The British singer and rock musician had a significant impact on the emergence of styles of hard rock and heavy metal. Ozzy Osbourne, whose years of life is almost constant creativity, does not stop performing now. Recently, the musician performed in Moscow as part of his farewell tour. But fans can be assured that Ozzy is not going to end his career quickly. It is known that the tour will last until 2020.
Before Black Sabbath
The biography of Ozzy Osbourne (then John Michael Osbourne) began on December 3, 1948 in Birmingham, West Midlands, UK. He became the fourth child in the family. John had three sisters (Iris, Jean and Gillian) and two brothers (Tony and Paul). He received the nickname "Ozzy" while still at school. According to Osborne himself, everyone in the high school called him Ozzy. He does not know who was the first to invent this and why, perhaps it was a diminutive of his last name. The godfather of heavy metal studied with Tony Iommi, but in those days they were not familiar with each other. The creative union that marked the beginning of the famous Black Sabbath band formed a bit later.
At fifteen, Osborne was expelled from school. The family had an extremely difficult financial situation, so parents could not allocate funds for continuing their education. Then John Michael Osborne began working as an assistant plumber. Then he tried to work as a house painter, auto mechanic, assistant locksmith, slaughterer in a slaughterhouse and even a grave digger. Young Ozzy, not finding a place in the field of honest labor, tried to trade with thefts. Once caught, he could not pay the fine, and spent two or three months in a local prison. It was then that the young man made himself the famous OZZY tattoo on the fingers of his left hand.
After leaving prison, Ozzy decided to try his hand at music. He became the vocalist of Music Machine. After a while, the young man decided to establish his own team and advertised in a local newspaper. The first to speak to him was Terence Butler, who had already learned to play the guitar for six months, and later Tony Iommi and Bill Ward joined in. After the arrival of Iommi, Ozzy himself re-trained as a bass player. The band became known as The Polka Tulk Blues Band. Biography of Ozzy Osbourne made a sharp turn in the direction of music.
As part of Black Sabbath
Black Sabbath, a British music group that had a significant influence on rock music, particularly heavy metal, got Ozzy after posting an Ozzy Zig Needs Gig ad (literally: Ozzy Zig needs a concert) at a local store. Bill Ward recalls that Ozzy came to the first meeting with a boot on a string. Bill thought the guy was just crazy.
The first own composition of the group was Black Sabbath. The song was written under the influence of the horror of 1963. In style, it was a progressive blues, largely based on the Mars motif of Gustav Holst (Suite of the Planet). Prior to this, the team played only covers of songs by other authors.
In the late sixties and early seventies, Black Sabbath played in various clubs and worked on her own material. Listeners drew attention to the work of the Birmingham four. That is how the idea of the first recording of his own composition was born. Around the same time, young people learned that there was an Earth band, so they had to change their name to Black Sabbath. The first album, which took good places in the charts of the United States and Britain, manages to be recorded in January 1970.
Father's death and separation from Black Sabbath
Five years later, the group decides to change the manager. The new manager is the father of the future wife of Ozzy - Don Arden. Two years later, Ozzy leaves Black Sabbath, but returns in a few months. He is temporarily replaced by D. Walker. At this time, the group manages to start recording a new album (Never Say Die), but returning Ozzy Osbourne demands to rewrite all the lyrics. His departure from the group was associated with the death of his father. The musician was very upset by this event, actively abused drugs and alcohol. But according to other sources, Ozzy's addiction to alcohol manifested itself even earlier. Iommi claimed that then he had not seen a friend sober for a very long time. The recording of the album was very difficult. Then a tour followed. Ozzy Osbourne finally left the group.
Iommi, the musical "brain" of the creative team, already had sketches for the next album, and he also managed to meet with Ronnie James Law, who recently left the Rainbow band and at that time did not have his own band. Ozzy needed to be informed that the group no longer wanted to work with him. This task was performed by Bill Ward. Tomi Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne in subsequent interviews admitted that this was precisely the dismissal. True, Ozzy himself later claimed that this brought him only relief.
Ozzy Osbourne's solo career
For a long time after breaking up with Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne's biography was not replenished with any new events until Sharon Arden (this is the daughter of the former manager and the future wife of the musician) persuaded him to create a new team. Osborne published an ad in a local newspaper. One of the guitarists who came to audition turned out to be Randal W. (Randy) Roads.
