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Ozzy Biography >>>
Author's Note Most web pages which offer you information on Ozzy Osbourne, are sketchy. Other pages are never updated and remain the same for over a year. Even the commercial pages run by record companys can't beat the Ozzy fans pages when it comes to the latest news. This text file is without a doubt the largest source of information available on Ozzy, which can be found on the Internet. This file may be freely distributed in all forms, or put on your web page, providing the contents are not changed, though I doubt much would happen even if you did :) I welcome any suggestions, corrections or complaints you may have.
By: Michael Lalonde ([email protected]) Table of Contents [1.0] Introduction [1.1] What was Ozzy's childhood like? [1.2] How did Ozzy start his music career? [1.3] Who was Jim Simpson? (Manager Number One) [1.4] Who was Earth/Black Sabbath? [1.5] How did Black Sabbath come to be? [1.6] Paranoia [1.7] An act of SABOTAGE? [1.8] Manager Number Two [1.9] When and how did Ozzy leave Black Sabbath?
[2.0] Ozzy and Randy [2.1] What the hell is this about biting a bat? (Diary of a Madman) [2.2] When and how did Randy Rhoads die? [2.3] What is this about a dove? [2.4] Wife as Manager/Speak of the Devil [2.5] Suicide Solution [2.6] Bark at the Moon [2.7] The Ultimate Disaster [2.8] No Rest for the Wicked [2.9] No More Beers [2.10] Ozzmosis [2.11] Why did Zakk leave Ozzy? [2.12] Of Priests and Devils [2.13] Will there ever be a reunion? [3.0] Ozzy Album Discography [3.1] Rare/Bsides/etc. [3.2] Song Definitions [3.3] Did You Know? [3.4] Tattoos [3.5] Milestones [3.6] Questions [3.7] Quotations [3.8] Fan Club Info [3.9] Where to find lyrics, tabs, links, and other info [3.10] Ozzy's Movie Career [3.11] What are his exSabbath members doing? [4.0] Closing Remarks [4.1] Credits 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1968 ==== In a small German club, a band by the name of "Earth" is up on the stage. The audience is ignoring the band as audiences typically do. The lead singer, Ozzy, decides to get their attention. He goes back to the dressing room, unnoticed by the audience. Backstage, he coats his hands, face and feet in purple paint. He returns to the stage and then screams at the audience. The audience remains oblivious to this purple man screaming at them. The band resigns themselves to the fact that the audience is just not going to pay them any attention. 1997 ==== Ask someone if they have heard of Celine Dion or Tom Cochrane, and even if their answer is no, they have most likely heard about Ozzy Osbourne or Black Sabbath. Since his debut in the late 60's as a blues/rock singer, this man has had a world wide impact on the music scene. You may think of him as a drugged out lunatic who sacrifices animals and eats dead frogs for supper while worshiping Satan with dead bodies all around him. This is of course complete and utter nonsense... I have never heard of him using more than one dead body. :) The most common stories are the beheading of the bat, wasn't there something about a dove?, and what was that about the Alamo? From his childhood right on up to his current Ozzmosis album, this file will attempt to explain it all. At the age of 48, this man still has the mind, and at times, the body of a 22 year old. His records still continue to sell and make it to the charts, his concerts sell out within minutes, all this despite his never having followed any given 'trend' as a lot of music groups try to do today. When Alanis Morissette is 48, do you think she will still have sell out concerts? "When I left school I wanted to become a plumber. When I heard the Beatles I wanted to become a Beatle" ...Ozzy
Top 1.1 What was Ozzy's childhood like? The year was 1948 and John Michael Osbourne was born on December 3rd in the industrial town of Birmingham, England to Jack and Lillian Osbourne. John was the fourth of six children (2 brothers, Paul and Tony) and 3 sisters (Jean, Iris and Gillian) in a small two bedroom home at 14 Lodge Road in Aston, England. Needless to say the house was more than a little crowded. Ozzy's father worked nights in a steel plant while his mother worked days in a car assembly plant assembling electrical circuits. His family was in poor financial shape with no money, no car and little food. In his spare time, Ozzy would watch television. He liked shows such as "I love Lucy", "Lassie" and "Roy Rogers". This was the lifestyle of Birmingham, a time where you went to work all day and then to the pub to drink and play darts until deciding to stagger home. For the Osbourne family, life was no different. It was all work and little time to enjoy the finer moments in life. While the Beatles were singing about flower power and loving one another, the people of Birmingham simply had to take a good look around them to see the reality of the world: it was hard. Life was no different for the Osbourne family. If you would like to know more about the town of Birmingham, click here. While in school, other students called John, "Ozzie" or "Ozbrain" with respect to his last name. Quite the rebel, Ozzy did however take part in various school operaplays such as H.M.S. Pinafore, The Mikado and The Pirates of Penzance. There was one student at school named Tony Iommi whom Ozzy did not get along with. Tony and John were from two different crowds and there was no love lost between the two. Tony and his mates would make fun of Ozzy's high voice and compared his singing to that of a girls. The two of them would later reunite later on under totally different circumstances. Ozzy did not do particularly well in school and wanted to get out as soon as he could. When asked on a school survey what his ambition was, he wrote that he wanted to become a plumber. This was not to happen however. Ozzy was kicked out from school. His parents argued often, and the main issue was their lack of money. Ozzy decided that he could fix this if he could go out and get a job. So at the age of 15, Ozzy took his first job as a plumber's assistant. and then a toolmaker's apprentice. Ozzy then went on to work in a slaughterhouse for two years, killing cows. Perhaps this influence his musical style, we do not know. Other jobs included an auto mechanic, house painter and even two weeks at a mortuary. His first musical job was workimg in the Lucas electrical plant tuning car horns. He later said, "I liked heavy metal better because it was louder". Ozzy did not care for working for other people so he decided to try crime instead. He once tried stealing a 24 inch television set. Balanced on top of a wall with it, and trying to keep his balance, he fell off with the television landing on top of him. He did some more break and enters but used a pair of gloves with the fingers cut off. Naturally he was caught. Unable to pay the fine, Ozzy spent three months in Birmingham's Winson Green Prison. While incarcerated there, Ozzy tattooed the now famous letters OZZY on his left knuckles and happy faces on his knees using sewing needle and a graphite slab. One happy face can be seen on his left knee on the "Diary of a Madman" album cover. He would later be put in jail again for punching a police officer in the mouth.
Top 1.2 How did Ozzy start his music career? After getting out of jail, Ozzy decided he did not want to go end up going back. At this time, The Beatles were becoming increasingly popular and becoming the craze. Ozzy thought that this would be the way to go. There was money to be made in singing as opposed to crime. In fact the Beatles were one of his main influences. Even to this day he still listens to the Beatles before going out on stage. It is of interest to note that this would not be his first musical experience though: earlier at the age of fourteen he had already been in a band named 'The Black Panthers'. A band by the name of "Music Machine" needed a singer because theirs was sick. Ozzy liked the idea of being able to travel to gigs and meeting women so he filled in. Later on he joined a band named "Approach" but didn't like the band so he quit. He then decided to call himself "Ozzy Zig" and placed this ad in the local music paper/shop: "Ozzy zig requires gig. Owns own P.A.". Another 18 year old Brummie named Terence 'Geezer' Butler had been playing guitar for just six months when he saw Ozzy's ad on a shop bulletin board and decided to go look him up. After the two met, they decided to form a band named "Rare Breed". Rare Breed lasted only two shows before they disbanded. Elsewhere Ozzy's old schoolmate, Tony Iommi had teamed up with an 18 year old assistant truck driver named William Ward who had just quit his job. Tony and Bill also decided to form a band, "The Rest", and recruited a singer named Chris Smith. The Rest eventually moved north to a small town named Carlisle where they renamed themselves "Mythology" and gained a large following of fans. They played mainly blues songs inspired by such groups as The Yardbirds, Cream, The Beatles and John Mayal. Mythology eventually split up; Tony and Bill returned to Birmingham and went to the music shop where they also saw Ozzy's ad. Tony was hoping this was not the same 'Ozzy' he had went to school with because that Ozzy could not sing well and the two of them disliked one other. It turned out that it was indeed the same Oz and decided it would not be a good idea to form a band together. Tony was also not impressed with Ozzy because he had very short hair (really!). Since Ozzy and Geezer still needed a drummer they later approached Tony to see if he knew of a drummer. Bill was at Tony's place and agreed to join them but only if they'd let Tony join too. So along with a slide guitar player named Jim Phillips and a saxophone player, they formed a new band. The new band returned to Carlisle where Tony and Bill had been a success and played some gigs. Not being pleased with a six piece band, they broke up and then rebanded once the two extras had gone. This was a polite way of getting rid of the two unnecessary members. The foursome them learned 18 songs in their first week together. Ozzy named the band "Polka Tulk Blues Band" after a tin of talcum powder. It has also been said that the name came from a Pakistani clothing store named the 'Polka Tulk Trading Company'. Geezer Butler switched to playing bass guitar since Tony was now the lead guitar player. Unable to afford a bass guitar, Geezer simply took two of the guitar strings off his guitar and retuned it to make a bass guitar. Another name change ensued and the group was soon known as "Earth". History: Ozzy Osbourne Geezer Butler Tony Iommi Bill Ward | | | | Black Panthers (1962) | Rocking Chevrolets | | | | | Music Machine/Approach | | | | | >>> The Rest <<< >>>> Rare Breed <<< | | | >>>>> Polka Tulk Blues Band <<<<< | Earth (Autumn 1967August 1969) | Black Sabbath (Aug. 19691978) | Black Sabbath (1978) [After Ozzy left, Ronnie James Dio left 'Rainbow' to replace him) "Black Sabbath makes Led Zeppelin look like a kindergarten house band" ...Advertisment by Jim Simpson
Top 1.3 Who was Jim Simpson? (Manager Number One) Jim Simpson was a musician who played jazz trumpet. He was also the manager of a Brummie band named 'Bakerloo Blues Band'. Unable to find a place where he could promote the band, he opened his own place called "Henry's Blueshouse". Henry's, located at Hill Street and Station Road was an instant success. It wasn't before long before the club had to stop accepting new bands. A band that was just starting out, Led Zeppelin, would also be one of the first bands to play Henry's. In 1969, the four members of Earth approached Jim and asked if they could play at Henry's. They also wanted him to be their manager since they knew nothing of the business sense of things. He told them that they could open for the band 'Ten Years After', which pleased them. Happy to have a manager who supposedly cared for their interests, they recorded a song in tribute to him, "Song for Jim". The song was a spoof of their manager and the jazz music he played. This elusive song is still sought after by Sabbath fans worldwide. Simpson would also give the band some of his jazz records to inspire them to write songs. It is of interest to mention that around this time, Tony left to join Jethro Tull. While Tony did not appear on any of Tull's albums, he did make an appearance at the "Rolling Stone's Rock and Roll Circus" which was never released, because the Stones were upstaged by other acts. Tony and Jethro can be heard on a bootleg called "Archangel Rides Again". The movie is going to be finally released in the movie festival circuit later this year. Tony's stint with Jethro Tull was very brief (for two weeks). He left Tull and was soon back in Earth.
