Ozzy Osbourne

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Biography

Born in Aston, Birmingham, John 'Ozzy' Osbourne had his first taste of music listening to The Beatles as a teenager, crediting the band with inspiring him to become a musician himself. In 1967, at the age of 19, Osbourne placed an advert in a local record shop advertising his services as a musician. When bassist Geezer Butler saw the advert, he approached Osbourne with the position of singer in his band Rare Breed. With guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward completing the lineup, they changed their name to Black Sabbath and set about working on their first original material.

Their self-titled debut album was released in 1970 and launched them onto the heavy metal circuit. The follow-up 'Paranoid' gave them their first hit single, the title track reaching number four in the UK Singles Chart. More successful albums followed with 'Master of Reality' in 1971, 'Vol. 4' in 1972, 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' in 1973, 'Sabotage' in 1975 and 'Technical Ecstasy' in 1976. Following their seventh album release, Osbourne ventured out on his own solo project called Blizzard of Ozz. His debut solo single 'Crazy Town' made it to number two in the UK with album 'Blizzard of Ozz' following it into the top ten. He rejoined his band mates for 'Never Say Die!' in 1978. With creative differences ripe between Osbourne and Iommi, however, the band made a decision to fire Osbourne in 1979. With his future in doubt, Osbourne resigned himself to a solitary life of drink and drugs, but when he received an offer of a deal with Jet Records, his life turned around.

With his wife and manager Sharon at his side, he built a devout hard rock following with albums 'The Ultimate Sin' (1986), 'Ozzmosis' (1995) and 'Down to Earth' (2001). In 2002 the MTV show 'The Osbournes' first aired, giving audiences a chance to see inside Osbourne's life and family home. The show provided a boost for Osbourne's reputation as well as a launch platform for the music career of his daughter Kelly. The father and daughter duetted on a cover of the Black Sabbath song 'Changes' in 2003 and she embarked on her debut solo album.

Osbourne released follow-up to 2001's 'Down to Earth', 'Under Cover', in 2005. 'Black Rain' came in 2007 and 'Scream' in 2010. He rejoined the Black Sabbath lineup for 2013's '13', the band's final album, before returning to work on his 12th solo offering, 'Ordinary Man', released in 2020. Shortly before the release of 'Ordinary Man', Osbourne revealed that he had been battling with Parkinson's Disease. As a result of his illness, he cancelled his 2020 tour.