpson family. According to Ozzy himself, “one broadcast destroyed millions of fantasies,” because the “godfather of metal” appeared as a henpecked husband and unlucky dad, unable to cope with his offspring.
7. That same year, Sharon was diagnosed with cancer, but she insisted that filming of the show continue.
In July 2002, Osborne was diagnosed with colon cancer. She later admitted that the tumor had spread to the lymph nodes and became more dangerous than originally thought. However, she insisted on continuing filming the show Keeping Up with the Osbournes. She managed to beat the cancer, although her survival rate was less than 40%.
8. On The Jay Leno Show in 2002, while discussing Sharon's decision to launch her own TV show, The Sharon Osbourne Show.
In 2003, Sharon created her own talk show, The Sharon Osbourne Show, which aired on several US channels, as well as on the British Sky One channel. However, the show was not a ratings success and Osbourne was heavily criticized for failing to perform the basic tasks required of a talk show. The show was canceled in early 2004 after airing one season.
9. By 2003, The Osbournes was earning the highest ratings on MTV in both the US and the UK. The show's final episode aired in the United States on March 21, 2005.
In 2005, Sharon Osbourne released an autobiographical book, co-authored by Penelope Dening. The book was called “Extreme, or My Autobiography,” and it told about Sharon’s difficult childhood, her ups, downs and personal life. The book became a worldwide bestseller and sold more than 621,000 copies in 15 weeks.
10. Ozzy with his overly serious teenage children, smiling wife and American Music Award.
The couple almost divorced after Sharon Osbourne found out on the eve of their 30th anniversary that her husband had repeatedly used drugs and alcohol, although he had stopped using them bad habits about seven years ago. The couple stopped communicating and separated, but weeks later they began to live together again on the condition that Ozzy join an Alcoholics Anonymous group and undergo a course of therapy. This and other stories of the star couple are presented in Osborne's book Unbreakable.
Although for his antics, both on stage and off it (for example, biting off the heads of a pigeon and a bat), this vocalist earned the fame of the “Great and Terrible”, his musical merits and the title of “godfather of heavy metal” are no less valuable. metal" belongs to him by right. John Michael Osborne, nicknamed "Ozzy" at school, was born in Birmingham on December 3, 1948. His family was not particularly prosperous, and at the age of 15 the boy, having dropped out of school, went to earn money. A construction worker, a trainee plumber, a tool maker's assistant, a cattle slaughterer, an auto mechanic - all these professions provided a small income, and Ozzie decided to steal. The theft, however, was discovered, and young Osborne learned a good lesson after serving some time in prison. Once free, he decided to try the safer and less tedious profession of a musician, and in the late 60s he found himself in the same company as Tomi Iommi, Bill Ward and Geezer Butler. After some renaming, their team received the name "Black Sabbath", and its dark, slow-heavy sound brought the musicians to commercial success and made them an example to follow for subsequent rock generations. However, the ascent to the metal Olympus was accompanied by a riotous lifestyle, which led to the deterioration of internal relations and Osborne's expulsion from the group.
Ozzy was idle for a while, but his future wife Sharon, who took on managerial responsibilities, persuaded the musician to put together another team, which included Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Bob Daisley and Uriah Heep drummer Lee Kerslake. The debut album "Blizzard Of Oz" had the same ingredients as "Black Sabbath": occult lyrics and loud, heavy guitars, although the level of technicality in the new project was, perhaps, higher. Accompanied by the hit singles "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley", the disc rose to seventh place in the British charts, and took 21st position in the United States.
If earlier there were doubts about Ozzy’s solo career, then with his second album the “prince of darkness” really proved that he was not going to give in former colleagues. Featuring the powerful opener "Over The Mountain" and the drug-fuelled ode "Flying High Again", Diary Of A Madman beat out Sabbat rival Mob Rules in the charts. Along the way, Ozzy replaced the rhythm section with Tommy Aldridge and Rudy Sarzo, but fate soon intervened in personnel matters - Rhoads died. Due to the death of a friend, Ozzy became depressed, and he changed his plans to release a live album - the original recordings with Randy did not appear there, and instead, tracks from the Sabbath repertoire, performed with the participation of Brad, were placed on "Speak Of The Devil" Gillis from Night Ranger. Recovering from the loss, Osbourne placed Jake E. Lee, whose debut on "Bark At The Moon" next to him. The album, although inferior in power to the first two works, was met with approval and, like "Blizzard Of Oz" and "Diary Of A Madman", had strong sales. A different picture was observed after the release of “The Ultimate Sin” - a rise in the charts with a decline in consumer demand and a negative reaction from critics who blamed the overly soft and polished sound and the poverty of musical ideas. In 1987, Ozzy honored the memory of his first guitarist by releasing the "Tribute" album with recordings from the early 80s, and at the same time fired Lee without any explanation.