Top 1.4 Who was Earth/Black Sabbath? BAND MEMBER FULL NAME BIRTHDATE Tony Iommi [guitar] Anthony Frank Iommi Feb 19, 1948 in Aston Bill Ward [drums] William Ward May 5, 1948 in UK Ozzy Osbourne [vocals/harmonica] John Michael Dec. 3, 1948 in Osbourne Aston Geezer Butler [bass] Terence Michael July 17, 1949 Butler
1.5 How did Black Sabbath come to be? "When we hit America we were the wild bunch. We bought dope and f***ed anything that moved" ...Ozzy While waiting to go into a rehearsal one day, they noticed a Boris Karloff movie playing named "Black Sabbath" (1935). Geezer mentioned it was strange that people would go to a movie to scare themselves silly. Until this time they had only played other artist's material. They decided to use the name of the movie as the name for their first original song. One day the band showed up to do a gig at Henry's. There, someone mentioned they liked the bands single. The only problem was the foursome hadn't ever released a single! They then realized that there were two bands by the same name. The audience were of upper class and expecting a totally different type of music. Unable to back out of the show, the scruffy four played blues and rock to the audience. It was a disaster! The band however did have some fun in watching the crowd try to dance to their type of music. As a result, Geezer came up with the idea to change their name to that of the Karloff movie, 'BLACK SABBATH' to avoid being confused with the other band named Earth. They now had a song and a band name taken from the movie's title. This would also reflect the groups interest in the occult. It has also been said that the name Black Sabbath came from Geezer's interest in occult writer Denis Wheatley. Not having any money, the band relied on Tony's mother who owned a chocolate shop, for the use of a van, food and cigarettes. Sometimes the group would get gigs on their own, other times they would show up at a place where another band was to be playing. In the event that the scheduled band failed to show up, the Sabs would take their place. They played the Star Club in Hamburg in Jan. 1969, a place the Beatles had made famous. They were so popular that they were booked to come back for 5 more shows. They would play 7 shows a day, and write new material as they went along. This would also explain why their early songs had different lyrics than the final album versions. As Black Sabbath made news, a group of Satanists asked them to play at their "night of Satan" at Stonehenge. They refused. The head witch of England, Alec Sanders who was a regular fan of Sabbaths, informed them that these Satanists had placed a hex on the band members. Ozzy asked his father to make aluminum crosses, which he did, and then had them blessed. They wore these crosses 24 hours a day for protection. The cross remains a well known Black Sabbath symbol even to this day. You see, Black Sabbath as Satanic and dark as the name sounded, had nothing to do with the devil when they chose their name. An independent producer named Tony Hall paid for the band to record some demo songs at the Regent Sound studio on Tottenham Court Rd. These were produced by Roger Bayed, whose name appears on many of their albums. One demo cut, a single called "Evil Woman", was released on the Fontana record label in Jan. 1970. This was a cover song from a Minnesota band named Crow, which did quite well unbeknownst to the band. One demo was called "The Rebel" and is played as a 10 second sample in "The Black Sabbath Story I" video. The song, about a reclusive voyeur, is one of the rarest Sabbath songs in that it did not make it to the final album. Their first completed album was released on Friday, Feb. 13th, 1970. It took them only eight hours to record and cost a mere 800 British pounds (approx. $1200 US). The album was recorded in four tracks on an 8 track machine. The band was not that popular at this time, they simply wanted to do what they liked best... sing about the darker, more depressing things that surrounded them. It was not likely they ever intended to make the big time, in fact Ozzy has said he was just happy to show his mother that his voice was recorded on a piece of vinyl. It was not as easy as it sounds though, it took them 14 tries before Jim Simpson found a record company (Vertigo) that would carry the album. The record company chose to put an upside down cross on the gatefold of the album and thus people readily associated the band with Satanism. The band knew nothing about this and did not want the upside down cross, however they backed down from the record company's "wiser and higher" marketing methods. Inside the inverted cross was a poem. The poem seemed to correspond with the album's cover showing a woman standing in a countryside, apparently in a gothic setting. The poem is called "Still Falls the Rain". Due to requests by fans, it is shown below: *** STILL FALLS THE RAIN *** "Still falls the rain, the veils of darkness shroud the blackened trees, which, contorted by some unseen violence, shed their tired leaves, and bend their boughs toward a gray earth of severed bird wings. Among the grasses, poppies bleed before a gesticulating death, and young rabbits, born dead in traps, stand motionless, as though guarding the silence that surrounds and threatens to engulf all those that would listen. Mute birds, tired of repeating yesterdays terrors, huddle together in the recesses of dark corners, heads turned from the dead, black swan that floats upturned in a small pool in the hollow. There emerges from this pool a faint, sensual mist, that traces its way upwards to caress the feet of the headless martyr's statue whose only achievement was to die too soon, and who couldn't wait to loose. The cataract of darkness forms fully, the long black night begins, yet still by the lake a young girl waits. Unseeing she believes herself unseen, she smiles faintly at the distant tolling bell, and the still falling rain." The first album contained the following songs: 1) Black Sabbath (a dark doomy sounding song) 2) The Wizard (a song about a wizard who walks through towns cheering people up through the use of magic) 3) Wasp/Behind The Wall of Sleep 4) Bassically/N.I.B. (a song about the devil falling in love with a mortal woman and changing to a good person) 5) Wicked World (society, and our struggle to survive) (Euro versions had 'Evil Woman' instead, another great single) 6) Sleeping Village/Warning (a very blues influenced song that is an easy listener, about found/lost love) This was definitely NOT a satanic album! Today there are still people who hear the words "Black Sabbath" and think hard rock devil music. This is plain ignorance. Remember the band was originally a blues band, and there is a definite blues sound in their debut album. Ozzy brought the album home to proudly show his parents. The Osbourne's were the type of people who would sit around the phonogram with a beer and merrily sing alone to the records. This was not to be though. When Mr. Osbourne heard the album he asked John, "Are you sure you were just drinking alcohol?, this isn't music, this is weird." The first song began with a church bell tolling and the sound of rain falling in the background, and was easy to say the least. Ozzy too had not heard the final product until now. It would reach #8 in the UK charts and #23 in the United States. The four unknowns were now finally making a name for themselves with the release of an album. It is of interest to note that their album followed the release of Led Zeppelin's first album. Both bands knew one another personally since they both played in the same club and the music scene was a close knit group. It came in the form of a surprise to the Sabs when someone put on a brand new album from Led Zeppelin. Bill Ward was close to Zeppelin's drummer, John Bonham. He talks about the relationship between the two bands in the book, "The Story of Black Sabbath". It is of interest to point out that in February of 1970, the same month their debut album came out, they broke the attendance record at Simpson's club which had remained untouched for over a year by Jethro Tull. Tony had made the right choice in returning to Sabbath it would seem. With an album comes touring, and with touring comes America. America would have a great impact on them as well. Ozzy has said that people would go around saying, "if you go to San Francisco be sure to wear a flower in your hair". This mystified him because he did not know what or where San Francisco was. When the band eventually did tour America, it took them by storm. They had never seen anything like it. They had their share of groupies and took in the marvelous sights of America. They played one of their first shows at the Fillmore East. Some old 8mm footage of their first trip overseas can be seen on the commercial video, "The Black Sabbath Story Volume 1". It must be said, that on this particular videotape, Bill Ward the drummer relates an interesting story: While playing in New York, the audience was still at the stage where they would simply sit there and listen to the music. The band wanted a stronger reaction from the audience since they were putting 150% effort into their songs. Ozzy would often yell at the audience to get up and go crazy (as many bootlegs can attest to). At one particular show they were growing fed up with the audience just sitting there and Bill picked up his drum set and threw it at the audience. Bill says that as a result, that night they did SEVEN encores. Can you think of any band in today's scene which does seven encores? By the time they reached Los Angeles, people had already heard about this "Black Sabbath".
