Biography Ozzy Osbourne - Showbiza.com/gb

Born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948, in Birmingham, England, Ozzy Osbourne is best known as the lead singer of the tremendously popular hard-rock ensemble Black Sabbath. With Sabbath, Osbourne laid both the musical and aesthetic groundwork for the heavy-metal movement in modern rock and roll. He is notorious for allegedly biting the head off a bat onstage and for urinating on the Alamo.

QUOTES

"When I heard 'She Loves You,' my world went up like a shooting star. It was a divine experience. The planets changed. I used to fantasize that Paul McCartney would marry my sister."

– Ozzy Osbourne

Black Sabath Forms

Musician John Michael Osbourne was born on December 3, 1948, in Birmingham, England. Osbourne is best known as the lead singer of the tremendously popular hard-rock ensemble Black Sabbath. With Sabbath, Osbourne laid both the musical and aesthetic groundwork for the heavy-metal movement in modern rock and roll.

Born to a solidly working class family, Osbourne left school at an early age. He worked at a series of menial jobs until his experiments with petty crime landed him in jail. Upon his release, Osbourne was asked by several acquaintances to sing for a new band. The band, originally called Earth, played a mix of mainstream, blues-inspired rock. While Earth earned some local notoriety, it wasn't until the group began experimenting with the hard-driving, amplified sound that would later characterize the heavy metal genre, that the band caught the attention of record producers. Fortunately or unfortunately, the band's moniker was already in use by another group. They adopted the name Black Sabbath, a reference to the classic Boris Karloff film.

Breakthrough album

Black Sabbath's debut release, Black Sabbath (1970), was largely panned by critics, but sold well in England and abroad. Their sophomore effort, Paranoid (1971), included the phenomenally popular tracks "War Pigs," "Iron Man," and "Paranoid," all of which are considered seminal metal anthems. Later that year the band released their third album, Master of Reality, followed by Vol. 4(1972), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1975), Sabotage (1975) andTechnical Ecstasy (1976).

The band's use of religious symbolism and mythic themes lent a gothic cast to their public personae. It also earned them constant criticism from rightist groups, negative publicity that simply fueled the bands popularity with its fan base, mostly young males.

Solo Career

Osbourne left the group in 1978, at the height of Black Sabbath's popularity, to pursue a solo career. Unlike many headlining artists who leave the groups that made them famous only to disappear into obscurity, Osbourne's solo debut, Blizzard of Ozz (1980), was a resounding commercial success. His Diary of a Madman (1981) followed suit.

Throughout the 1980s, Osbourne continued to cultivate the image of the troubled loner, the social misfit, the angry rebel. His anti-social theatrics contributed to his public notoriety. He showered his audiences with raw meat, was arrested for urinating on the Alamo, bit the head off of a dove during a business meeting, and bit the head off of a live bat on stage.

In 1992, Osbourne announced that his No More Tears tour would be his last.

However, the popularity of the subsequently released double-live album, Live and Loud (1993), caused Osbourne to rethink his retirement. The album's version of "I Don't Want to Change the World" earned Osbourne his first Grammy Award.

In the 1990s, Osbourne continued to release albums and tour with his traveling metal festival, Ozzfest, but his star was clearly on the wane. Plus, he continued to struggle with substance abuse problems that had plagued him his entire career.

'The Osbournes'

Osbourne returned to 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 clan, has turned into the MTV Network's biggest hit to date. The comic appeal of the aging headbanger completing such humdrum tasks as taking out the garbage charmed even those conservatives who once vilified Osbourne. The show took a more serious turn in the summer of 2002 when wife, Sharon, was diagnosed with colon cancer. The show lasted until 2005.

Despite his popularity as a reality television personality, Osbourne will also been remembered for his contributions to the world of music. He reunited with Black Sabbath in 2005 for a tour, and these legendary heavy metal heroes were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame the following year. At the induction ceremony, Metallica played "Iron Man" in honor of the group. Osbourne, however, devotes most of his time these days to his solo career. He released Black Rain in 2007, which reached the No. 3 spot on the American album charts.