Osbourne's next collaborator was the young and talented Zakk Wylde, who helped the vocalist turn to a harder sound (although some touch of soft metal still remained on "No Rest For The Wicked"). The fifth studio album with a worthy response to Ozzy's longtime enemy televangelist Jimmy Swaggart in the form of "Miracle Man" and the emtivish hits "Crazy Babies" and "Breakin' All The Rules" testified to a return to form, but after the release of the even more successful "No More Tears" Osbourne began to get tired of concerts, and the title of the album was transformed into the motto “No More Tours”.
However, Ozzy only temporarily retired and after a long break returned to studio work. His comeback album "Ozzmosis", featuring Wylde, Butler, Rick Wakeman and drummer Dean Castronovo, received the "made in 90s" label and mixed press, but still had solid sales and a spot in the top ten. Soon after, Osbourne formed personal festival “Ozzfest”, and in the late 90s he took part in the “Black Sabbath” reunion. However, he stayed in the team only for the duration of the tour, and at the beginning of the 2000s he returned to solo work, producing an even heavier and even more modern one. than "Ozzmosis" full-length "Down To Earth". In 2002, MTV launched the documentary series "The Osbournes", which showed the life of the star family. And although Ozzy appeared in this peculiar answer to "The Simpsons" he was far from in the best shape. more reminiscent of an old clown than a metal icon, in addition to a solid monetary income, the idea brought additional popularity to the artist. In 2005, Osborne released a collection of covers with things that influenced his tastes from ".
The future “Godfather of Heavy Metal” was born on December 3, 1948 in Birmingham. John Michael was the fourth child in the Osborne family, of whom there were six in total.
The boy's parents worked in a factory producing electrical appliances. The family lived very poorly; eight people barely fit in a small house of three rooms. But there was no money to improve living conditions.
Nicknamed "Ozzy" John got it back in school. And this name remained with him for the rest of his life. The musician himself says that this is simply a diminutive form of his surname “Osborne”. Perhaps the name Ozzy is also a reference to the name of the magical land, the fairy tale of which the boy loved so much.
John was never able to complete his education. At the age of 15, he was kicked out of school because his parents could not pay for classes - there was a catastrophic lack of money. Then the guy began to look for a job on his own. In a short time he changed several professions: plumber's assistant, mechanic, auto mechanic.
He also worked in a slaughterhouse and in a cemetery as a gravedigger. But none of these cases attracted young man, and it didn’t bring in a lot of money. Out of despair and total lack of money, John Osborne decided to break into apartments.
The guy was unlucky again and was arrested. He could not pay the fine, so he went to prison, where he served three months. It was there that the future vocalist got his first and most legendary tattoo: the name “Ozzy” on the fingers of his left hand.
Since the age of fourteen, Ozzy dreamed of becoming a musician. And the guy’s vocal abilities were quite good. Coming out from behind bars, Osborne actively set out to achieve his goal. The first step to success was working with the group "Music Machine". However, the guy worked with them for only two concerts.
After Ozzy Osbourne decided to create his own band. He placed an ad in the newspapers, as well as in all the music stores in the city: “Ozzy needs a band, he has an amplifier.”
It was then that the guys came to him, who later became his group. Among them was Tony Iommi, with whom John went to school, but then they did not even communicate. This is how the Earth group came together. At first, the guys performed their own cover versions of popular compositions and played in clubs and bars.
Their first song was “Black Sabbath,” which was associated with the then popular horror film of the same name. Soon the group itself also began to be called, since the original name was already taken.
In the wake of Ozzy Osbourne's first popularity leaves Black Sabbath to create your own career. Having found another vocalist, he records his first solo album. At this time, the musician married Thelma Riley for the first time, with whom he would be married for twelve years.