Top 1.6 Paranoia While working on their next album the band released a single called "Paranoid". The single was very popular, maybe too popular: On October 23, 1970 the band attempts to play the Mayfair Ballroom in Newcastle. The crowd is very drunk and all over the stage and equipment. The band, unsuccessful in trying to get them off the stage, starts playing their hit single Paranoid. 70 minutes later the show is done and the band is very upset. Someone put their foot through one of their big PA speakers, Bill's drum sticks and cymbals were stolen and a bass drum mic destroyed. The audience had gone crazy over their new single and Ozzy says, "If it means us having to give up putting out singles then we will. We want people to listen to us, not try to touch us. I was really terrified, shocked out of my mind." This would also be the gig that would give birth to their new song,"Fairies Wear Boots". While walking down a street some time after the show, the band was attacked by a group of skinheads. Tony's arm was badly hurt and this forced them to cancel their next show. Due to the fact the skinheads wore boots, they decided to make fun of the punks in the song. It was not uncommon for the band to be verbally abusive if the audience was not responding properly. If they were talking, the band would just crank up the music some more. Bands were so loud during this time the Leeds City Council introduced a "96 decibel law". If any band's music was to rise above 96 decibels the amplifiers would cut out. Sabbath did not consider their night's work complete unless they hit at least three cut outs a night. PARANOID The album, 'Paranoid', was recorded in four days once again at Regent Sound and then released in Jan. 1971. The cover shows a person running out of a forest with a sword and shield in hand. This seemed to listeners, a strange representation of being paranoid. The truth is that the album was to originally be named "War Pigs" (mans constant desire to have weapons of destruction and killing). The record company objected to the album title and so it was named after one of the songs. The song "War Pigs" came about when Sabbath was told tales of horror and war from soldiers while playing an American air force base. The Paranoid album reached FIRST place in the UK charts and 12th in American charts. It was during the span between the Paranoid and Master of Reality albums that Jim Simpson was fired as the band's manager. The reason for this is will be discussed in a later chapter. MASTER OF REALITY In 1971 "Master of Reality" was released, charting 5th place in UK and 8th place in USA song charts. Ozzy also married his first wife, Thelma Mayfair and became a stepfather to her son, Elliot. This album would take an interesting turn with the release of "After Forever" which was clearly a religious, believe in God, song. The church called this blasphemy. People disliked the band, perhaps for their After Forever song or perhaps for what they represented. In any event, 1971 saw some strange events: At a show in Memphis, their dressing rooms had crosses painted in blood on the walls. During the show a Satanist jumped on stage with a sacrificial knife. The local witches coven later gathered outside the band's hotel and Geezer tried to scare them away with a fake hex. It was also the year that threats were made that the band would be shot sometime during their US tour. At one show the lights suddenly failed into their 3rd song and Ozzy stood frozen solid with fear. The band also included a song titled "Sweet Leaf" which openly talked about the band's usage of marijuana. The song begins with a coughing sound (as if someone had just inhaled the drug). In actual fact, Tony had just finished smoking drugs in a water pipe and the sounds were included in the final version. VOLUME 4 The following year "Volume 4" was released. As with the inverted cross case and the "War pigs" album title, the record company would again take authority over the bands wishes. Volume 4 (hence the fourth Sabbath album) was to have originally been called "Snowblind", another drug reference. The record company thought this was too controversial and so they had to change it. The band was becoming involved in hard core drugs by this time (including cocaine). During the recording of Volume 4, the band sat around in a Jacuzzi snorting coke all day and would get up every so often to record a new song. We can see why Snowblind was an appropriate album title. Not being allowed to use it as an album title, they came up with this amusing line on the cover sleeve of the record: "Thanks to the COKECola Company". It was also during this year that Ozzy and Thelma had their first mutual child, Jessica.
Top 1.7 An act of SABOTAGE? "For the first part of their career they were managed by two of the biggest crooks in the business. They made nothing, I mean nothing." ...Sharon on Sabbath's early management The year is now 1974. The band is living a good life of drugs, sex, cars, etc. If they wanted a car or a house they would ask for it and receive it almost the next day. Ozzy even owned a Jaguar which he smashed while backing out of his driveway, the same day he was to sell it. What the band never saw though, was money. They became very successful especially in the UK charts. Their material possessions were provided by their new management of Patrick Meehan and Wilf Pine. What happened was this: During the same year that Paranoid was soaring up the charts, Pat and Wilf left their management company (which was Don Arden's, more on him later). The duo offered the band a chauffeured limo, champagne dinner at the Speakeasy, and filled the Sab's heads with ideas that Jim was mismanaging them and they could do a hell of a lot better with them instead. The Sabs agreed and on Sept.4, 1970 Jim Simpson found out he was history. The man who had turned the four nobodies into a juggernaut was dismissed. The Sabs were also not happy that with Jim they were being paid a lot less than what they should have been getting. The reason was that Jim insisted they perform at the shows they had already been booked for, even six months prior. These older bookings were for a lot less money than the usual fee, now around 2000 pounds per show. Simpson launched lawsuits against them for of breach of contract. Some concerts later, Ozzy was handed a subpoena on stage for Simpson's lawsuits. The resulting court case would last years. California saw the Cal Jam concert take place in Ontario on April 6th. This was a televised concert to millions of viewers as well as over 450,000 audience members. It featured bands such as Electric Light Orchestra. In the middle of the night, their management threatened the band with a lawsuit if they did not play the Cal Jam concert. The band had not practiced for months and was not ready for a show, especially one with over 450,000 people in attendance. It has been said that the band did not even know they were to play the show. This would be one of the final straws for the band and they soon began the process of getting rid of their second management. Ozzy talks a bit about this in the documentary, "The Decline of Western Civilization II" where the band questions how much money they are really making if their managers could afford houses and cars. Once again the band gets rid of their management and decides to form their own management. This allowed them to have more control and say into what decisions were made for the band. It would be a learning experience as well since they had never dabbled in the management aspects before. They decided a rest was in order since they were exhausted. Their next US tour would be in three short installments rather than one big tour to further save them exhaustion and nervous breakdowns. Oh yes, remember all the flashy cars and houses they were given? They were never really theirs, and when they dumped the management duo they lost everything. They still had the Warner Bros. label in America though, and stayed with WB during the management change. SABOTAGE In September of 1975, the band released their "Sabotage" album. The last song on the album, "The Writ", would reveal their feelings towards their previous management and all the problems they'd encountered: The Writ ======== The way I feel is the way I am I wish I'd walked before I started to run to you, just to you What kind of people do you think we are? Another joker who's a rock and roll star for you, just for you The faithful image of another man The endless ocean of emotion I swam for you, yeah for you The shot troopers laying down on the floor I wish they'd put an end to my running war with you, yeah with you Are you metal, are you man? You've changed in life since you began, yeah began Ladies digging gold from you Will they still dig now you're through, yeah you're through You bought and sold me with your lying words The voices in the deck that you never heard came through, yeah came through Your folly finally got to spend with a gun A poisoned father who has poisoned his son, that's you, yeah that's you I beg you please don't let it get any worse The anger I once had has turned to a curse on you, Yeah curse you All of the promises that never came true You're gonna get what is coming to you, that's true, ah, that's true Are you Satan, are you man? You've changed the life since it began, it began Vultures sucking gold from you Will they still suck now you're through The search is on, so you just better run And find yourself another way Probably dead, they don't feel a thing To keep you living for another day You are nonentity, you have no destiny You are a victims of a thing unknown A mantle picture of a stolen soul A fornication of your golden throne A smiling face, it means the world to me So tired of sadness and of misery My life it started some time ago Where it will end, I don't know I thought I was so good I thought I was fine I feel my world is out of time But everything is gonna work out fine If it don't I think I'll lose my mind I know, I know, I know, yeah yeah I know Listen to me while I sing this song You might just think the words are wrong Too many people advising me [managers, lawyers] But they don't know what my eyes see But everything is gonna work out fine If it don't I feel I'm lose my mind The anger is very strong in both the lyrics and the tone of Ozzy's voice. After hearing the song one cannot help but feel sympathy for what the band had been enduring. Some album labels (Warner Bros. for example) have a hidden tune following the song, you need to really turn up the volume to hear it. It features the band playing piano and singing an old 'Nitty Gritty Dirt Band' song called "Blow on the Jug". A sound engineer caught this during a recording session and it was put on the album. Sadly, there are a lot of other Sab cover songs which we will never get to hear. You can hear the 'Blow on the Jug' song by clicking right here! Reporter: "Do you have a drinking problem?" Ozzy: "Yes, I can't find a bar."
Top 1.8 Manager Number Two Needing a new manager, Don Arden was hired. Don's management was the same company that their last management had parted from. Don managed Black Sabbath while his daughter, Sharon (then 18) was his receptionist. Ozzy and Sharon met when Ozzy walked into his office wearing a tap faucet around his neck and sat on the floor refusing to use a chair. Sharon was terrified of Ozzy upon first sight. She even tried to get another woman working in the office to bring him a cup of tea, rather than bring it to him herself. The two of them would get to know one another quite well over the years as Don and the Sab four conducted business. Money and fame were no longer problems for the four of them, instead the only challenge was how to come up with another best selling album. A very audible change in the bands musical direction began to show in their 1974 album, "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath". [bloody sabbath] Despite the title, the album contains deep lyrics with many different musical arrangements. The songs seemed more uplifting and vibrant than their previous dark, gloomy sounding material and a more energetic sound. Electronic instruments also changed the way they were able to record songs. This album, probably their best album with Ozzy as vocalist, placed 4th and 11th respectively in UK and American charts. TECHNICAL ECSTASY "Technical Ecstasy" was released in 1976. This album was considerably less heavy then previous albums, and perhaps was due to the band just being fed up with it all. They had succeeded in making a lot of money, owned as many cars as we own socks, and were getting burned out from constant touring. T.E. would contain a song titled, "It's Alright" featuring Bill the drummer on vocals, a very gentle song. The album cover also set the stage for something entirely new from the band. No more dark images, this artistic cover showed two robots having sex (or so it has been said). Sadly, Technical Ecstasy did not sell very well. The late 1970's also saw some deep trouble for the band. In 1977, two years after he retired, Ozzy's father passed away. This took a toll on Ozzy and he quit Black Sabbath. Ozzy's father, Jack, who thought his son would either end up in prison or end up being someone very special, died knowing his son had made something out of himself. While on his leave of absence, Ozzy asked Glenn Hughes (another vocalist who would eventually spend some time in Sabbath) about the two of them forming a band. Oz was fed up with Sabbath by this time, though he kept his feelings about this to himself. Glenn did not join Ozzy in his desire. Meanwhile the band had to continue work on its upcoming album, "Never Say Die". NEVER SAY DIE They took in Dave Walker (who used to be with Fleetwood Mac) to write new material for their album. Ozzy decided he wanted to rejoin the band, but he refused to sing any of the songs written with Dave Walker. So Dave left and the band had to rewrite all of their songs. Tony booked a studio in Toronto, Ontario because it was where the Rolling Stones had recorded one of their albums. The band traveled up there in the middle of winter to record the album. Ozzy has since said it was a stupid thing to do and that it was freezing up there. Tony was just trying to keep the band together in a time of turmoil. There is one song titled "Junior's Eyes" which is available on the "Archangel Rides Again" bootleg, featuring Sabbath with Dave Walker on vocals. Junior's Eyes was kept for the final album with the same music but Ozzy rewrote the lyrics in a way as to say goodbye to his father. Junior's Eyes ============= Junior's eyes looked up to the skies in tears He prayed that his maker, the giver and taker, would `pear Junior sighed, as his hands reached out to the sky Junior cried, the day that his best friend died (chorus) You're coming home again tomorrow I'm sorry it won't be for long With all the pain I've watched you live within I'll try my hardest not to cry But it is time to say goodbye Junior's eyes, they couldn't disguise the pain His father was leaving, and Junior is grieving again Innocent eyes watched the man who had gave everything Junior's sorrow, who knew what tomorrow would bring? (chorus) Junior's eyes looked into the skies once more Now he knew well, this life was hell for sure He desperately tried, his fingertips stretched to the stars, yeah Reaching for reason, along with the time and the stars (chorus)
Top 1.9 When and how did Ozzy leave Black Sabbath? By now, all four members of the band were staying in their rooms all day and doing hard drugs and booze. They had cars, success, and perhaps little motivation to release another album. Ozzy himself has said he only wanted to release an album to make money and get fat off of beer. Ozzy would subsequently not show up for weeks at a time for practice. They were to begin work on their next album, "Heaven and Hell". Tony, having met Ronnie James Dio (exRainbow) by this time, then asked Bill to get rid of Ozzy. Tony was fed up with Ozzy and was interested in having Dio as a vocalist. After the 1978 NSD tour, Ozzy was told by Bill, that they no longer wanted him in the band. Bill feels bad about doing this because him and Oz were best of friends and yet Bill wanted Ozzy out of the band as well. People still ask how Ozzy left, the truth is that both him and Tony Iommi say he was fired. Ozzy also adds that he was relieved at this. In actual fact Ozzy was asked many times on the last day to leave before being fired. For some time now Ozzy wanted to go into a new musical direction and perhaps was unable to do so with the politics of the band being the way they were. Tony, being the transportation, would never be spoken against by the other members of the band. 1978 saw the end of the original Black Sabbath. Their last tour would be the "Never Say Die" tour. Appropriately named.
