Bio
John Michael Osbourne was born in Birmingham, England.
After leaving school he joined a band with Geezer Butler. The band broke up and Ozzy and Geezer joined Tony Iommi and Bill Ward to form a new band. The band went through many names (one being Earth), before deciding on Black Sabbath, the name of a track on their first album (1969).
Ozzy recorded many albums with Black Sabbath despite bad blood between him and Tony Iommi. He eventually left (or was fired, opinions vary) from the band in 1979.
After leaving Black Sabbath he recorded individually and toured extensively.
During the 80's he was treated for alcoholism and sued twice related to the suicides of two of his fans. Ozzy was cleared of both these charges.
After his "No More Tears" album, he announced he would tour for the last time. At his last concert in 1991, he reformed briefly with his bandmates from Black Sabbath when they performed 3 songs on stage together. This led to much talk and hype about Black Sabbath reforming, but these talks fell through and Ozzy decided to "retire". He did go on to record again, and his original bandmate, Geezer Butler, quit Black Sabbath and joined Ozzy again in the studio.
Ozzy was married to Thelma Mayfair from 1971 to 1981, they divorced with two children, Jessica and Louis. He married Sharon Osbourne in 1982. Sharon was first his manager before becoming his wife.
Some of Ozzy's colourful nicknames include:
The Great Ozz
The Wizard of Ozz
The Madman
The Godfather of Heavy Metal
The Prince of Darkness
The Blizzard of oz
He is well known for cursing like a sailor.