In one interview, Roads admitted that he did not know with whom he was to collaborate. When he came to the audition, they brought him to a separate empty room. Randy plugged in his amplifier and electric guitar, and began to warm up. At this time, Ozzy appeared in the room, who immediately issued a positive verdict. Osborne ignored the objection of the new musician that he had not yet started playing. According to another version, the godfather of heavy metal was touched by the fact that Randy played notes.
Then Bob Daisley (bass player) and Lee Kersley (drummer) from Uriah Heep joined the small team. As such, they released their first album and went on tour. The first concert of Ozzy Osbourne and his new band as part of this tour was a performance in Glasgow on September 12, 1980.
Ozzy's pranks on stage
Ozzy needed to find a recording studio to release her own album. After several refusals, he nevertheless began working with CBS, whose employees did not show the seriousness that the musician was counting on. They considered the latter an insignificant event in the history of music, so they did not want to pay due attention to it.
To change his impression of himself, Ozzy followed Sharon's advice. He brought two doves to the office. The original intention was to release them and draw attention to themselves. The trick worked, but not quite as intended. Releasing the first pigeon, Ozzy bit off the head of the second. This was documented by a studio photographer, and soon the photo appeared in most newspapers. It is unlikely that this positively affected the decisions of the management of the record company, but it aroused the interest of young people.
It is not known whether this action was planned in advance. Sharon and Uzziah did not clarify the motives of the defiant act. True, Ozzy himself subsequently gave only one comment. He admitted that he was very drunk at that moment.
The 1980 album was popular with listeners, and Randy Roads was even called "the best young talent." Criticized only the song Suicide Solution. The ambiguous interpretation of the word (“decision” or “liquid”) caused the name to be interpreted differently: “Suicidal decision”, “Decision to commit suicide”, “Suicidal liquid”. A year later, the group recorded a new album, and the composition was updated. New members of the team were T. Aldridge and R. Sarzo.
At concerts at the time, Ozzy Osbourne threw raw meat into the public, but that was part of the contract. During the performance, Ozzy was supposed to throw about ten kilograms of pork offal and calf liver into the hall. Sometimes this part of the concert took completely unexpected turns. So, one of the fans after the group’s performance called the management and asked how to wash fresh blood.
The audience reacted vividly to Ozzy Osbourne's antics. The biography (briefly including) of the musician generally includes many extravagant acts. In response to his antics on stage, the audience threw dead frogs, snakes and cats at him. Once, someone threw a doll on the stage. Ozzy thought it was a real kid.
At the end of January 1982, Osborne bit off the head of a bat, mistaking it for a toy, which simply shocked the audience. Mark Neil, who threw the mouse on the stage, claimed that he had already brought the animal to the concert dead, and the musician himself said that the mouse was not only alive, but also bit him, which caused him to undergo rabies therapy.
Randy's death and new albums
In March 1982, Ozzy's guitarist and friend, Randy Roads, was tragically killed. During a tour of America, a music group bus stopped near a small town in Florida for repairs. To pass the time, the driver called the musicians to fly on his plane. In the second run, Randy Roads and hairdresser Rachel Youngblood were on the plane. Next to the bus (on the ground) then was the former spouse of the driver. According to her, the ex-husband decided to kill her and made three low circles over the bus. On the fourth attempt, the plane hit the bus and exploded. Passengers of the plane and the pilot died on the spot. Further investigation revealed that the bus driver was under the influence of drugs.
Then Randy and Ozzy worked on the third disc of the group. Ozzy said that he will continue to work, despite the death of a friend. He was supposed to release an album to fulfill contractual obligations. But the musician considered the release of the disc unethical immediately after the burial of a member of the group, so the album appeared only in 1987. But to avoid criticism still failed.
Further activities
The new guitarist of the group was Jake I. Lee. Jake from childhood was engaged in music, but classical. From the classics, the musician left a serious attitude to the instrument and daily classes for several hours. In 1986, a new band recorded the next album and went on a tour. This album was the softest and poorest in terms of musical ideas. The texts called for peace and non-violence. In 1987, the public presented an album containing archived recordings. It seemed that the creative biography of Ozzy Osbourne was coming to an end, but it was only a short break.