Top 2.0 Ozzy and Randy After being fired from Sabbath, Ozzy spent three months staying in his hotel room. He would order out for pizza and booze and have his dealer drop off cocaine for him. He basically thought his life was over. It was around this time that his friend Sharon Arden suggested he start a new band. Over in Los Angeles, a 23 year old guitar player named Randy Rhoads was turning heads. Born Dec. 6, 1956 in Santa Monica, Randy was with Quiet Riot (who are best remembered for their hit "Cum On Feel The Noize"). Randy had recorded two albums with Quiet Riot, released only in Japan. Randy was introduced to Ozzy through Dana Strum (now of Slaughter). Randy showed up at Ozzy's audition and reportedly played for just five minutes before Oz said he was in. With Bob Daisley on bass and Lee Kerslake on drums, they recorded an album, "Blizzard of Ozz", in England. The album would also contain a melody titled "Dee" which was dedicated to Randy's mother, Dolores, a source of inspiration for Randy. The album was released on Don Arden's JET Record label. What about Don Arden and Black Sabbath? Well when Ozzy was fired, and Ozzy went solo, the record company said byebye to the Sabs. Ozzy then decided to tour, with his first solo concert in Glasgow, Scotland on September 12, 1980. What you probably don't know is that Ozzy had two shows before his debut under the band name of "Law". The opening day of his first solo concert he and Sharon paced the streets nervously. Since people in Scotland usually showed up at the concert without prepaying for tickets, they had no way of knowing how many people would show up. As it turned out it was a big success. Ozzy played all of his Blizzard of Ozz album and some Sabbath songs. Eventually he broke down and cried because he realized that he could make it on his own without the other three Sabbath members with whom he had paved the road to success. You must realize that when Ozzy was in Sabbath he was really not a contributing member of the band. Geezer wrote most of the song lyrics and Ozzy would come by and sing the words, but he had little to do with the actual contributions to the songs[*]. Now Ozzy and Randy were the main writers and had equal say as to what went into the songs. [*] Ozzy did write 'Am I Going Insane' (his feelings about society's views towards him and his anger towards society) and 'Who Are You?' Since this chapter will be the end of the Black Sabbath era, here is a list of the albums which were recorded with any of the original members. As you can see, in the end only Tony chose to remain in the group: Ozzy Tony Bill Geezer ======================================================= Black Sabbath * * * * Paranoid * * * * Master of Reality * * * * Volume 4 * * * * Sabbath Bloody * * * * Sabotage * * * * We Sold Our Soul * * * * Technical Ecstasy * * * * Never Say Die * * * * Heaven and Hell * * * Mob Rules * * Live Evil * * Born Again * * * Seventh Star (was to be solo) * Eternal Idol * Headless Cross * Tyr * Dehumanizer * * Cross Purposes * * "Who do you think you were in previous incarnations?" "I think I was a bat" ... Ozzy some years before the "incident"
Top 2.1 What the hell is this about biting a bat? (Diary of a Madman) The following year, "Diary of a Madman" was released. An interesting note, Ozzy's son, Elliot is shown on the album cover. Though production of the album was rushed towards the end so that the band could get out and tour, Ozzy has said he liked this album better of the two. The album came out the same time as Sabbath's Mob Rules album. Diary soared to the top 15 on US charts while Mob Rules remained at #29. Ozzy's first two albums would sell over 6 million copies. As they toured, Randy would often hold a guitar clinic for kids who wanted to learn to play guitar. A kid named Joe Holmes took lessons from Randy, and would later have an impact on Ozzy's life as well. The Diary tour was nicknamed Night of the Living Dead tour due to various misfortunes: The entire band was expelled from a San Diego over Ozzy's reputation, the prop truck broke down, and in Minneapolis a crane fell and crushed $8000 worth of synthesizers. On the upside, the stage setting for Diary of a Madman was a huge castle complete with fog. The drummer was situated on a raised platform, and there was an opening in the center of the stage where a dwarf would come out to give Ozzy water and towels. The dwarf was actually Little John Allen who played R2D2 in Star Wars. It has been brought to my attention that Kenny Baker actually played R2D2 so I don't know which name is correct. John Allen suffered mock abuse by having pig entrails tossed at him, he was stuffed into a hole and he was even hanged for prolonged periods from a noose (as shown on some videos). This was accomplished with a harness so as not to really choke him, but how did he manage to stay up for so long?? During the Diary tour, Ozzy would throw raw meat at his audience. It was even part of his contract that 25 pounds of calves livers and pigs intestines be thrown. A parent once phoned the promotor of the show asking how to get blood out of the clothes. As the tour continued, people would bring meat to the show to throw back at him. As time passed, the audience brought dead frogs, cats, snakes, etc. to throw onto the stage. Once, someone threw a toy doll onto the stage and Ozzy freaked out thinking that someone had thrown a real infant up on stage. On Jan. 20 at a Des Moines, Iowa concert some winner threw a real bat up on stage. The bat lay still because of the spotlights on the stage, and so Ozzy picked it up, THINKING IT WAS A TOY RUBBER BAT. He bit into the bat, taking off its head. Immediately the audience and Sharon freaked out. Ozzy was rushed to emergency to have rabies shots. It is reported that at the time he was treating the whole thing as a joke, apparently barking like a dog when wheeled into the hospital. He sent the crew back to find the bat to find out if it was in fact real or not, the bat could not be found. The shots would continue for about a week, with needles in each buttock, arms and leg. Ozzy would also faint or collapse at the concerts which followed. Ozzy's advice on the situation is, "if you want to be a complete dick, try it". Subsequently the bat would become a symbol for Ozzy on his upcoming albums, and even a tattoo. The animal humane society would become involved and show up to boycott Ozzy concerts. From this point on, he was marked a madman and his reputation began to precede him. One such nasty rumor, and sure sign of people's ability to go overboard with gossip and rumors is this little gem: Before one concert even started, Ozzy supposedly threw three small dogs into the audience. He refused to play the show until all the dogs came back to him dead. The story is not true. It was the honest mistake with a bat which would cement itself in people's minds, even to this day. [Ed: I can recall when Ozzy came to my home town on the Diary tour, the SPCA and police were there threatening to take action if any animals were harmed on stage. Ozzy has never returned.] "If they were buzzing the bus, like people say, it probably meant that Randy was struggling with the pilot to stop him from crashing it" Kevin Dubrow of Quiet Riot
Top 2.2 When and how did Randy Rhoads die? In 1981, Ozzy divorced his first wife, Thelma. They were separated soon after the day he came home (drunk) to find a bailiff at the door, and all of his belongings outside. He was told that if he stepped inside the house he would be arrested. Ozzy was not exactly what you would call a father figure. He would leave home for days, weeks, at a time and stay at friends places until they kicked him out. Rather than go through the divorce proceedings, Ozzy told her to just keep everything. By now Ozzy and Sharon had gotten to the point where they decided to get married. Sharon had been hoping this would also get Ozzy a better deal since her father was the one managing the recording and managerial contracts. On March 19th, 1982 Ozzy and his band were on their way to Orlando, FL from Knoxville, TN. Ozzy and Randy had been talking about their recent success. Randy mentioned wanting to leave to pursue a degree in classical guitar at UCLA. Ozzy has said that if Randy were still alive, it is doubtful that Randy would still be playing with him.] During the trip, they stopped to do some repairs on the tour bus at its base near Leesburg, Florida. The bus driver, Andrew Aycock invited some of the people for a ride in his Beechcraft Bonanza airplane. The bus driver took Don Airey and Jake Duncan (the tour manager) for a spin. When the plane landed, the driver went for another ride, this time with Randy and Ozzy's seamstress, Rachael Youngblood, 58. The pilot of the plane was presumably under the influence of cocaine (it was later found in drug tests). The pilot's exwife was standing outside the bus and it is assumed the pilot dove the plane into the bus in an attempt to kill her. The plane clipped the tour bus and careened into a nearby garage where it exploded. Rachel and Randy were both killed in the crash. Ozzy's new solo career had come to a screeching halt. He would continue the tour in April with a quick shoe in of Bernie Torme. Bernie joined Ozzy after the group he was in, 'Deep Purple', disbanded so Ian Gillan could join... you guessed it, Black Sabbath. Bernie would not stay with Ozzy long however. Torme couldn't handle being in front of so many people as he was used to smaller clubs and told Ozzy he had to quit. Brad Gillis left 'Night Ranger' to replace Torme for the remainder of the tour. Brad Gillis also appeared on the 'Speak of the Devil' LP. After the tour Ozzy would hire Jakey Lou Williams (Jake E. Lee) with whom he recorded 1984's 'Bark At The Moon' album. Gillis would later rejoin Night Ranger. Brad may have wanted to stay on with Ozzy but Oz didn't really think the two of them were compatible. On Feb. 19, 1982, while visiting San Antonio, Texas, Ozzy was again drunk after drinking a bottle of Courvoisier. Sharon decided to lock his clothes in the hotel room so that Ozzy would not go outside and cause trouble. To solve this problem, Ozzy dressed up in one of Sharon's evening gowns. While taking some photos of himself in drag, he had to urinate and did so on the historical Alamo building. He was arrested and charged with defiling a national monument and banned from playing in San Antonio any further. This would be another blow to his image that would haunt him to this day. The ban was eventually lifted. Ozzy married his long time friend Sharon, on a HonoluluHawaii beach on July 4, 1982.
