Ozzy Osbourne
On the 5th of July 2025, Ozzy Osbourne sat on a black throne at Villa Park in Birmingham, because Parkinson's disease had left him unable to stand. More than 40,000 people filled the ground. At its peak, the livestream drew 5.8 million viewers. The English singer, born John Michael Osbourne, had announced the night as his final performance. He died 17 days later.
Osbourne is widely credited as a pioneer of heavy metal, and the world knew him as the "Prince of Darkness". Yet the story behind that title is stranger and more human than the stage persona suggests.
How does a teenager from Birmingham end up as the face of a new, heavier kind of music? Why would the band he helped found throw him out? How does a man accused of promoting Satanism become the head of a hit reality-television household? And what kept him alive through decades of drink, drugs and accidents?
At 14 Lodge Road in Aston, a small two-bedroom home in Birmingham, John Michael Osbourne grew up beside three older sisters, Jean, Iris and Gillian, and two younger brothers, Paul and Tony. He was born on the 3rd of December 1948 at the maternity hospital in Marston Green, then part of Warwickshire. The building was later demolished, in the 1990s. His mother, Lilian, was a non-observant Catholic who worked at a Lucas factory. His father, John Thomas "Jack" Osbourne, worked night shifts as a toolmaker at the General Electric Company.
The nickname "Ozzy" arrived in childhood, and school was a struggle. Dyslexia made lessons difficult, and his accent was described as "hesitant Brummie". At the age of 11 he suffered sexual abuse from school bullies. He later said he attempted suicide multiple times as a teenager. Still, he took part in school plays, including Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado and H.M.S. Pinafore.
The Beatles gave him a direction at the age of 14. After hearing the group's first hit single, he became a fan and credited their 1963 song "She Loves You" with inspiring him to become a musician. In the 2011 documentary God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, he said the band made him realize he would be a rock star for the rest of his life.
At 15 he left school and worked through a string of jobs. He was a construction site labourer, a trainee plumber, an apprentice toolmaker, a car factory horn-tuner and a slaughterhouse worker. At 17 he was convicted of robbing a clothes shop. He could not pay the fine, and his father refused to pay it, hoping to teach him a lesson. The result was six weeks in Winson Green Prison.
Then a bassist named Geezer Butler started looking for a singer.
Rare Breed, the first band Geezer Butler put together, played just two shows and broke up. Osbourne and Butler then reunited in Polka Tulk Blues, which also included guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward, whose own band, Mythology, had recently collapsed. They renamed the group Earth. After they were accidentally booked for a show meant for a different band with the same name, they changed it again. In August 1969 they settled on Black Sabbath, inspired by a film of that title.
The band noticed that audiences enjoyed being frightened. That observation pushed them toward a heavy blues style laced with gloomy sounds and lyrics. While the first album was being recorded, Butler read an occult book and woke to see a dark figure at the end of his bed. He told Osbourne, and together they wrote the lyrics to "Black Sabbath", their first song in a darker vein.
The sound rested on Iommi's guitar riffs, Butler's lyrics, Ward's dark tempo drumbeats and Osbourne's eerie vocals. Their US label, Warner Bros. Records, invested only modestly, but the debut Black Sabbath and its follow-up Paranoid, both from 1970, sold well and won considerable radio airplay. Osbourne remembered that "in those days, the band wasn't very popular with the women".
Master of Reality followed five months after Paranoid. It reached the top ten in both the United States and the UK and went gold in less than two months. Reviews were unfavourable. Lester Bangs of Rolling Stone dismissed it as "naïve, simplistic, repetitive, absolute doggerel". In 2003 the same magazine placed it at number 298 on its list of the 500 greatest albums.
Black Sabbath Vol. 4 arrived in September 1972. Critics were dismissive, yet it went gold in under a month and became the band's fourth consecutive million-seller in the United States. In November 1973, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath won the band its first favourable reviews in the mainstream press. Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone called it "an extraordinarily gripping affair". Sabotage, released in July 1975, was praised again. Technical Ecstasy, released on the 25th of September 1976, drew mixed reviews, and AllMusic later said the band was "unravelling at an alarming rate".
By late 1977 Osbourne walked out for three months to pursue a solo project called Blizzard of Ozz, a title his father had suggested. Three members of Necromandus, who had supported Sabbath in Birmingham when the band was still called Earth, backed him in the studio. At the other members' request he came back. The band then spent five months at Sounds Interchange Studios in Toronto making Never Say Die! Iommi remembered that "We were getting really drugged out, doing a lot of dope."
In May 1978 the Never Say Die! Tour began with Van Halen as the opening act. Reviewers called Sabbath "tired and uninspired" next to the "youthful" Van Halen, who were touring the world for the first time. The final date was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on the 11th of December. It was Osbourne's last appearance with the band until 1985.
The tension with Iommi ran deep. Back at the start, Iommi and Ward had answered a flyer in a record store reading "Ozzy Zig Needs Gig- has own PA", and Iommi recognized the man who emerged as a "pest" from school days. In the early 1970s, Iommi pulled a drunken Osbourne off Butler during a hotel-room fight. Osbourne swung at him, and Iommi knocked him unconscious with one punch to the jaw.
On the 27th of April 1979, at Iommi's insistence and with the support of Butler and Ward, Osbourne was ejected from Black Sabbath. He was told he was unreliable and that his substance abuse was excessive compared to the others. Osbourne maintained that his use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs was similar to theirs.
Former Rainbow singer Ronnie James Dio took his place. In an interview with Tommy Vance on BBC Radio 1's Friday Rock Show on the 21st of August 1987, Dio said, "I was not, and never will be, Ozzy Osbourne."