Osbourne and his wife, Sharon have three children, Jack, Kelly and Aimee. He also has two children from a previous marriage.

2009 – present time

Osbourne revealed in July 2009 that he was currently seeking a new guitar player. While he states that he has not fallen out with Zakk Wylde, he said he felt his songs were beginning to sound like Black Label Society and fancied a change. In August 2009, Osbourne performed at the gaming festival BlizzCon with a new guitarist in his line-up Gus G. Osbourne also provided his voice and likeness to the video game Brütal Legend character The Guardian of Metal. In November, Slashfeatured Osbourne on vocals in his single "Crucify The Dead", and Osbourne with wife Sharon were guest hosts on WWE Raw. In December, Osbourne announced he would be releasing a new album titled Soul Sucka with Gus G, Tommy Clufetos on drums, and Blasko on bass. Negative fan feedback was brought to Osbourne's attention regarding the album title. In respect of fan opinion, on 29 March Osbourne announced his album would be renamed Scream.

2010s

On 13 April 2010, Osbourne announced the release date for Scream would be 15 June 2010. The release date was later changed to 22 June. A single from the album, "Let Me Hear You Scream," debuted on 14 April 2010 episode of CSI: NY. The song spent 8 weeks on the Billboard Rock Songs, peaking at #7. Osbourne held a Meet-And-Greet album signing at the main branch of HMV in his home-town Birmingham, followed later that day by an intimate show in the Birmingham Town Hall. The first four hundred fans that arrived at the store earlier in the day were given wrist bands, enabling free access to the show.

On 9 August, Osbourne announced that the second single from the album would be "Life Won't Wait" and the video for the song would be directed by his son Jack. When asked of his opinions on Scream in an interview, Osbourne announced that he is "already thinking about the next album". Osbourne's current drummer, Tommy Clufetos, has reflected this sentiment, saying that "We are already coming up with new ideas backstage, in the hotel rooms and at soundcheck and have a bunch of ideas recorded".

Black Sabbath reunion

It was announced on 11 November 2011 during a news conference at the Whisky a Go Go club on West Hollywood's Sunset Strip that the original Black Sabbath line up of Ozzy, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward would reunite for a world tour and new album, to be produced by Rick Rubin. Bill Ward dropped out for contractual reasons, but the project continued with Rage Against the Machine's Brad Wilk stepping in for Ward on drums. On 21 May 2012, Black Sabbath played at the O2 Academy in their hometown Birmingham, their first concert since their reunion. The album, entitled 13 was released 11 June 2013, and topped both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200.

Other production work

Osbourne achieved greater celebrity status via his own brand of reality television. The Osbournes, a series featuring the domestic life of Osbourne and his family (wife Sharon, children Jack and Kelly, occasional appearances from his son Louis, but eldest daughter Aimee did not participate). The program became one of MTV's greatest hits. It premiered on 5 March 2002, and the final episode aired 21 March 2005.

The success of The Osbournes led Osbourne and the rest of his family to host the 30th Annual American Music Awards in January 2003. The night was marked with constant "bleeping" due to some of the lewd and raunchy remarks made by Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne. Presenter Patricia Heaton walked out midway in disgust. On 20 February 2008, Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly and Jack Osbourne hosted the 2008 BRIT Awards held at Earls Court, London. Ozzy Osbourne appears in a commercial for the online video game World of Warcraft. Osbourne published an autobiography in October 2009, titled I Am Ozzy. Osbourne says ghost writer Chris Ayres told the singer he has enough material for a second book. A movie adaptation of I Am Ozzy is also in the works, and Osbourne says he hopes "an unknown guy from England" will get the role over an established actor.

A documentary film about Osbourne's life and career, entitled God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, premiered in April 2011 at the Tribeca Film Festival and was released on DVD in November 2011. The film was produced by Osbourne's son Jack. On 15 May 2013 Osbourne, along with the current members of Black Sabbath, appeared in an episode of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation titled "Skin in the Game".