Top 2.3 What is this about a dove? While the bat incident which still haunts Oz's reputation to this day can be called an accident, the incident with the dove can be called stupidity. Here is the story: Ozzy had just signed to a new record label, CBS. He and his wife Sharon were being introduced to the head executives of CBS records in Los Angeles. CBS was not too interested in Ozzy because they had just signed Adam Ant. Ozzy was just another album to them, and they were not interested in the person behind the music. Sharon decided it would be a good publicity stunt for Ozzy to walk into the office and throw two doves up into the air. The stunt worked, and made CBS pay attention to Ozzy. It also made the nation pay attention to Ozzy as well. After throwing one dove up in the air, Ozzy bit the head off of the other one. It is not known whether Sharon intended for Ozzy to actually bite the dove's head off or not. Ozzy has already admitted he (not surprisingly) had drunk a bottle of booze beforehand. Make no mistake about it, Sharon Osbourne is a shrewd marketer and I wouldn't put any dirty trick past her. What follows is an interview with an eyewitness (from Epic) who saw the event: Q: What happened? A: It was a normal Thursday morning marketing meeting down in the conference room. It was just prior to the release of Ozzy's first solo album. His management and Jet Records, which is the associated label that puts out his albums, had arranged for him to pay a little surprise visit to us, to say "Hi, my name is Ozzy Osbourne, and let's make this record a hit". Q: Is it unusual for the artist to come to a marketing meeting? A: No, they seldom do. We've had people from time to time just come in. Their manager arranges for them to drop by and say, "Surprise!" just to push the album. Q: Then what happened? A: He walked in with Sharon, who later became his wife, and [withheld] from Jet Records. They introduced Ozzy all around, and there was a photographer with them. They sat him down on the arm of a chair, and he pulled a dove out of his pocket. I looked at it and thought, "Gee how cute!" Q: It was a live dove? A: I'm ninetynine and ninetenths sure it was alive, but now I can't say for sure. I remember I was leaning forward and thinking, "How cute," and suddenly he bites its head off. There was blood on the floor. I think he ate the head; he started spitting some feathers out. I was in shock. It's hard to remember too much after that, to tell you the truth. It was horrible. Q: What was the reaction of the people in the room? A: There was a stunned silence, and they got him out of there, fast. It was just very quietnot a good reaction, I would say. People were going, "Yucch!". Some looked as though they thought it was a fake bird, that it was all just a publicity stunt. And others said "No, it's a real bird and what a horrible thing to do." Personally, I thought it was an awful thing to do even if it was a fake bird. Sharon called up afterward and sort of apologized. Q: Do you think it was her idea all along? A: Oh, I know it was. I said to her, "He's not mad, just desperate for publicity." Q: Did it work? Did he get the publicity? A: I don't think it worked in getting Epic Records to take notice, but I think it did work as far as getting the kids to take notice. When the story leaked out, with photos and all, it got around everywhere. I'm sure Sharon was calling columns all over the country. That sort of became the Ozzy legend, that and all the other things he did afterwards. Q: Sharon said that Epic wasn't taking any notice of Ozzy before this happened. A: I feel that people were already aware of Ozzy, prior to the meeting. My impression was certainly that he was a major artist we were going to be working with. I doubt if it changed our impression one way or the other, although I could be wrong. Obviously, he went on to great success, and maybe that was part of the reason, but who am I to say? Q: So it was all definitely planned in advance? A: Definitely. It was not a spontaneous act. He just didn't walk in and happen to find a dove hanging out in the CBS reception area and say, "Gee, I'll take this in with me in case I get hungry and they don't have coffee and doughnuts." It was right in his jacket pocket. Come to think of it, he had two of them. That was it: he had two of them, one in each pocket. He let the other one go afterwards. Everyone made him do it. He took the other one ouf of his pocket and everyone screamed, "No, don't do it again!" Q: Did the second one fly away? That would indicate the first one was alive, wouldn't it? A: Not necessarily. He might have had one live one and one fake one. It's just all so hazy; I was so shocked.
Top 2.4 Wife as manager/Speak of the Devil "I am something of a madman. I can do nothing in moderation. If it's booze, I drink the place dry. If it's drugs, I take everything and then scrape the carpet for little crumbs. I took LSD everyday for years I was spending about $1000 a week on drugs... I OD'd about a dozen times." ...Ozzy on his addictions Once married, the better deal they had hoped for fell through. Sharon did not want her father controlling Ozzy's future any more. It was decided that the two of them would buy out Ozzy's contract from her father. Before they could buy out Ozzy's management and recording contracts, Ozzy still had to deliver an album under his old contract. Since he wanted out badly, the result was the purposely lowbudget live album "Speak of the Devil". This album was a live concert recorded Sept. 26 and 27th at The Ritz in New York. After the album was done, Ozzy could then leave his contract with Sharon's father. Don would not give it up so easily though, even for his own daughter. The newly married couple, not having much money, had to buy Ozzy's contract for over $1.5 million dollars from her father. Sharon has not spoken with her father since. Speak of the devil was released in November of 1982. The runes on the border of the 'Speak of the Devil' album and inside cover actually translate into meaningful phrases. The translation is found in Ozzy's autobiography book: "Howdy! DialADemon productions in conjunction with graveyard graphics proudly presents the madman of rock dumping into El Satanos toiletto. " "A tribute to Randy Rhoads, the axeman. That kid was my lifeline, you know? He was such a dynamic player and I'd rather not talk about it anymore because it cuts me up every day of my life. Randy Rhoads rest in peace and love." One of the conditions for the transfer of Ozzy's contract from Don to Sharon was that she get him to enroll in the Betty Ford center for his drinking problems. She did this by telling him she was "going to teach him to drink like a gentleman". Ozzy took this to mean that he would learn how to drink properly, not at all what the Betty Ford center was for. When he showed up, he asked where he could find the bar. It didn't take long to find out that at Betty Ford there is no bar! Ozzy would also begin work on his next album, Bark at the Moon.