For his share of the Black Sabbath name, Osbourne received £96,000, and he locked himself away for three months of cocaine and booze. In his own words, his plan was "This is my last party, because after this I'm going back to Birmingham and the dole."
Don Arden had other plans. He signed Osbourne to Jet Records and sent his daughter Sharon to Los Angeles to "look after Ozzy's needs, whatever they were". Arden still hoped the singer would return to Sabbath, whom he personally managed. He even pushed the name "Son of Sabbath" for the new band, which Osbourne hated. Sharon tried to steer him toward a supergroup with guitarist Gary Moore. Moore recalled that his own band helped Osbourne audition musicians, saying "We felt sorry for him, basically."
In late 1979 Osbourne formed the Blizzard of Ozz with bassist-lyricist Bob Daisley, guitarist Randy Rhoads, drummer Lee Kerslake and session keyboardist Don Airey. The record company titled the debut Blizzard of Ozz and credited it to Osbourne alone, which began his solo career. Daisley later claimed he and Osbourne had formed the band in England before Rhoads joined. The album is among the few top-100 sellers of the 1980s to reach multi-platinum status without a top-40 single. By August 1997 it was quadruple platinum. Bill Ward admitted he envied Osbourne's comeback and was bitter.
Diary of a Madman followed in 1981, with more songs co-written with Kerslake and the singles "Over the Mountain" and "Flying High Again". Osbourne called it his personal favourite. For his work on this album and its predecessor, Rolling Stone ranked Rhoads the 85th-greatest guitarist of all time in 2003.
On the 19th of March 1982, the band was in Florida, a week away from Madison Square Garden. A light aircraft flown by the tour bus driver, Andrew Aycock, was making low passes over the band's bus. Rhoads and costume designer Rachel Youngblood were aboard. The left wing clipped the bus, and the plane crashed into a mansion's garage. All three aboard were killed. The crash was blamed on the pilot's poor judgement. Osbourne fell into a deep depression, and the tour paused for two weeks.
Replacing Rhoads was messy. Gary Moore refused. Robert Sarzo, brother of bassist Rudy Sarzo, was chosen, but Bernie Tormé arrived from England with a promise from Jet Records, which had already paid him an advance. Sharon reluctantly hired Tormé, and the tour resumed on the 1st of April 1982. His blues-based style was unpopular with fans, and he left after a handful of shows. Osbourne picked Night Ranger's Brad Gillis at a hotel-room audition to finish the tour. The live album Speak of the Devil, recorded at The Ritz in New York City, ended up consisting entirely of Sabbath covers.
Jake E. Lee joined for Bark at the Moon in 1983, which sold three million copies in the United States. Its video was partly filmed at Holloway Sanitorium outside London. The Ultimate Sin in 1986 became his highest-charting studio album to that point, and Lee left in 1987. Zakk Wylde, the most enduring replacement for Rhoads, arrived next and recorded No Rest for the Wicked in 1988. That year Osbourne's duet with Lita Ford, "Close My Eyes Forever", reached number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
No More Tears came in 1991, with "Mama, I'm Coming Home" and heavy radio and MTV rotation. For it he began inviting outside collaborators, notably Motörhead's Lemmy Kilmister, to help write. In 1994 he won a Grammy for Best Metal Performance for "I Don't Want to Change the World", from the live album Live & Loud. In 1992 he proclaimed a "retirement tour" called "No More Tours", a pun on No More Tears. The retirement did not last. When Ozzmosis reached number 4 on the US Billboard 200 in 1995, he dubbed the concerts "The Retirement Sucks Tour".
In 1981, at a Los Angeles meeting with CBS Records executives after signing his first solo deal, Osbourne bit the head off a dove. He had apparently planned to release doves as a sign of peace, but intoxication changed the plan. As security escorted him out, he grabbed a second dove and did the same. The act was parodied and alluded to for years and helped make him famous.
On the 20th of January 1982, at the Veterans Memorial Auditorium in Des Moines, Iowa, he bit the head off a bat he thought was rubber. A 2004 Rolling Stone article said the bat was alive, but Mark Neal, the 17-year-old who threw it, said it was already dead. Osbourne wrote in the 2002 edition of Diary of a Madman that it was alive and bit him, so he had rabies shots. On the 20th of January 2019 he marked the anniversary by selling an "Ozzy Plush Bat" toy with a detachable head. The site said the first batch sold out within hours.
On the 18th of February 1982, wearing Sharon's dress for a photoshoot near the Alamo, he drunkenly urinated on the Alamo Cenotaph, which honours those who died in the battle there. A police officer arrested him, and he was banned from San Antonio for a decade. He also admitted shooting 17 of his own pet cats during a rampage fuelled by drink and drugs in the 1980s.
The devil-worship charges were the heaviest. Many Christian groups accused him of promoting Satanism and corrupting teenagers. Protestant fundamentalist Jeff Godwin demonised him, and Cardinal John O'Connor called his music "a help to the devil". Osbourne denied being a Satanist and folded the accusations into his stage persona. He hit back in lyrics too. "Miracle Man" targeted Jimmy Swaggart after Swaggart's sex scandal. Scholar Christopher M. Moreman compared the uproar to the one around the occultist Aleister Crowley, and Osbourne invited the comparison with his 1980 song "Mr. Crowley".
In 1984, California teenager John McCollum took his own life while listening to "Suicide Solution". His parents sued Osbourne in McCollum v. CBS, pointing to the lyric "Where to hide, suicide is the only way out" and claiming hidden backward messages. The courts ruled in Osbourne's favour, finding no connection. In 1990 he was sued again over the deaths of Michael Waller in 1986 and Harold Hamilton in 1988, and the courts again sided with him. Bob Daisley wrote the lyrics. Osbourne said the song was a warning about alcoholism, inspired by the alcohol-related death of singer Bon Scott. Daisley said it referred to Osbourne himself.