The next album is being recorded with the talented guitarist Zach Wilde , who will become a very important part of the band for the next few years. At the same time, the wife of Ozzy Osbourne (photo Sharon below) becomes the manager of the musical group and helps her husband get rid of alcoholism. In the documentary of those years, Ozzy appears in the image of a householder, assuring that he does not abuse women and spirits.
The next album turned out to be stronger in sound, and a characteristic feature was the absence of ballads. In March 1989, a song recorded with Lita Ford was released, which falls into all the charts of the United States. Two years later, Osborne is releasing a new album, but he has been conducting concerts without much enthusiasm, explaining that he wants to spend more time with his family. After the tour, which was called No more tours (translated: “No more tours”), Ozzy announces the end of active creative activity.
After a long break, Osborne is releasing a new album (1995) featuring Zack Wilde and Rick Wakeman. This work can be considered the most successful since the first two records. A major tour was held in support of this album. In 1997, the Black Sabbath group reunited and in the initial line-up arranged another tour. The musicians recorded two songs, but the new album, which everyone was waiting for, did not come out.
Ozzy’s tenth solo album was released in 2010. Its release was preceded by an extensive advertising campaign held at Madame Tussauds in New York. Ozzy was sitting on a couch next to one of the figures, and when visitors approached him to be photographed, the musician stood up sharply and scared the audience with his cry.
Ozzfest Festival
Ozzy founded a festival that travels with tours around the world. In 2004, Black Sabbath, SoaD, Metallica, Linkin Park, Slipknot, Marilyn Manson and other “heavy” bands took part in the festival. A major role in the development of this project was played by Jack Osborne, the young son of Ozzy, who began to act as program director.
The osbournes
In 2002, in Ireland and England, they showed a documentary series about Ozia Osbourne himself (photo below) and his family. It was a bit of a reality show. The Ozzy family in this project appeared as the Simpsons family. According to the musician himself, one broadcast ruined the fantasies of fans, because the famous singer appeared before his fans as a henpecked husband and a bad father.
The audience began to pay more attention to the unsatisfactory state of the musician. Live, he showed complete inadequacy, Ozzy Osbourne was clearly deaf with his wife, his hands were trembling, a vague muttering under his breath disturbed him. In absentia, the singer was given many diagnoses, but doctors explained his condition on the set of taking medications for alcoholism. Most likely, this is true, because already in 2007, Osborne appeared to be a completely normal person in good physical shape for his age.
Litigation
The biography of Ozzy Osbourne is full of not only creativity interspersed with shocking antics, but also litigation. In 1986, he was detained on suspicion that one of the songs contains special noises that have a detrimental effect on the listener's subconscious. The fact is that a 19-year-old boy shot himself while being inspired by the composition. Osborne's lawyers proved that there was no extraneous noise in the song, and the text itself could not be the subject of a lawsuit. It should be noted that the text does not call for suicide, but only compares alcoholism with suicide.
In the life of Ozzy Osbourne and his wife, there was a trial regarding money. The musicians sued them in 1998, accusing them of fraud in paying fees. The question was about money for the band’s first two albums, recorded in 1980 and 1981. The lawsuit remained unsatisfied.
Personal life
Ozzy Osbourne has always attracted the attention of girls with its extravagance and outrageousness. At 21, he married Talma Riley. In this marriage, two children appeared, and Osborne adopted his wife's son from her first marriage. The couple divorced in 1981. Little is known about how Ozzy Osbourne lived in his youth with his wife, but the second wife turned out to be a more public person. A year after the divorce, Ozzy married Sharon, who was engaged in all the affairs and schedule of her husband. In this marriage, three children were born - Amy, Jack and Kelly.
In his autobiography, the singer speaks frankly about his long and very difficult fight against alcoholism. He began to abuse alcohol at the age of eighteen, and by the time he was forty he became a chronic alcoholic who drank three or four bottles of strong drinks (vodka or cognac) per day.
The musician repeatedly tried to get rid of destructive dependence. He was in a society of anonymous alcoholics, went to all kinds of rehabilitation centers (for example, Betty Ford Clinic), and Ozzy Osbourne still could not overcome alcoholism. Periods of sobriety now and then gave way to binges, and with medical treatment, the singer was also addicted to drugs. Osborne finally quit drinking only at the beginning of the 2000s.