Top 2.5 Suicide Solution "I swear on my kid's life I never said 'get the f***ing gun'" ...Ozzy on his Suicide Solution song "They know what they are putting out. There are people who are out there trying to make money, and they have no hesitation to sell your kids down the draon. You see a perfectly normal kid there who doesn't show any signs of depression at all. Then six hours later, he's dead. Nobody can explain it. The only thing we know is that he was listening to this music." ...Father of suicide victim who listened to Ozzy A song on Ozzy's second solo album, "Blizzard of Ozz" would cause a lot of trouble. The song "Suicide Solution" from the start, would have a very misleading title and this was understandable. Ozzy wrote the song after the singer for AC/DC (Bon Scott) died after drinking heavily one winter's night and passing out in his car, dying of hypothermia as a result. Ozzy's intentions were to talk about alcohol as a DEADLY LIQUID ('solution' meaning mixture) but the word 'solution' was looked upon as "an answer" instead. If you are not familiar with Ozzy's lyrics and true intentions, I strongly suggest before you pass judgement, to read the meaning behind the song. Suicide Solution: ================ Wine is fine But whiskey's quicker Suicide is slow with liquor Take a bottle drain your sorrows Candied thoughts await tomorrows Evil thoughts and evil doings Cold, alone you hang in ruins Thought that you'd escape the reaper You can't escape the master keeper 'Cause you feel life's unreal and you're living a lie Such a shame who's to blame and you're wondering why Then you ask from your cask is there life after birth What you saw can mean hell on this earth Now you live inside a bottle The reaper's traveling at full throttle It's catching you but you don't see The reaper is you and the reaper is me Breaking laws, knocking doors But there's no one at home Made your bed, rest your head But you lie there and moan Where to hide, suicide is the only way out Don't you know what it's really about The song is clearly about the dangers of alcohol, but the song title could be misinterpreted just as well. Try as I might, I just can't see anything which tells a person to commit suicide. The only misleading words are in the song title. In October 1984, a nineteenyearold teenager named John M. shot himself in the head, while listening to Ozzy Osbourne's "Suicide Solution". When the coroner entered the room, he found the headphones still on John's head. In 1986, Ozzy had just gotten off a plane at LAX airport when people began asking him about the "lawsuits". Ozzy knew nothing about any lawsuit but the details quickly emerged. Three lawsuits had been launched against Ozzy, claiming that his lyrics had caused youths to commit suicide. The family of John hired attorney Thomas Anderson in a lawsuit against Ozzy. Mr. Anderson claimed on the "Don't Blame Me" Ozzy video, that the song contained tones known as 'hemisync' and would cause a person to be unable to resist what was being said in the song. The Institute for BioAcoustics Research, Inc. (IBAR) was hired to evaluate the song. They found subliminal lyrics that weren't included in the lyrics sheet. These subliminal lyrics were sung at one and onehalf times the normal rate of speech and are not recognized by a first time listener. The IBAR institute claimed the subliminal lyrics, "are audible enough that their meaning and true intent becomes clear after being listened to over and over again." The subliminal lyrics in question were "Why try, why try? Get the gun and try it! Shoot, Shoot, Shoot", followed by a hideous laughter. Further analysis by IBAR revealed the hemisync tones, which result from a patented process that uses sound waves to influence an individual's mental state. The tones have been found to increase the rate at which the human brain assimilates and processes information. IBAR claimed these tones made John vulnerable to the suggestive lyrics which Ozzy sang. Ozzy's lawyer claimed that this was nonsense and relied upon the First Amendment of the Constitution to argue that Ozzy could write about anything he wanted. Three people had now taken their lives, and in each case it was Ozzy's 'Suicide Solution' song which was the focus as the cause of the deaths. Mr. Anderson claimed that the words, "shoot shoot, get the gun, get the gun" were audible in the song. There is an effect which can be heard on the song, that could be interpreted as that. The sounds were just Ozzy dicking around with the soundboard. There is the very real possibility which we must consider, that the record company wanted to promote publicity and placed these tones in purposely, but this is not for me to prove or disprove. Throughout the world, this problem would occur only in America. People were forced to now take a look at the family life instead of the actual music. Rather than blaming the music, families should have realized it was up to the parents to be strong role models and have good communication with their children. In all cases, Ozzy was found not at fault and has sworn that this was never the true meaning behind the song. Heavy metal seems to be a scape goat in which to blame teenagers problems such as drug abuse on. Yet teenagers who may listen to punk, jazz, or blues music may also suffer from substance abuse or commit suicide. As a parent, you should be keeping not only a close eye on the type of music your child is listening to, but get involved in their lives. Talk to them, ask them how are they doing, try to forge some kind of a relationship. When kids turn to heavy metal, sometimes though not always, it is a form of rebelling against a society or education system they dislike. What follows is an article written by a group calling themselves "Truth About Rock": '' One teenager who unfortunately succeeded in committing suicide was 14 year old Eric A. of St. Louis Park, Minnesota. His favorite groups were Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, Quiet Riot, and Motley Crue. Eric's mother said, "He watched it (MTV) day and night. He... watched intil(sic) six o'clock in the morning." Eric and his friends were so obsessed with the rock scene that, the very night before he died, they held a seance and attempted to contack(sic) the spirits of dead rock stars. At 2:30 the next afternoon, with his eyes filled with tears, he said to his father, "Dad, I just can't cope with the pressure." He then went into his room, took his .22 rifle off the wall rack, and killed himself. '' [Right here we have some problems. If a kid is spending all his time in front of the television, it might be a wise idea for the parents to intervene. If you just let him soak up videos all day, there may be a problem. Hosting a seance is also not a normal social activity for a teenager. Why did the father not talk to his son?] '' Apparently, he had followed the deranged advice of one of his favorite rock singers, Ozzy Osbourne, who preaches in "Suicide Solution", "Suicide is the only way out/...Why don't you kill yourself 'cause you can't escape the Master Reaper..." {3} '' [This is bullshit. Ozzy never says "Why don't you kill yourself". This is a prime example of a religious group portraying Ozzy as a menace to society. If you read the lyrics of his song you would see otherwise.] '' Though Ozzy preaches such deadly lyrics, he defends himself saying, "Parents have called me and said, 'When my son died of a drug overdose, your record was on the turntable.' I can't help that. These people are freaking out anyway, and they need a vehicle for the freakouts." {4} '' [I am not a long haired rock freak. I live a conservative life and am neutral in my views towards the church and Ozzy. I am not under the devil's influence, though some religious person could easily claim so for my negative views, but from my perspective this religious group is trying to blame the actions of this 14 year old on Ozzy. Drug abuse may be higher among the 'headbanger' heavy metal crowd, but to shift the blame to the music itself seems to suggest the person is all too easily influenced by music. Shouldn't television and newspapers also be censored then?] I will leave the closing words to the remainder of the groups article: '' Pathetically, Rock Stars themselves are being caught in the devastating grasp of suicide. Peter Townshend, formerly of The Who, acknowledged, "Rock is going to kill me somehow. Mentally or physically or some thing, it's going to get me in the end." {5} I myself spent 6 months contemplating suicide every day. The influence of Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll had almost destroyed my life. Until, with a knife in my hand, after trying to cut my wrists, I cried out "God help me!" From that moment on He began to change my life, and a short while later I became a 'born again' Christian. Whether you like it or not, you are in a battle for your life. The Devil wants to destroy you and he is using Rock music as a primary agent. But God has not given you life, only to have it choked out by the demented obsessions of Rock musicians. There is only one solution to your problems. Begin to live for God and not for yourself. Because Jesus loves you, He came to Earth to give His life in your place, so that you wouldn't have to die for your own sins. If you give your life back to Him, He will give you the peace you're looking for. '' For more information on Rock n'Roll, write to: Truth About Rock, Box 9222, North St. Paul, MN. 55109 Note: Since there is a constant turnover of new Rock groups some of those mentioned above may not currently be "hot". However, be assured that other groups have taken their place and continue to present a similar message. FOOTNOTES: {1} National Center For Health Statistics {2} Aurora Mackey, "The Frightening Facts About Teen Suicide"< Teen, 10/83 {3} Truth About Rock Report, June/July '85, p. 6 {4} "Heavy Metal Mania", Anne Fadiman, Life magazine, 12/84, p.112 {5} Time magazine Dec. 17, 1979, pg. 94
Top 2.6 Bark at the Moon Ozzy's next album would be "Bark at the Moon". The title track is a song about a creature (werewolf) who has come back to seek revenge on those who scorned and buried him. The video portrays Ozzy being confined to an asylum because he was a mad scientist. In the asylum he sees this werewolf running around chasing him. This song, like his earlier songs would supposedly affect his listeners in negative ways, read on: "Rock Sparks Stabbing", Canadian Press Association: Halifax, Canada, 9/26/84 "...according to the Canadian Press Wire Service, the effect of heavy metal rock music so influenced a young Canadian named James Jollimore, that '...on New Year's Eve 1983, he went out and stabbed someone. A friend of the defendant testified that Jollimore, 20, who is charged with the firstdegree murder of a 44 year old woman and her two sons, felt like stabbing people when he heard music such as Ozzy Osbourne's 'Bark at the Moon'. 'Jimmy said that every time he listened to the song he felt strange inside,' the friend told the court. 'He said when he heard it on New Year's Eve he went out and stabbed someone.'" [Once again the blame would be shifted from the individual to the musician.] Ozzy's band now consisted of Jake E. Lee on guitar, Tommy Aldridge, Don Airey on keyboard and Bob Daisley on bass. One of the videos they filmed for the album was the lovely ballad, "So Tired". This ballad made use of a full orchestra. An interesting note: Ozzy also plays the parts of all the main characters in the video. A good use of makeup art is evident. One scene shows Ozzy in front of a mirror clenching his fists, and the mirror shatters. While filming the video, the charge which would shatter the mirror was too strong and the mirror exploded sending glass into Ozzy's face.
Top 2.7 The Ultimate Disaster After the release of the 1984 Bark at the Moon album and subsequent tour, Ozzy began work on the long awaited Ultimate Sin album. The Ultimate Sin would come out in 1986, ending the long wait by his fans. It would also be one of the poorest amongst the opinions of Ozzy and his fans as well. The album's sound was cheesy and according to Ozzy, most of songs ended up sounding alike (which they do). On March 19/1987, due to overwhelming demand by his fans, Ozzy also released the Randy Rhoad's Tribute album. Randy's mother, Dolores had dozens of letters from fans wanting to know if there were any more Randy concerts out there. She then contacted Ozzy who searched through his house and came up with some old archive material. The material was send to Max Spencer who had produced Ozzy's first three albums, to see if the material was suitable. The result was the Randy Rhoad's Tribute album. Ozzy also played only one show that year, at the Wormwood Scrubs prison.
Top 2.8 No Rest for the Wicked The following year, in 1988, Ozzy released his 'No Rest for the Wicked' album. This featured Zakk Wylde (who had his own band 'Pride and Glory') on guitar, Randy Castillo on drums and Bob Daisley on bass guitar. The album title again was a bit eery and the cover showed an Osbourne sitting in a chair with two girls (looking possessed) and one screaming at him. Zakk, who had heard Ozzy on Howard Stern mention that he was looking for a new guitar player, didn't think he had a chance. It was not until later when a rock photographer mentioned he would be happy to pass along a tape of Zakk's music, did he then get the audition and the subsequent part. On August 12 and 13th of 1989, Ozzy played the Moscow Music Peace Festival. This show featured acts like Bon Jovi, Scorpions and Motley Crue. The other bands were basically small club bands but of course Ozzy was a worldwide name and the crowd just went crazy when it was his turn to play. In March of 1990, Geezer would join Ozzy in releasing a live album titled "Just Say Ozzy". This would contain some of the No Rest for the Wicked and Black Sabbath material combined. Nothing to write home about.