In 1989 Osbourne personally apologized for homophobic remarks Zakk Wylde made at a Long Beach concert, and he reportedly donated to AIDS Walk Long Beach.
His own account of faith was gentle by comparison. In 1986 he said, "I'm a Christian. I was christened as a Christian." By 2022 he described a "symbiotic" relationship with evangelists, saying "I've kept them in jobs". He once joined Christians protesting outside one of his gigs, standing at the end of the line with a broomstick bearing a smiley face and the words "Have a Nice Day". They did not know he was there.
Sharon Arden was working as her father Don's receptionist when Osbourne first met her. Black Sabbath were considering Don as their new manager after the unexpected success of their first album. Osbourne admitted he was attracted to her immediately but assumed that "she probably thought I was a lunatic". Choosing Don, he later said, had one great advantage: he got to see Sharon regularly.
His first marriage came in 1971. He met Thelma Riley at the Rum Runner, the Birmingham nightclub where she worked, and they married later that year. Children Jessica and Louis soon followed, and he adopted Riley's five-year-old son, Elliot. Osbourne later called the marriage "a terrible mistake". In the documentary God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, he admitted he could not remember when Louis and Jessica were born.
In 1981, Randy Rhoads predicted the bickering couple of Ozzy and Sharon would "probably get married someday", though Osbourne was still married to Thelma. They wed on the 4th of July 1982, a date he chose so he would never forget the anniversary. Their children were Aimee, born on the 2nd of September 1983, Kelly, born on the 27th of October 1984, and Jack, born on the 8th of November 1985. The marriage survived a four-year affair with hairdresser Michelle Pugh, after which Sharon attempted suicide. He wrote a song for Aimee, in which she can be heard at the end saying "I'll always be your angel", and another, "My Little Man", for Jack.
Sharon turned a rejection into a business. After the organisers of Lollapalooza turned Ozzy down, she created Ozzfest in 1996, with help from Jack. It ran yearly until 2010. From its start to 2005, more than four million people attended and it grossed more than US$170 million. Osbourne became the first hard rock and heavy metal star to reach $50 million in merchandise sales. Many up-and-coming bands gained broad exposure there. In 2005 the pair starred in an MTV competition show, Battle for Ozzfest. Tickets for the 2007 tour were free, which stirred controversy. By 2008 Ozzfest shrank to one day in Dallas, with Metallica and King Diamond on the bill.
The television show was Sharon's idea too. The Osbournes premiered on MTV on the 5th of March 2002 and ended on the 21st of March 2005, following Ozzy, Sharon, Jack and Kelly at home. Louis made occasional appearances, but eldest daughter Aimee did not take part. It became one of MTV's greatest hits. In January 2003 the family hosted the 30th Annual American Music Awards. The night was marked by constant bleeping, and presenter Patricia Heaton walked out in disgust. Later the family hosted the 2008 BRIT Awards at Earls Court. Ozzy & Jack's World Detour ran from 2016 to 2018 on the History Channel, and The Osbournes Want to Believe followed in 2020 and 2021.
On the 8th of December 2003, a quad bike accident on his estate in Jordans, Buckinghamshire, sent Osbourne into emergency surgery at Wexham Park Hospital. He broke his collar bone, eight ribs and a neck vertebra. Sharon later revealed he had stopped breathing and was resuscitated by his bodyguard, Sam Ruston. From his hospital bed, he scored his first UK number one with a duet of "Changes" with Kelly. The gap of 33 years since "Paranoid" reached number four in August 1970 set a record.
At the 2002 White House Correspondents' Association dinner, where Fox News correspondent Greta Van Susteren had invited the couple, President George W. Bush joked, "Ozzy, Mom loves your stuff."
Tony Iommi said that although the whole of Black Sabbath smoked and drank and took illicit drugs in the 1970s, Osbourne had the unhealthiest lifestyle of them all. Strangely, Osbourne was usually the only one left standing when the others were "out for the count". Osbourne said his first cocaine came in early 1971 at a hotel in Denver, Colorado, after a show with Mountain, and he credited the band's guitarist, Leslie West, though West was reluctant to take credit. He also claimed to have taken LSD every day for two years while in Black Sabbath.
In his memoir Off the Rails, bassist Rudy Sarzo described life on the road with Osbourne, who was in a state of near-constant inebriation and often so hungover that he refused to perform. Many shows on the American leg of the 1981-82 Diary of a Madman tour were cancelled. In February 1982, a drunken Osbourne fired his entire band, including Rhoads, after they refused to join a planned live album of Sabbath songs. He also attacked Rhoads and Sarzo in a hotel bar. Sharon told the band she feared he had "finally snapped". He later remembered none of it.
In May 1984, Osbourne was arrested in Memphis, Tennessee, for public intoxication. The worst episode came in August 1989, after he returned from the Moscow Music Peace Festival. Sharon claimed he had tried to strangle her. He spent six months in rehabilitation, and Sharon did not press charges.
In 2003 he told the Los Angeles Times that medication prescribed by a Beverly Hills doctor had nearly incapacitated him, with 13,000 doses of 32 drugs allegedly prescribed in one year. The Medical Board of California investigated for nine years and cleared the physician of all charges. In 2010 he told The Howard Stern Show that it took him 19 attempts to get his driving licence. That October, scientists from the Massachusetts company Knome joined him at the TEDMED Conference to discuss their analysis of his whole genome, which shed light on how he had survived decades of misuse.
