Ozzy Osbourne

John Michael Ozzy Osbourne, is a singer, songwriter, actor and reality television star who rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which he adopted the nickname The Prince of Darkness.

Osbourne's total album sales from his years in Black Sabbath, combined with his solo work, is over 100 million.

I don't want you to play me a riff that's going to impress Joe Satriani; give me a riff that makes a kid want to go out and buy a guitar and learn to play.

He was born in the Aston area of Birmingham. Upon hearing the Beatles' first hit single at age 14, he became a huge fan. He credits the band's 1963 song She Loves You for inspiring him to become a musician.

I never received any encouragement. My father would work nights and my mother would work during the day. We were expected to get a job with a trade.

Being in Birmingham, I thought I was going to be a gangster or a bag-runner or a thief. I heard music and I was determined to get out of there.

My father always said I would do something big one day.'I've got a feeling about you, John Osbourne,' he'd tell me, after he'd had a few beers.'You're either going to do something very special, or you're going to go to prison.' And he was right, my old man - I was in prison before my eighteenth birthday.

All I ever wanted to do was to do something good so that my parents could be proud of me.

In 1964 something totally unexpected happened. I got a job I enjoyed. I knew I was going to be a rock star the rest of my life.

Black Sabbath recorded nine albums: Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), Master of Reality (1971), Vol. 4 (1972), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973), Sabotage (1975), Technical Ecstasy (1976), Never Say Die! (1978) and 13 (2013).

I have a night off on Halloween. It's Halloween for me every night. Let everybody else be Ozzy for the night. People go out dressed as me.

Osbourne was fired from Sabbath in 1979 due to alcohol and drug problems, but he has gone on to have a massively successful solo career, releasing eleven studio albums.

I have a genuine love affair with my audience. When I'm on stage they're not privileged to see me. It's a privilege for me to see them.

He went on to have huge global success as a solo artist recording albums including: Blizzard of Ozz (1980), Diary of a Madman (1981), Bark at the Moon (1983), The Ultimate Sin (1986), No Rest for the Wicked (1988), No More Tears (1991) Ozzmosis (1995), Down to Earth (2001), Under Cover (2005), Black Rain (2007), Scream (2010) and Soul Sucka! (2020).

You've got to believe in yourself, or no one will believe in you. Imagination is like a bird on the wing, flying free for you to use.

Ozzy's biggest financial success of the 1990s was a venture named Ozzfest, created and managed by his wife / manager Sharon and assisted by his son Jack. The first Ozzfest was held in Phoenix, Arizona on 25 October 1996 and in Devore, California on 26 October. Since its beginning, five million people have attended Ozzfest which has grossed over $100 million. Ozzfest helped Ozzy to become the first hard rock and heavy metal star to hit $50 million in merchandise sales.

I kept hearing that metal is dead and Ozzy's dead and people that like Ozzy are dead. I have never had an empty seat. I've always sold out, so who's saying it's all over?

As long as there are kids who are pissed off and have no real way in venting out that anger, heavy metal will live on.

He rejoined the Black Sabbath in 1997 and helped record the group's final studio album 13 (2013) before they embarked on a farewell tour which culminated in a final performance in their home city, Birmingham, England, in February 2017. 

In 2015, he received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors.

I love my wife. We've had a few slings and arrows across the room, but I'm not prepared to give in, you know? People say she saved my life, but at the same time, I saved her life, as well, I think. She's a great mother, she's a great wife, she's a great worker, she's a great manager. She's just great.

If I go out with a jacket and a pair of trousers that my wife doesn't like, you can bet your ass it ain't in my wardrobe the following day. I say that it gets lost in the sky.

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