Top 2.9 No More Beers The year 1991 would mark the beginning of big changes in Ozzy's life. Ozzy gave sobriety another try, and came out victorious. It was a combination of domestic situations, hangovers, and many personal reasons which made him want to try again. He had wanted to quit drinking every day but was unable to because he'd be feeling too bad from the day before. He had been to many treatment centers (including multiple stays at Betty Ford) before. This time he just woke up one day and decided that enough was enough. Since successfully quitting, he has not had a drink to this day! Now that he wasn't drinking, Ozzy took his health one step further. He bought a Lifecycle (which he uses at least 90 minutes a day), starting dieting (he now avoids eating red meat) and working out. The result was a better looking Ozzy, both in physical aspects and his on stage performance. He would also begin to see life in a different light, enjoying life's moments that he had previously ignored because of being constantly drunk. There would be another change, this time in his musical direction. Ozzy has said he used to write songs based on what he thought his fans would like to hear. The album titles were dark. He had never written or recorded an album sober before. During this alcohol free period he recorded his next album, "No More Tears", which would be a change from his previous dark album titles. Heaven" which would be an accurate portrayal of the cover. The cover showed a tame looking Ozzy with wings, in a cloudy serene background. The music itself was a pleasant mix of soft ballads like "Mama I'm Coming Home" (one even your mother would enjoy), to hard rocking songs like "Hellraiser". It is of interest to note that Lemmy of Motorhead helped Ozzy write the lyrics to some of the songs (or in the case of Mama, he wrote all the lyrics). The song "Road to Nowhere" would describe his life in general, while "Mr. Tinkertrain" would talk about child molestation issues. Being written in the first person, critics now claimed Ozzy was promoting child molestation. He would also win a Grammy award for the song, "I Don't Want to Change the World". This would also be a first in that it was the first album they made demos of, thus deciding on which songs to keep and which ones to make changes to. Samples of the untouched, original songs are available on bootlegs as well. Ozzy surprised everyone by calling the tour, "No More Tours". In interviews he said that he was tired of touring and he wanted to spend more time with his family. He was also suffering bouts of illnesses, canceling shows, and other injuries. The pressures of touring got to him and he embarked on what was to be his "final tour". The band now consisted of Zakk on guitar, Randy Castillo on drums and Mike Inez on bass. During these final tours, some shows were taped and used in an upcoming commercial video and audio compilation, "Live and Loud" which was a double album. The CD package also included two stickon tattoos. There was much speculation about whether or not this would be the final tour, or perhaps it was a ploy to get more money. On November 15 of 1992, Ozzy played at Costa Mesa, California. This was one of the two nightly shows that would be the last in his tour. Sharon and Ozzy decided it would be cool to invite the other members of Black Sabbath for a reunion since this would be the end of it all. All of the members of Black Sabbath agreed, but Ronnie Dio did not. After playing his songs, the members of Black Sabbath came out and joined Ozzy in playing four songs: Black Sabbath, Fairies Wear Boots, Iron Man and of course, Paranoid. The video release of this final show only contains the Black Sabbath song though. How did the audience react at seeing the original Sabbath members back together since 1978? They went totally crazy of course. At the end of the show a fireworks sparkler display went off which proclaimed, "I'll Be Back". The purpose of having a final show and then saying you'll be back is beyond me. Being his final tour, sales were high and other artists turned out to see the madman before he retired, including Vince Neil, Rod Stewart and Nicholas Cage. When it was all over, so was Ozzy's lifetime of performing.
Top 2.10 Ozzmosis In 1993, Ozzy was officially retired. His fans had the 'Live and Loud' video and CD to remind them of his final days. Ozzy went home and did what he longed to do, be a father. He spent time playing with his children and wife. He also bought various toys to pass time: motorcycles, guns, and night vision goggles (to see animals running at night). It would not be too long before he longed for his old lifestyle and after a few weeks of being retired, Ozzy wanted to get another band and start touring all over again. His fans soon began hearing rumors of an upcoming Ozzy album, what would it be called? The latest gossip was "XRay" as a working title. There were also disgruntled fans who were angry (and rightly so) that they had been taken in by another lie. [While I am a huge fan of Ozzy's, I am not going to only portray the good sides of him, this is after all a biography and it is part of the story]. Rumors also persisted that Steve Vai would be playing on the new album. It was not until almost two years later that the rumors became facts. Yes, Ozzy was coming back with a new album. Yes, there would be a tour to support it. The album would be called "Ozzmosis". On the final album a song titled "My Little Ozzmosis is defined as "the diffusion of Man" is written by fluids through a membrane" :) Geezer Steve Vai but it is Butler, his old Sabbath friend would also Zakk who played guitar be on the album and tour. The band on it, this bothered recorded the album in Paris, and was Ozzy. There are still produced by Michael Beinhorn. Since Zakk dozens of unreleased was busy with his own project, Pride and songs with Ozzy and Glory, it was arranged that Steve Vai Vai that have yet to would be contributing to the album. The see daylight. songs would be split so that both Zakk and Vai would appear on the album. Because of On October 24, 1995 the record company once again interfering Ozzmosis hit the with plans, only Zakk's material made it stores. The first to the final product. However Steve Vai track on the album, DID play the guitar on My Little Man. "Perry Mason", was released as a single earlier on and received radio play. All that remained after the album's debut was to begin touring...
Top 2.11 Why did Zakk leave Ozzy? Ozzy would name his Ozzmosis tour, "Retirement Sucks" in an obvious statement about his feelings towards his short lived retirement. It was now time to begin touring. Zakk was talking about playing with Guns and Roses so Ozzy decided to audition new guitarists, thinking Zakk would not be around for the tour. Zakk's manager, Doug Goldstein, called Sharon and told her that Zakk would be available. He later phoned to say that Zakk was still negotiating for the gig with Guns and Roses. Ozzy did not know what Zakk was planning to do because he was negotiating with both groups, and so asked Zakk to let him know what his plans were. When Zakk did not return the phone call as promised, Ozzy decided enough was enough and found a new player. Ozzy and Zakk are still on good terms however. Remember Joe Holmes, the kid who took guitar lessons from Randy? The 31 year old guitar player who hailed from New Jersey, would soon play a part in Ozzy's life. Joe had previoulsly played with David Lee Roth for his 1988 tour and was currently working on his own band, "Tariff", when Dean Castronovo (Oz's drummer) phoned Joe to let him know they were seeking a guitar player. Joe went down to Audible in Los Angeles and played three Ozzy classics. He did not mention that he had once took lessons from Randy because he thought this might jeapordize his chances. He succeeded though and got the part. Unfortunately Joe is not heard on the Ozzmosis album but he will be on the next one. So Joe Holmes as Ozzy's new guitar player and Geezer Butler on bass began the Retirement Sucks tour. Halfway through the tour, Geezer left due to being homesick for his family and Mike Inez took his place. Later on, in yet another shrewd marketing attempt, Ozzy and Sharon came up with the 'OzzFest'. The festival which would start September 14, 1996 would be of a different theme. At this event one could get a tattoo done, body piercing or have your fortune read by a psychic. Ozzfest featured the following hard rock groups: Danzig, Sepultura, Prong, Slayer, Biohazard, Fear Factory, Neurosis, King Norris, Earth Crisis, Powerman 5000, Coal Chamber, and Cellophane. Towards November '96, Ozzy played his last show of the tour in Hawaii. His plans now are to go back to the studio to release a 'Greatest Hits' package (early 1997) which will have his older songs and three new ones. One of them will be a song called "Back on Earth" which was cowritten with Steve Vai.
Top 2.12 Of Priests and Devils Years ago a particular news snippet caught my attention. It was a news clip about a religious group who were burning records. It showed children and adults throwing record albums into a bonfire. A priest told the interviewer, "One of the albums we're going to be burning tonight is Ozzy Osbourne's Speak of the Devil". The album cover shows Ozzy sitting in a chair, or throne, with his mouth open and drooling what is supposed to be blood (but looks more like strawberry jam). At Ozzy Osbourne concerts, religious believers have been known to hand out pamphlets to concertgoers. Religious leaders have condemned Ozzy for being a satanist and devil worshipper. Ozzy's shows are boycotted and he is banned from playing certain cities. Is any of the hype true, and as a parent should you be concerned if your child is listening to Ozzy Osbourne? To start, Ozzy has had a record of macabre album titles: Diary of a Madman, Speak of the Devil, No Rest for the Wicked and The Ultimate Sin. However the old saying, "you can't judge a book by its cover" certainly comes into play here. As a priest, an album called 'Speak of the Devil' and showing a man spewing blood would certainly be cause for alarm. But if you take a closer look at the album and listen to the songs, it becomes another story. Speak of the Devil is simply a live album boasting some of the earlier Black Sabbath material. There is absolutely no reference AT ALL to satan. The closest Ozzy comes on that album or most any other of his albums to evil, are songs such as 'Snowblind' and 'Sweet Leaf' which talk about drug usage. You can pull out all of Ozzy's albums, glance at the cover pictures and album titles and dismiss him as a devil worshipper in a heavy metal band. However we live in a world where people are free to make their own minds up about what they believe. I fail to see anywhere in Ozzy's career any truth to the Satanic rumours. I am a fan of Ozzy's and it is true I might be somewhat biased towards him, but I can reassure you I have never seen anything, WHATSOEVER, that leads me to believe Ozzy has any relationship with the devil. Fans of his may laugh at this but there are obviously people out there who seriously believe otherwise. So why then has this man been accused so often of being associated with evil? To explain this would be beyond my abilities. I can however tell you that his album covers may play a part. The fact that people have claimed to have heard backwards messages in his music may also play a part. The suicide deaths of teenagers listening to Ozzy's music also go hand in hand with the allegations of backwards messages. The fact he was once lead singer for a band called Black Sabbath also may play a part. I really can't tell you why people claim this. True, he is a singer in a band which is considered heavy metal. This does not make him an evil person. In all fairness, he has lived a life of drug and alcohol abuse and done some very stupid things which people will always remember him for. Overlooking the stupid stunts he has done, I don't find any evidence of his being an evil person. If you are a parent, should you be concerned if Jimmy brings home an Ozzy Osbourne album? Well, to answer that you need to look at a few outside factors. Is the kid level headed and are the lines of communication open with your child? If the child has serious problems, perhaps listening to his "Suicide Solution" would be a mistake. It is very easy to misconstrue the lyrics and it just might play a part in your son's decision. If your child is planning suicide, there are obviously more serious problems than that of an Ozzy album. I don't wish to spread panic, there is no need to really go and censor all of his albums. The fact is that if given the right circumstances, any medium could lead someone to believe suicide is ok. If you trust your child's judgement and believe him to be level headed, I don't see any real problems. Mind you I am NOT an expert, nor do I pretend to be. I am simply someone who grew up listening to Ozzy's music. Maybe you should sit down with the lyrics to the song and explain that it was the death of the singer for AC/DC which prompted the song, and the lyrics pertain to alcohol solution not answertoyourproblemsolution. I figure it like this: If Jimmy is thinking of committing suicide, I think listening to an Ozzy album would be the same as watching a TV program or reading a paper on the same subject. If the child sees other teens talking about wanting to commit, how they tried to, or how life is not worth living, perhaps that media attention on the topic would affect his decision just as much. Up till now I have been talking mainly of suicide, this is because music could play a crucial weight in a child's decision. However a song about suicide is irrelevant to the topic of this chapter. I merely wanted to address the question or whether it is okay to listen to Ozzy. SURE! I never sacrificed any cats, nor did I try to kill myself. I did not go out on a full moon and try to eat a dog either, maybe if I was sleepwalking but not that I can remember. :) So why then does the religious faith attack this man? I sincerely do not know. I really don't. Perhaps it has to do with the last chapter. Maybe when our children turn to drugs and alcohol and kills animals, it must be heavy metal's fault. There has been a long waged war against metal. I think stastically you will find that a lot of troubled teenagers and drug abusers listen to heavy metal but I would not blame that music category for it. As Ozzy once said, "I'm sure people smoke pot at a Stevie Wonder concert". Let us now talk about some of the religious people who have attacked Osbourne for being in league with the devil. Cardinal O'Connor This man accused Ozzy of being the devil and told people that exorcisms were real and that Oz's music was spreading the devil's word. 'A Current Affair' also did a telephone survey in which the majority of callers said that they felt heavy metal music was killing their kids. Jimmy Swaggart Another television evangelist. The man makes his bread and butter by selling God. The morals of this are not mine to determine. Jimmy also put down Ozzy. Jim was later found coming out of a hotel room with a prostitute. He was later shown on television crying to God and asking for forgiveness. I don't wish to put him down for his repenting, but the fact he put down someone else and comitted his own sins is hypocrasy. The fact is he is a human being with human urges and he can't deny that. Ozzy made a song and video called "Miracle Man" in which he talks about Jimmy and his critical views. Oral Roberts Another evangelist who has put down Ozzy. This is the same man who claimed if he did not get 7 million dollars by a certain time, God would be calling him back home. To me, this seems a very obvious and pathetic attempt at milking the public. Ozzy makes his money through hard work, not pretending he will soon die. None of these people offered to help Ozzy in his time of depression and substance abuse. Though Ozzy did send Oral Roberts a single dollar for "his psychiatric bill".