In April 2013 he revealed on Facebook that he had been smoking, drinking and using drugs again for a year and a half, "in a very dark place", and had been sober since early March. He apologised to Sharon, family, friends and fans. In a February 2021 interview with Variety, he said he had been sober for about seven years. Zakk Wylde credited his survival to "a very special kind of fortitude".
The tremors began years earlier. In 2003 he learned they were a genetic form of Parkinson's disease, and he took daily medication for the rest of his life. He revealed the diagnosis in January 2020, saying, "I'm not dying from Parkinson's. I've been working with it most of my life." He also had mild hearing loss, visible in The Osbournes when he asked his family to repeat themselves. On the 6th of February 2019, flu complications put him in hospital, and the European leg of his No More Tours II tour was postponed.
At the 1997 Ozzfest, Osbourne, Iommi and Butler formally reunited as Black Sabbath, with Ward absent due to health issues. Osbourne also performed a solo set. In December 1997 all four members came together to record the live album Reunion, released in October 1998, and Osbourne toured with them until 1999. The reformed band played Ozzfest in 2001-2004 and 2005, then paused over a dispute between Osbourne and Iommi about the rights to the name Black Sabbath. In July 2010 both men dropped the court proceedings, saying the issue "was never personal, it was always business".
Between those reunions he kept making solo records. Down to Earth, released on the 16th of October 2001, was his first new studio material in six years. Black Rain followed on the 22nd of May 2007, with a more serious tone. Guitarist Gus G joined by 2009, and Scream followed in 2010.
By 2011 he had reconciled with Iommi. The original line-up announced a second reunion world tour, and the first concert was in May 2012 at the O2 Academy, with Tommy Clufetos on drums after Ward dropped out for contractual reasons. The album 13 was released on the 11th of June 2013, with Rage Against the Machine's Brad Wilk on drums, and topped both the UK Albums Chart and the US Billboard 200. A farewell tour called The End began in January 2016 and finished in 2017 at the Genting Arena in Birmingham.
On the 6th of February 2018, Osbourne announced a final world tour called No More Tours II. He insisted he was not retiring: "I'm still going to be doing gigs, but I'm not going on tour for six months at a time anymore." The last concert of the tour was on New Year's Eve 2018. Spinal damage in early 2019 and then the COVID-19 pandemic stopped it. He held out hope for three years before cancelling it for good in January 2023.
His career was not finished. On the 6th of September 2019 he featured on Post Malone's "Take What You Want", which peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was his first US top ten single in 30 years. Ordinary Man arrived on the 21st of February 2020 and debuted at number three on the UK Albums Chart. Patient Number 9 followed on the 9th of September 2022, his thirteenth and last solo studio album. He dedicated it to Ukraine and pledged all proceeds to the Third Wave Volunteers organisation. In late August 2022 he played "Iron Man" and "Paranoid" at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in Birmingham, with Iommi alongside him. About a week later he performed at the NFL Kickoff at SoFi Stadium.
The honours piled up. He sold more than 100 million albums across his solo work and Black Sabbath releases. He joined the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2005, solo and with Sabbath, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Sabbath in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024. He received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star on the 12th of April 2002 and a Birmingham Walk of Stars star on the 6th of July 2007. MTV Europe gave him the Global Icon Award in 2014, and in 2015 he received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement. In 2023, Rolling Stone ranked him number 112 among the 200 greatest singers of all time.
The Villa Park concert gave its proceeds in equal parts to The Cure Parkinson's Trust, Birmingham Children's Hospital and Acorn Children's Hospice. In July 2025 Osbourne announced a final autobiography, Last Rites, and it reached readers on the 7th of October.
Continue browsing
Updated
Common questions
Who was Ozzy Osbourne?
Ozzy Osbourne was an English singer, songwriter and media personality, born John Michael Osbourne on the 3rd of December 1948 and died on the 22nd of July 2025. He is widely credited as a pioneer of heavy metal and was known as the "Prince of Darkness".
Why was Ozzy Osbourne fired from Black Sabbath?
Ozzy Osbourne was ejected from Black Sabbath on the 27th of April 1979 at Tony Iommi's insistence, with the support of Geezer Butler and Bill Ward. He was told he was unreliable and had excessive substance abuse issues, which he disputed.
What was Ozzy Osbourne's final concert?
Ozzy Osbourne's final show was Back to the Beginning at Villa Park in Birmingham on the 5th of July 2025, alongside the original line-up of Black Sabbath. He performed seated on a black throne, and a crowd of more than 40,000 attended.
When did Ozzy Osbourne die?
Ozzy Osbourne died on the 22nd of July 2025-17 days after his final concert in Birmingham. He had announced that performance as his last because of health issues.
What is Ozzfest and who created it?
Ozzfest is a heavy metal touring festival created by Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy Osbourne's wife and manager, after Lollapalooza turned Ozzy down. It ran yearly from 1996 to 2010, drew more than four million people through 2005 and grossed more than US$170 million.
What was the reality show starring Ozzy Osbourne?
The Osbournes was an MTV reality series that aired from the 5th of March 2002 to the 21st of March 2005. It followed Ozzy Osbourne at home with his wife Sharon and their children Kelly and Jack.
What illness did Ozzy Osbourne have?
Ozzy Osbourne had a genetic form of Parkinson's disease, diagnosed in 2003 and revealed publicly in January 2020. He took daily medication for the tremors for the rest of his life.