The couple had two children together and a son from Thelma's first marriage, whom Ozzy would later adopt. A year later, Osbourne would briefly return to his old band. The man started black stripe in life: after the death of his father, he begins to drink heavily.
Later he will be diagnosed with chronic alcoholism, and in his endless attempts to recover, John will become addicted to drugs. By the way, it was because of the musician’s incessant drunkenness that his marriage would fall apart. Fully get rid of dependencies he will be able only at the beginning of the 2000s.
Things started to move forward thanks to the daughter of Black Sabbath's manager. Sharon offered to form his own group, and she became his new manager. And again Ozzy Osbourne advertises for musicians.
The new compositions were wildly popular with the public. The second solo album took first place in all music ratings, beating even Black Sabbath. Osborne's concerts were extremely popular.
During the performance, the rocker threw pieces of meat and tripe at fans, and once bit off the head of a bat, after which he had to receive rabies injections. Oddly enough, the public enthusiastically accepted this idea. Soon all sorts of reptiles, rodents and meat also flew at the singer.
Again problems with the law Ozzy Osbourne's began in 1986. The musician was accused of causing a 19-year-old teenager to commit suicide because of the song “Suicide Solution.”
Accusations of hypnosis and other methods of influencing consciousness began among the people. But there is no evidence of such things, and nothing illegal was found in the text. The musician himself claims that in the song he expressed his negative opinion about alcohol, with which he himself had problems. Thus, all charges against Ozzy Osbourne were dropped.
A year after his divorce from his first wife, Osborne married his manager Sharon, who by that time had become his faithful ally. The couple had three more children. At the beginning of the 2000s, Sharon filed for divorce due to her husband's infidelity. But after some time, she was able to forgive her beloved, and now the couple is gradually improving peace in the family.
After leaving BLACK SABBATH, Ozzy Osbourne spent his time idle until Sharon Arden, the daughter of his former band's manager, persuaded him to start a new band. Osborne put an ad in the newspaper looking for musicians. One of the guitarists who auditioned was Randal William "Randy" Rhoads.
As Rhodes said in one of his few interviews, he did not know who he would have to work with. Arriving at the audition studio with his amp and electric guitar, he was ushered into an empty room. There Randy connected his equipment and began to “warm up”. Suddenly, Ozzy appeared in the room and pronounced the verdict “accepted!” and ignored the guitarist’s objections that he had not yet started playing. According to another version, Ozzy was touched by the fact that Rhodes played the notes.
Also joining the band are bassist Bob Daisley and drummer Lee Kerslake of URIAH HEEP. With this lineup, they released their first album, “Blizzard of Ozz,” and went on a concert tour, the first performance of which was a concert on September 12, 1980 in Glasgow.
To release his solo album, Ozzy Osbourne needed a record deal. After numerous refusals, Ozzy eventually managed to reach an agreement with CBS, which, however, did not treat the project with the degree of seriousness that Osbourne had expected, considering the latter to be just another minor event.
To change your impressions of yourself better side, Ozzy, on Sharon's advice, brought two pigeons to the company's office - with the initial intention of releasing them in front of an astonished public and thus attracting public attention.
The trick worked, although not quite as intended. Having released the first pigeon - as expected, Osborne unexpectedly bit off the head of the second. This action was captured by a studio photographer, and soon the photographs appeared in most newspapers. This is unlikely to have affected positive side) to the management of the record company, however, it generated understandable interest in Osbourne among young people.
It is unknown whether this action was planned this way from the very beginning: neither Sharon nor Ozzy himself clarified the motives for this act. The only comment the singer made about this was to admit that he was very drunk at the time.
The 1980 album “Blizzard Of Ozz” was very popular. Randy Rhoads was named "top young talent" by Guitar Player magazine. Stylistically, the album is close to BLACK SABBATH's "Technical Ecstasy", but had a harder, more "metallic" sound. The lyrics of the song "Suicide Solution" later became the object of criticism due to the ambiguous interpretation of the word "solution": "decision" and "liquid" (thus, the title can be translated in various ways: "Decision to commit suicide", "Suicidal decision" or "Suicide Liquid")
A year later, Ozzy and his band recorded their second album, The Diary of a Madman. By that time, the lineup had been updated - the rhythm section had gone to the reorganized URIAH HEEP, and Kerslake and Daisley were replaced by Tommy Aldridge and Rudy Sarzo, respectively. According to Osborne himself, this album turned out better than the previous one. Stylistically, it was more rigid, especially the first composition - “Over the Mountain”. However, the musicians themselves looked back at the charts: competitors in the form of BLACK SABBATH with the album “Mob Rules” reached only 29th position, while “Diary of a Madman” spent some time in the TOP-15. It is interesting that the authorship of the songs belongs entirely to the previous members of the group.