All sources
314 references cited across the entry
- 1Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince of Darkness, on His Nickname: "It's Better Than Being Called an Asshole"David Von Bader — 30 July 2013
- 2BookRock Brands: Selling Sound in a Media Saturated CultureLexington Books — 2010
- 3BookDiary of a Madman – The Official BiographyMick Wall — Zomba Books — 1986
- 7Ozzy OsbourneChad — 25 October 2019
- 8HistoryBickenhill & Marston Green Parish Council
- 9NewsOzzy Osbourne in Birmingham - looking back at the Brummie behind the bullMarcus Queenborough — 29 July 2023
- 10NewsOzzy Osbourne's birth certificate reveals his first home in Birmingham - and it's not in AstonMatt Cannon — 7 August 2018
- 11I Am Ozzy, page 6
- 12BookOn the Record: Over 150 of the Most Talented People in Music Share the Secrets of Their SuccessGuy Oseary — Penguin Books — 2004
- 14Sue Crawford (2003), "Ozzy Unauthorized";
- 15What I've Learned: Ozzy OsbourneRoss Johnson — January 2005
- 16Sisters reveal the real Ozzy OsbourneBirmingham Live — 12 October 2012
- 17BookI Am OzzyOzzy Osbourne et al. — Grand Central Publishing — 2010
- 19NewsWhy is the Birmingham accent so difficult to mimic?BBC — 12 December 2016
- 20MagazineOzzy Osbourne reveals childhood sexual abuseGary Susman — 1 December 2003
- 21BookThe Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & RollFireside — 2001
- 22GQ interview
- 23NewsCynthia Ellis: Q&A With Jack Osbourne for God Bless Ozzy OsbourneHuffPost — 26 May 2011
- 24'God Bless Ozzy Osbourne': New documentary presents the life, art, and addiction of the metal madmanJoseph Brannigan Lynch — Entertainment Weekly/CNN — 25 April 2011
- 25BookI Am OzzyOzzy Osbourne — 2009
- 26"Ozzy had been to school with Tony and they hated each other." Geezer Butler on the fractious early days of Black SabbathNiall Dohertypublished — 23 July 2023
- 28Biography-Geezer ButlerJason Ankeny
- 29Ozzy Osbourne BiographyBarry Weber — 2007
- 30Osbourne, Ozzy (2010). I Am Ozzy.
- 32MagazineMaster of Reality Rolling Stone Review
- 33AMG BiographyWilliam Ruhlmann
- 34Black Sabbath "Vol. 4" - An Observation Of Rarity -18 August 2015
- 36Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath Album ReviewGordon Fletcher
- 37Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath AMG ReviewEduardo Rivadavia
- 39MagazineSabotage Album ReviewBilly Altman — 25 September 1975
- 40Sabotage AMG Album ReviewGreg Prato
- 41Technical Ecstasy AMG ReviewGreg Prato
- 43NecromandusPete Sarfas — alexgitlin.com — March 2005
- 44Bob Daisley's History with the OsbournesBobdaisley.com
- 45The story of Ozzy's forgotten 1970s "prog rock" solo bandDave Everley — 24 March 2024
- 46Cumbrian Bands of the Seventies: NecromandusBtinternet.com
- 47Hoskyns, Barney (2009). "Into the Void: Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath". Omnibus Press.
- 48"Just Slaughtered Us": The Opening Acts That Almost Intimidated Black Sabbath off Their Own StageMelanie Davis — 7 October 2025
- 49MusicMight.com Black Sabbath BiographyGarry Sharpe-Young — MusicMight.com
- 51BookI Am OzzyOzzy Osbourne et al. — Grand Central Publishing — 2010
- 52Ronnie James Dio interview with Tommy Vance for BBC Radio 1's Friday Rock Show; broadcast 21 August 1987; transcribed by editor Peter Scott for Sabbath fanzine Southern Cross No. 11, October 1996, p27
- 53"Heavy Metal"
- 54BookIron Man: My Journey Through Heaven and Hell With Black SabbathTony Iommi — Da Capo Press — 2011
- 55MagazineReturn to OzzPhilip Wilding — January 2002
- 56MagazineGimme MoreDave Ling — July 2006
- 57Unheard Randy Rhoads recordings to be released20 March 2014
- 58Former Ozzy Bassist Has An Axe To Grind with the OsbournesRockcellarmagazine.com — 13 June 2013
- 60MagazineBill Ward and the Hand of Doom – Part III: Disturbing the PeaceRon Schroer — October 1996
- 61MagazineThe 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time27 August 2003
- 62NTSB Accident Report for Rhoads' plane crashPlanecrashinfo.com
- 63NewsSharon Osbourne Extreme: My AutobiographySharon Osbourne — Little Brown — 11 October 2006
- 64Sarzo, Rudy (2017). Off the Rails (third edition). CreateSpace Publishing.