During the tour, Ozzy entertained himself by throwing raw meat to the public who came to his concerts. However, this was part of the contract: during the concert, Osborne had to throw about ten kilograms of calf liver and pork offal into the hall. Sometimes this part of the show took unexpected turns: for example, after one of the concerts, someone called the band’s management and asked how to wash off raw blood.
However, the public quickly picked up the idea. Soon, in response to Ozzy's antics on stage, dead cats, frogs, snakes and other material that had once been living creatures began to fly at him. One time someone threw a (life-size) doll onto the stage. Ozzy was shocked, initially mistaking her for a real baby.
On January 20, in Iowa, during a concert, someone threw a live bat. The stunned animal lay quietly on the stage, fluttering slightly. Ozzy, mistaking the bat for a rubber one, decided to provoke the audience by biting a gift that unexpectedly flew to him. In response, the bat bit Osborne himself. As a result, the concert ended with the vocalist being immediately taken to the hospital for the purpose of vaccination against rabies. Ozzy walked into the emergency room barking like a dog. When the American nurse asked him what was wrong, Ozzy barked at her, explaining that he had rabies. When the anti-tetanus injections began, repeated every 4 days, the patient had no time for jokes. This story got into the newspapers and incredible things began to happen at Osborne’s concerts: white mice and birds with their legs tied were thrown onto the stage. One of the spectators was caught trying to smuggle a dead cat into the hall. Others still managed to smuggle in a dead dog. Then there was the case of the snake and the huge Louisiana toad, which the little tormentors killed by tearing off its skin. In the city of Cincinnati, a group of teenagers obtained the head of a freshly slaughtered bull from a local meat processing plant. They were, however, stopped in time.
In March 1982, the group lost its guitarist, Randy Rhoads. While on tour in the United States, the band's bus stopped for repairs near Leesburg, Florida. To pass the time, the bus driver invited the group members to take a ride on his plane. On its second pass, the plane took Randy Rhoads and the band's hairdresser, Rachel Youngblood. The driver himself occupied the pilot's seat. The driver's ex-wife was with the group, next to the bus. According to her, he suddenly decided to kill her by running her over with an airplane. According to her, the plane made three very low circles over the bus, hitting it on the fourth attempt. After the collision the plane was thrown into standing nearby building, where it exploded. The pilot and passengers of the plane died on the spot. A subsequent investigation revealed that the pilot was under the influence of drugs.
Randy Rhoades and Ozzy worked on the idea for the band's third album, Bark At The Moon. Ozzy said that despite the death of his comrade, he will continue to work. To fulfill his contractual obligations, Osbourne had to release a live album. There was recorded material from concerts with the participation of the late Rhodes, but Ozzy considered it unethical to release this disc immediately after the death of his friend (the album entitled “The Rhandy Roads Tribute” was released in 1987). But true to his contractual obligations, Ozzy recruited guitarist Brad Gillis and recorded a live album, “Talk of the Devil” (in the American version, “Speak of the Devil”), consisting entirely of BLACK SABBATH material. But it was not possible to avoid accusations of unethicality - Ozzy was criticized by Tony Iommi, who believed that Ozzy was not the author of most of the songs presented on the album, although his name was indicated as such on all the group’s albums from 1970 to 1978.
The new guitarist is Jake E. Lee. Jake Lee, half-Japanese by birth, studied piano as a child, but his youthful passion for the guitar gradually overpowered his interest in classical music. What remains from Jake's classics is a serious professional attitude towards the instrument, that is, daily multi-hour lessons developed his guitar playing technique.
The album's title track, "Bark at the Moon", is about a living being (a werewolf) who has returned, seeking revenge on those who despised him and brought him to the grave. In the video for this song, Ozzy plays a mad scientist imprisoned in an insane asylum. From the window he sees a werewolf watching him. This song, like others, could set listeners up for negative thoughts. Reading: “Rock Violence Outbreak,” Canadian Press Association: Halifax, Canada, 9/26/84.