- 65Brad Gillis recalls 40th anniversary of recording for Ozzy Osbourne's live album 'Speak of The Devil' - Sleaze RoxxOlivier — 27 September 2022
- 66BookThe Billboard Book of Top 40 AlbumsBillboard Books — 1991
- 67BookOzzy at 75: The Unofficial Illustrated HistoryMotorbooks — 2023
- 70Phil Soussan InterviewMusic Legends — 3 October 2008
- 72Zakk Wylde InterviewMusic Legends — 22 September 2010
- 73Joel Whitburn (2006). The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. Billboard Books
- 75AllMusic No More Tears-awards
- 78Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath frontman and icon of British heavy metal, dies aged 76Ben Beaumont-Thomas — 22 July 2025
- 79Alice in Chains' Mike Inez Honored to Receive 2020 MoPOP Founders Award12 November 2020
- 80Ozzy OsbourneAll music
- 8129 Years Ago: Ozzy Osbourne Releases Comeback Album 'Ozzmosis'Jon Wiederhorn — 23 October 2023
- 82Ozzy9 February 1996
- 83New guitar blood keeps Ozzy young22 January 1996
- 84It's Time To Bring Back Ozzfest7 August 2025
- 85MagazineParanoid? Who's asking?Paul Elliott — February 1998
- 86BookThe Complete History of Black Sabbath: What Evil LurksJoel Mciver — Race Point Publishing — 15 October 2016
- 87Black Sabbath Reunion Tourozzy.com
- 89MagazineBlack Sabbath – Biography
- 91Ozzy Osbourne sues Black Sabbath bandmateSean Michaels — June 2009
- 94Why did Jason Newsted quit Metallica?4 March 2023
- 95NewsRock'n'roll Ozzy hurt in quad-bike accident26 March 2018
- 96NewsOzzy has No 1 hit from his hospital bed26 March 2018
- 97NewsOzzy reunites with Sabbath12 July 2004
- 98For Box Set, Ozzy Duetting With Ol' Dirty, Wu-Tang — And A Pig21 October 2004
- 99Ozzy Osbourne Goes 'Under Cover'5 October 2005
- 100Ozzy Osbourne: Recording Lineup For 'Under Covers' Disc Revealed16 February 2005
- 102NewsOzzy itching to record10 March 2006
- 103NewsBlack Sabbath finds afterlife named Heaven and Hell27 October 2006
- 104NewsOzzy Osbourne: New Album First I've done Sober13 April 2007
- 106NewsOzzy to end BlizzCon 2009Terry Horne — 11 August 2009
- 107Ozzy Osbourne's voice is in Brutal LegendJustin McElroy — Joystiq — 1 June 2009
- 108NewsSlash's New Single To Feature Ozzy Osbourne; More Guest SingersMistress Carrie — 10 November 2009
- 109Special Guest HostsWWE
- 111NewsOzzy Osbourne Says New Album Is 'Very, Very Heavy'27 January 2010
- 113"CSI: NY" to feature new Ozzy Osbourne song12 April 2010
- 114NewsOzzy Osbourne Releases 'Life Won't Wait' Single; iTunes App10 August 2010
- 116NewsOzzy Osbourne To Release 'Memoirs Of A Madman' CD, Two-Disc DVD In October23 July 2014
- 118NewsReunited Black Sabbath play Birmingham gig21 May 2012
- 119Black Sabbath: New Album Title Announced; Recording Drummer RevealedBlabbermouth.Net — 12 January 2013
- 120MagazineBlack Sabbath Earns First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 ChartKeith Caulfield — 19 June 2013
- 121Black Sabbath make chart history with first Number 1 album in nearly 43 yearsDaniel Lane — Official Charts Company — 16 June 2013
- 122MagazineBlack Sabbath Set Last U.S. Show9 June 2016
- 123Black Sabbath's Final Tour Ended In Rare Form in Phoenix Last NightDavid Accomazzo — 22 September 2016
- 124NewsOzzy expects to 'shed a few tears' at Black Sabbath farewell showBBC — 10 December 2017
- 125Black Sabbath To Bring 'The End' Tour To The UK And IrelandStereoboard.com — 10 June 2016
- 127Ozzy Osbourne Plays First Solo Show Since Black Sabbath's Farewell: Set List + VideoUltimate Classic Rock — 15 July 2017
- 128Ozzy Osbourne to headline Download Festival at Donington Park in 2018BBC — 11 June 2017
- 129NewsOzzy Osbourne Announces 'No More Tours 2' North American Dates With Stone Sour6 February 2018
- 131Ozzy Osbourne cancels 2023 European tour dates, cites injury1 February 2023
- 132MagazineOzzy Osbourne Is Done With Touring, But Says 'My Goal Is to Get Back Onstage as Soon as Possible'Lyndsey Havens — 2 February 2023
- 136Ozzy Osbourne Hoping to 'Do Another Album' Next MonthJoe Divita — 25 February 2020
- 137Ozzy Osbourne Hopes To Begin Work On New Studio Album Next Month25 February 2020
- 138Play the New Ozzy Osbourne Video Game 'Legend of Ozzy'Joe Divita — 29 February 2020
- 139Sharon Osbourne says Ozzy is starting work on his new studio albumScott Munro — 13 July 2020
- 141Zakk Wylde Will Play On Every Track of Ozzy's New Album1 November 2021
- 145Ozzy Osbourne Releases Full NFL Halftime Performance From September 8 Los Angeles Rams-Buffalo Bills GameOzzy Osbourne — 13 September 2022
- 147MagazineThe 200 Greatest Singers of All Time1 January 2023
- 148Sharon Osbourne announces Ozzy's final show: 'This is his full stop'5 February 2025
- 149NewsBlack Sabbath and Ozzy Osbourne: Back to the Beginning review – all-star farewell to the gods of metal is epic and emotionalMichael Hann — 5 July 2025
- 150NewsOzzy Osbourne reunites with Black Sabbath for 'final bow' in emotional metal goodbyeGemma Peplow — 6 July 2025
- 151BookRock Brands: Selling Sound in a Media Saturated CultureLexington Books — 2010
- 152BookOzzy Osbourne and Kelly OsbourneThe Rosen Publishing Group — 2004
- 153NewsOzzy is back, bad as ever15 September 1996
- 154BookOzzfestThe Rosen Publishing Group — 2008
- 155NewsOzzfest, Summerfest acts public25 April 1997
- 156Bang your head on Ozzy's train23 May 1997
- 157OZZFEST Is Top-Grossing Festival Of All Time15 March 2005
- 159MagazineOzzy Osbourne Moves $50 Million In Merchandise27 July 2004
- 160NewsOzzy Osbourne gets real with MTV rock band show.Dean Goodman — 23 October 2004
- 161NewsCynder Loses All But its Cool; MTV Voters Bounce Piedmont Band From Reality Show, But Its Members Relish The Exposure.11 January 2005
- 162Ozzfest without Ozzy? He says he will do one more16 August 2005
- 163A slower pace for Iron Man - and concert industry28 June 2006
- 164Will free Ozzfest change industry?27 July 2007
- 165Organizers brand 2008 Ozzfest a big success8 September 2008
- 166Ozzy Osbourne In 'Jersey Shore'; Official Spoof Video Released26 August 2010
- 167OZZfest 2010, San Bernardino – Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, Devildriver, Black Label Society, HalfordArtist Direct — 16 August 2010
- 168Ozzfest 2010Steve Trager — Hard rock haven — 9 September 2010
- 169Ozz Fest 2010 Part IIMetal army — 17 September 2010
- 170Ozzy Launches European Tour Leg2 September 2010
- 171The Osbournes: Over and Out at Fox6 August 2009
- 175Show intro with hosts The OsbournesBrits — 2008
- 177World of Warcraft TV Spot: Ozzy Osbourne (Machinima)21 November 2008
- 178Ozzy's Black Skies10 April 2001
- 180Ozzy drops out of Black SkiesTrey Walker — Uk.gamespot.com — 6 December 2001
- 181NewsOzzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath frontman and legendary hellraiser, to release autobiography19 September 2009
- 182NewsOzzy Osbourne Movie Gets the Go-Ahead26 March 2018
- 184MagazineOzzy Talks OZZFest, 'Scream' Tour, Biopic14 September 2009
- 189MagazineWatch Justin Timberlake, Anna Kendrick Fight Rock Domination in New 'Trolls World Tour' TrailerJon Blistein — 14 November 2019
- 190Ozzy Osbourne Announces New Book 'Last Rites'Rachel Raposas — 10 July 2025
- 191NewsCardinal: Two devil exocisms recently -- blames heavy metal5 March 1990
- 192JournalDevil Music and the Great Beast: Ozzy Osbourne, Aleister Crowley, and the Christian RightChristopher M. Moreman — Fall 2003
- 193Ozzy left his markKyle Munson
- 194Controversy & MadnessVeinotte
- 195NewsHighs and lows of superstar OzzyBBC — 23 November 2004
- 196NewsHellraisers2000
- 197Top 10 crazy music mythsTerry — Upvenue.com
- 200NewsOzzy Osbourne jailed for disorderly conduct21 February 1982
- 201NewsNotorious story of Ozzy at The Alamo is mostly all wetChris Rodell — May 2005
- 202The late Ozzy Osbourne jailed for urinating on the Alamo 44 years agoChristopher Hoffman — 19 February 2026
- 203MagazineWatch Ozzy Osbourne Tour The Alamo 33 Years After Urination Incident6 November 2015
- 204BookSabbath Bloody SabbathJoel McIver — Omnibus Press1 — 11 August 2014
- 207Supreme Court nixes Ozzy suits15 October 1992
- 208BookParental Advisory: Music Censorship in AmericaEric Nuzum — HarperCollins — 2001
- 210The horrific moment Ozzy Osbourne massacred 17 catsArun Starkey — 13 August 2024
- 211Ozzy Osbourne fronts gory anti-declawing campaign for PETA30 January 2020
- 216Exclaim News: Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi Settle Legal Battle Over Black Sabbath NameExclaim.ca — 21 July 2010
- 217NewsW rocked by Ozzy at dinnerHelen Kennedy et al. — 5 May 2002
- 221Ozzy Osbourne Suffers Injuries in House FireLoudwire.com — 17 January 2013
- 222NewsOzzy Osbourne urges fans to donate to charity for his birthdayVeronica Linares — 3 December 2013
- 223Ozzy Osbourne To Sue Groupie Over Love-Child Claims25 June 2003
- 224BookI Am OzzyOzzy Osbourne — Little, Brown Book Group — 2009
- 225God Bless Ozzy Osbourne documentary film, produced in 2011. Next Entertainment.