“...according to the Canadian Telegraph Press Service, the influence of heavy metal rock music on young Canadian James Jollimore was so strong that on New Year's Eve 1983 he went out and stabbed someone to death. A friend of the defendant testified that Jollymore, a 20-year-old Canadian man charged with the first-degree murder of a 44-year-old woman and her two sons, began to enjoy stabbing people after he started listening to music like Ozzy Osbourne's "Bark at the Moon." . “Jimmy said in court that every time he heard the song he got a strange feeling, and when he heard it again on New Year's Eve, he went out and stabbed someone.”
Stylistically, the album turned out to be softer, closer in sound to soft metal. The song “Rock’n’roll Rebel” became a real rock anthem.
In 1986, Ozzy recorded the album “The Ultimate Sin”. And goes on tour in support of both albums. Ozzy later said that this album was the poorest in terms of musical ideas. The album also turned out to have the softest, diluted synthesizer sound. The textual concept was based on ideas of peace and non-violence.
On March 19, 1987, the album “Randy Rhoad’s Tribute” was released, containing archival recordings selected by Max Norman (producer of Ozzy’s first three solo albums). It included live recordings of material from the first two albums (primarily from the first album, almost entirely presented live), several BLACK SABBATH songs and fragments of studio recordings of the Dee song.
For the next album, No Rest For The Wicked, Ozzy recruited talented guitarist Zakk Wylde, who became a very important part of the band for the next few years. Sharon, Ozzy's wife, becomes the band's manager and helps the musician get rid of alcohol addiction. In The Decline of Western Civilization: The Metal Years, Ozzy appears as a sober housewife who assures that he no longer abuses alcohol and women (“don’t bitch up with women”). The sound of the next album turned out to be stronger, although a touch of soft metal was felt. The absence of ballads on the album was characteristic. The most interesting compositions were “Breaking All the Rules” with a “trademark” transition from minor to major and the gloomy “Bloodbath in Paradise”. In the song "Demon Alcohol" Ozzy talks about his struggle with alcohol addiction. For the tour, Ozzy recruited longtime friend and BLACK SABBATH bandmate Geezer Butler (who also appears in the videos). In 1989, the live EP “Just Say Ozzy” was released.
In March 1989, the single “Close My Eyes Forever” was released, recorded with Lita Ford, and entered the top ten in the United States. In 1991, Ozzy released the album “No More Tears”, but held concerts without the usual enthusiasm, explaining that he wanted to spend more time with his family. The tour in support of the album was called "No More Tours", that is, "No More Tours". The album turned out to be very worthy; the songs “Mama, I’m Coming Home” (dedicated to his wife Sharon) and “I Don’t Want to Change the World” received music awards. After this, Ozzy announces the cessation of active musical activities. However, this does not prevent him from reuniting with BLACK SABBATH for a couple of concerts in 1992 (which became the reason for the departure of Ronnie James Dio, who did not want to sing as Ozzy's opening act).
After a long break in 1994, Ozzy announced the future release of a new album, recorded with the participation of Steve Vai. He also teams up with THERAPY to sing vocals on "Iron Man" for the BLACK SABBATH cover album "Navity in Black".
In 1995, Ozzy, with the participation of Rick Wakeman (who previously worked with BLACK SABBATH on the album “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”) and Zack Wylde, recorded the album “Ozzmosis”, which can be considered the most successful since the first two albums. Ozzy successfully interspersed hard numbers like “Perry Mason” with softer ones (“I See You on the Other Side”), and also perfected his signature transitions (“My Jekyll Doesn’t Hide”). A significant event was also the reunion with bassist Geezer Butler. The tour guitarist was a student of Randy Rhodes named Joe Holmes. An international tour took place in support of the album.
In 1997, rumors of a BLACK SABBATH reunion became reality. The group reunited with the original lineup and staged an international tour. 2 new songs were recorded, but the promised album was never released. Gradually, Ozzy and Tony returned to solo activities. In 2000, Ozzy recorded the song "Who is Fooling Who" for Tony Iommi's solo album.
In 2001, Ozzy’s album “Down to Earth” was released, demonstrating an even heavier sound and excellent quality of material, so the new release, perhaps, even surpassed “Ozzmosis”. There were also lyrics - even pop radio stations eagerly played the song “Dreamer”.