- 227NewsEminem sings about killing his wife. My husband actually tried to do it25 May 2001
- 228Ozzy agrees to take DNA test24 June 2003
- 229Fifth grandchild for Ozzy Osbourne23 January 2012
- 234"Ozzy Osbourne Revealed If He Believed in God Before He Died"Anne Erickson — Men's Journal — 22 July 2025
- 235NewsAt Tea With – Ozzy Osbourne – Family Man. Fights Fat, Is Good With KidsNick Ravo — 23 September 1992
- 236How Ozzy Osbourne stood up for gay rights and denounced 'evil' homophobiaMarcus Wratten — 23 July 2025
- 238The political wisdom of Ozzy OsbournePaul Dallison — 22 July 2025
- 239NewsEverything Ozzy Osbourne Said About Donald Trump23 July 2025
- 241NewsOzzy Osbourne planning to re-home Ukrainian refugees on his UK estate28 April 2022
- 243NewsOzzy Osbourne criticises Kanye West for using sample: 'He is an antisemite'Benjamin Lee — 9 February 2024
- 244Israeli culture boycott will stir hatred, warn authors and musiciansDavid Sanderson — 30 October 2024
- 245NewsOzzy Osbourne among 200 stars accusing BBC of anti-Israel biasPatrick Sawer — 8 March 2025
- 246NewsThe most rock and roll thing about Ozzy Osbourne was his defence of IsraelNicole Lampert — 23 July 2025
- 247Did Ozzy Osbourne perform in Israel in 2024?Cindy Shan — 23 July 2025
- 248Sounds, 21 October 1978
- 250NewsOzzy Osbourne, superstar -- againCNN — 12 April 2002
- 251NewsOzzy Osbourne's Genetic Code Being Mapped15 June 2010
- 252Ozzy Osbourne Is Doing "Really Well" According To Son JackDavid Von Bader — 24 April 2019
- 253Don Airey The Ballbuster InterviewTroy Wells — ballbustermusic.com
- 254NewsOzzy Osbourne: 'I was bad for a long time'Celia Walden — 9 October 2009
- 255BookI Am OzzyOzzy Osbourne — 2011
- 256NewsOzzy Osbourne16 May 1984
- 258NewsSharon Osbourne has cancer surgery3 July 2002
- 259NewsHarsh Reality of 'Osbournes' No Laughing MatterChuck Philips — 7 December 2003
- 260NewsOzzy 'prescribed 13,000 doses of drugs in a year' by doctorJulian Coman — 14 December 2003
- 261NewsBeverly Hills Doctor 'Vindicated' From Accusations of MalpracticeAlice Starr Standish — 11 November 2007
- 264MagazineScientists Probe Ozzy's Body for Medical MiraclesDaniel Kreps — 15 June 2010
- 266The Osbournes Open Up About Addiction and How the Family Finally Found RecoveryMarc Malkin — 5 February 2021
- 267Ozzy Osbourne: The wild life of rock's 'prince of darkness'22 July 2025
- 269Osbourne diagnosed with Parkins's disease6 May 2005
- 270Ozzy Osbourne surges back amid battle with Parkinson's12 February 2020
- 271Ozzy Osbourne hospitalized after flu complications6 February 2019
- 272'Concern' for Ozzy Osbourne, now in intensive carestuff.co.nz — 12 February 2019
- 273Ozzy Osbourne postpones all 2019 gigs after falling at homeGlobal News — 8 April 2019
- 274Ozzy Osbourne Cancels 2020 Tour, Citing Health ConcernsEvan Minsker — Pitchfork — 18 February 2020
- 277NewsOzzy Osbourne's Jordans home life as tributes paid to rockerIsabella Harris — 23 July 2025
- 279NewsOzzy Osbourne: Tributes pour in for Black Sabbath legend after death aged 76Mark Savage et al. — 22 July 2025
- 280NewsOzzy Osbourne cause of death revealed after rock legend's funeralRoisin O'Connor — 5 August 2025
- 283NewsOzzy Osbourne funeral procession live as tearful family lay tributes at memorialKirsty Bosley et al. — 30 July 2025
- 284Birmingham to Honour Ozzy Osbourne with Cortege Procession on Broad Street – Wednesday 30 July 1pmBirmingham City Council
- 285NewsKing Charles' Guards Honor Ozzy Osbourne with a Rendition of Black Sabbath's 'Paranoid'Janine Henni — 31 July 2025
- 286NewsPrivate funeral for Birmingham's Black Sabbath legend Ozzy Osbourne31 July 2025
- 288NewsOzzy Osbourne buried next to 'beautiful' lake - as Elton John and Marilyn Manson attend private funeral serviceEkin Karasin — 1 August 2025
- 289Black SabbathJames Christopher Monger — AllMusic
- 290MagazineOzzy Osbourne Stares Down His Demons with a Smile on 'Ordinary Man'Kory Grow — 21 February 2020
- 291Ozzy Osbourne On Health, Podcasts, Reality TV And A Half-Century Of Rock12 December 2023
- 292Ozzy Osbourne: I've Never Felt Comfortable Being Called "Metal"13 December 2023
- 293Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince of Darkness, Transformed Reality TV ForeverKayleigh Donaldson — 22 July 2025
- 294NewsOzzy Osbourne 'Working Class Hero' exhibition in Birmingham extended due to public demandDamian Jones — 5 August 2025
- 295NewsExtra time for Ozzy exhibition due to demandShehnaz Khan — 8 January 2026
- 296NewsBBC's Ozzy Osbourne documentary confirms new release date and a title change after being pulled from scheduleKatelyn Mensah — 17 September 2025
- 297Paramount Plus to stream feature-length documentary about Ozzy Osbourne's final years next month – watch the trailer hereMatt Mills — 17 September 2025
- 299Prince Of Darkness Coming To Halloween Horror Nights At Universal Hollywood & Universal OrlandoTom Tapp — 2026-07-29
- 300NME Awards 2004 – Full List of Winners12 February 2004
- 302Black Sabbath Finally Make Rock Hall Of Fame — Whether Ozzy Likes It Or NotGil Kaufman — 28 November 2005
- 3032024 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees22 April 2024
- 304MagazineCher, Ozzy Osbourne, Dave Matthews Band, Mary J. Blige Lead Rock and Roll Hall of Fame 2024 ClassAndy Greene — 22 April 2024
- 305NewsBrum 'Walk of Fame' star for Ozzy6 July 2007
- 308Past JudgesIndependent Music Awards
- 310NewsThe 60th Ivor Novello Awards31 December 2017
- 311NewsOzzy Osbourne has Birmingham tram named after himBBC — 3 February 2017
- 312Ozzy Osbourne to be inducted into WWE Hall of Fame4 April 2021
- 313Black Sabbath awarded the Freedom of the City of BirminghamBirmingham City Council — 30 June 2025
- 314Ozzy, Zombie To Wreck Merry Mayhem On TourJoe Dangelo — MTV News — 1 October 2001
- 315Tour Dates – Black Sabbath OnlineBlack-sabbath.com