In 2005, the album “Under Cover” was released with cover versions of songs that influenced Ozzy (among them, songs by Lennon and THE BEATLES occupied a special place). A 4-disc box set “Prince Of Darkness” is also being released, which, in addition to the collection and covers, also includes Ozzy’s duets with various musicians.
In 2007, a new album “Black Rain” was released. Ozzy is not afraid to experiment with sound, but overall the album is inferior to its predecessor. Ozzy himself admitted that this is “my first album that I recorded while sober.”
On June 22, 2010, the tenth solo album “Scream” was released, as reported on the official website. Its release was preceded by an advertising campaign held at Madame Tussauds in New York. Ozzy sat motionless on a couch in one of the halls of wax figures, and when fans of his work approached him to take pictures, Osbourne stood up abruptly or simply scared the visitors with a scream.
In July 2010, Osborne was invited to write a column about healthy way life in the American magazine Rolling Stone.
Based on materials: en.wikipedia.org
Ozzy Osbourne (John Michael Osbourne)
John Michael Osbourne
Singer Date of birth December 3 (Sagittarius) 1948 (71) Place of birth Birmingham Instagram @ozzyosbourne
The legend of rock music, the godfather of heavy metal, the founder of the Black Sabbath group - all this is Ozzy Osbourne. For his services, the British singer was honored to see his name in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum. His personal star is on the Alley in Hollywood and Birmingham. Over the course of his entire musical career, more than 100 million copies of the musician’s records have been sold as a member of a group and as a solo artist. In the 2000s, he opened up his private life by starring in two reality shows on MTV.
Biography of Ozzy Osbourne
At the end of 1948, on December 3, the fourth baby was born to the Osborne family in Birmingham. The son was named John Michael. IN school years The nickname “Ozzy” stuck to the boy, the origin of which is a mystery to the singer himself. Apparently this is a shortening of his last name. Tony Iommi studied at the same school with John, but the friendship between the guys developed much later and resulted in the creation of a joint group.
The financial situation in the Osborne family was difficult; the future musician was forced to leave educational institution to make money. He worked at a slaughterhouse, in a car repair shop, worked as a mechanic, and was a gravedigger. The guy even went to prison for several months for theft because he could not pay the fine. As a reminder of this, I have an OZZY tattoo on the fingers of my left hand.
Having rethought his future, the guy decided to take music seriously. He got his first performing experience in the band Music Machine, in which he was a vocalist. After a while, he decided to create his own team and, through an advertisement in the newspaper, began to look for like-minded people. Terence Butler, Bill Ward and Tony Iommi came. A group was formed, first called Polka Tulk Blues, then Earth, but eventually registered in 1969 as Black Sabbath, the name of a popular horror film at the time.
The band members decided to play dark music, although at first they performed covers of other people's songs. The first one, as well as the album released in 1970, received an identical name to the group. The heavy metal record gained a certain popularity, which inspired the musicians to continue in the same vein. Six months later, the second album, Paranoid, was released, which took high places in the charts. It was sold large number copies And in the summer of 1971, the third record was released - Master of Reality, which went gold in less than two months.
Although critics expressed disdain for these works, fans were delighted. The albums of 1973 and 1975 were reviewed more favorably.
In the mid-70s, Black Sabbath invited Don Arden, Ozzy's future father-in-law, to work as their new manager. And two years later the singer left the group. The reason is the artist’s alcohol abuse and drug addiction. Osbourne later returned, but the tension in the team remained, and the record was recorded with difficulty. The final departure of the lead singer and co-founder of Black Sabbath came as a relief to everyone. Singer Ozzy Osbourne began his solo career.
Again an advertisement was given in the newspaper for the recruitment of musicians. So the star’s new team included guitarist Randal William (Randy) Rhoads, then bassist Bob Daisley, and drummer Lee Kerslake. This lineup recorded the first record called Blizzard of Ozz at CBS Studios. Then other albums came out. Ozzy Osbourne's antics fueled interest in the group: he either threw meat and giblets at the audience at a concert, or bit a bat during a performance. There were even lawsuits against the singer; he was accused of having certain recorded noises in his tracks that provoked people to commit suicide.
In 1997, they made an attempt to reunite Osbourne with Black Sabbath and even organized a tour, but the record was never released. Ozzy returned to his solo career. In total, he released ten albums, the last of which, Scream, appeared in 2010.