Top 2.13 Will there ever be a reunion? In one simple word: NO! (WRONG) What you may not know is that during the time Ozzy was playing his last show in Costa Mesa with his old Sabbath buddies, the foursome had already been talking for nearly a year about a reunion. It was originally going to be a two month tour and an album (a Sabbathhead's dream come true). As time progressed though, Ozzy grew uncomfortable about doing the reunion. Problems began arising... the four original members now had their own managers, lawyers, and record companies. Each person's manager wanted to be the one in charge of the project which would result in a fortune. The Sabs just wanted to do the show. Ozzy has since gone on to say that he might have done a reunion if they had scrapped the name Black Sabbath at the time when the original members left. As it stands, Black Sabbath has had members leave, come back and then leave again. There have been numerous changes in the members of the band involving outside players. Ozzy felt that the name Black Sabbath no longer represented what it once did.
Top 3.0 Ozzy Album Discography This discography comes from [email protected] Blizzard of Ozz album, 1980, Jet (England) Blizzard of Ozz album, 1981, Jet (US) ** The English pressing has a different back cover. From the information I have, it is difficult to tell if it actually took until 1981 to have the album released in the US. Also, it is not clear exactly what role CBS Records plays in the releasing and distribution. Randy Rhoads (exQuiet Riot) on guitar. Reissued with 22bit remastering. Crazy Train single, 1980, Jet ** Additional track is You Looking at Me Looking at You. Crazy Train 7" single, 1980, Jet ** Promo of the above single. Crazy Train 7" single, 1980, Jet ** Jukebox version of the above single. Mr. Crowley 7" single, 1980, Jet ** Additional track is You Said It All (LIVE). Bonus 7" that came in the Japanese pressing of either Bark at the Moon or Speak of the Devil. Mr. Crowley Live EP 12" picture disc, 1980, Jet ** This disc contains the above two songs along with a live version of Suicide Solution. Additionally, this is available on black vinyl as a Canadian pressing; this pressing's cover has a color picture of Ozzy wearing his red "jump suit" with his arms extended. There is a third pressing, from the U.K., where the cover is a silver and black picture of Ozzy wearing his fringed shirt. Crazy Train 7" single, 1981, Jet / CBS Associated ** U.S. 7". Additional track is Steal Away (The Night). Crazy Train 7" single, 1981, CBS Associated ** KZEW 98FM / Sound Warehouse single. Probably promo, but not sure. Also has Troubleshooter by Judas Priest, It's All Right, It's OK by Hawks, and R.O.C.K. by Garland Jeffreys. Diary of a Madman album, 1981, Jet ** Reissued with 22bit remastering. Over the Mountain 12" single, 1981, Jet ** Additional track is I Don't Know. Over the Mountain 7" single, 1981, Jet ** Additional track is I Don't Know. Also available as a promo with full artwork. Flying High Again / I Don't Know (Live) 7" single, 1981, Jet / CBS Associated ** Probably a U.S. only release. Additional track is I Don't Know (Live). Talk of the Devil double album, 1982, Jet (England and possibly all non US) ** see below. Speak of the Devil double album, 1982, Jet (US) ** This is a live album. Randy Rhoads died in a plane crash on the Diary of a Madman tour (March 1982). Brad Gillis took an extended leave from Night Ranger to fill in. The album is all Black Sabbath material. It was supposed to be a live album from the Diary tour, but after Randy's death, Ozzy felt he would be exploiting Randy's name by releasing the album. This was to fulfill his contact for a live album. I believe the album was eventually released as Tribute (see below). In order to have the entire album fit on one CD, CBS left off Sweet Leaf on the US CD (possibly world wide). In 1991, Castle Communications rereleased the CD under its European (and possibly Japanese) name (Talk of the Devil) and added Sweet Leaf. Reissued with 22bit remastering. The US remaster has restored Sweet Leaf. Symptom of the Universe 12" single, 1982, Jet ** Additional tracks are Iron Man / Children of the Grave, both from Talk of the Devil. Not available in the US. Symptom of the Universe 7" picture single, 1982, Jet ** This may also be available in black vinyl. Additional track is N.I.B. Not available in the US. Symptom of the Universe 7" single, 1982, Jet ** Promo single for this song. Additional track is N.I.B. Not available in the US. Bark at the Moon album, 1983, Epic (Europe and possibly world wide) ** see below Bark at the Moon album, 1983, CBS Associated (US) ** This album has two different versions and album covers. The US pressing has the logo and title in red and yellow. It also has the song Slow Down, instead of Spiders. The European pressing has the logo and title in blue and yellow. The song Spiders appears here, but not Slow Down. Additionally, the song Centre of Eternity on the US pressing is listed as Forever on the European pressing. Finally, the songs are in different orders on each pressing. Jake E. Lee (exRough Cutt, Sexist, almost Dio, and Ratt(?)). Reissued with 22bit remastering. American reissue has Spiders in addition to Slow Down. Bark at the Moon 12" single, 1983, Epic ** Additional tracks are One Up the B Side and Slow Down. Not available in the US. Bark at the Moon 7" single, 1983, Epic ** Additional track is One Up the B Side. Not available in the US. Bark at the Moon 7" single, 1983, CBS Associated ** Additional track is Spiders. So Tired 7" single, 1983, CBS Associated ** Additional track, "B" side, is the same as One Up the B Side So Tired 12" single, 1984, Epic ** 12" single with So Tired, Waiting for Darkness, Bark at the Moon, Suicide Solution, Paranoid. The last 3 recorded live at Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah, March 18, 1984. Comes with an Ozzy Osbourne logo patch. Not available in the US. So Tired 7" single, 1984, Epic / CBS ** Additional track is Bark at the Moon recorded live at Salt Palace, Salt Lake City, Utah, March 18, 1984. Comes with an Ozzy Osbourne logo patch. Not available in the US. So Tired 7" single, 1984, Epic ** Additional track is Forever (Live). Not available in the US. So Tired Double 7" single, 1984, Epic / CBS ** Gatefold 7" package with 2 7" singles. The first single has So Tired and Bark At The Moon (live); the other single has Waiting For Darkness and Paranoid (live). Prince of Darkness 12" EP, 1984, CBS Japan ** Japanese only release including You Looking At Me Remix, and One Up the "B" Side. Probably vinyl and cassette only. Shot In The Dark 12" single, 1985, Epic / CBS ** 12" single with Shot In The Dark, Killer of Giants, and Rock And Roll Rebel. The Other Side Of Ozzy 12" EP, 1985, CBS Japan ** Japanese only release containing 10 rare Bsides from 1980 to 1984, including You Looking At Me Remix, and One Up the "B" Side. Probably vinyl only. The Ultimate Sin album, 1986, Epic (Europe and possibly world wide) The Ultimate Sin album, 1986, CBS Associated (US) ** Reissued with 22bit remastering. Shot in the Dark 7" single, 1986, Epic ** Additional track is Rock 'n' Roll Rebel. Packaged in a poster bag. Dutch version also available, but with no poster bag. Not available in the US. Shot in the Dark 7" single, 1986, CBS Associated ** Additional track is You Said It All (Live from Mr. Crowley picture disc). Shot in the Dark 7" single, 1986, CBS Associated ** White label promo. Additional track is You Said It All (Live from Mr. Crowley picture disc). Shot in the Dark 7" single, 1986/87, CBS Associated / Sony ** Additional track is Crazy Train. Reissued by Collectable Records. Shot in the Dark 7" single, 1986, CBS Associated ** White label promo. Shot in the Dark 12" single, 1986, CBS Associated ** Promo only. The Ultimate Sin 7" single, 1986, Epic ** Special Donnington Souvenir Single. Additional track is Lightning Strikes. Lightning Strikes 12" single, 1986, Epic ** Promo only single with the track Lightning Strikes on both sides. The Ultimate Ozzy video cassette, 1986, CBS / FOX video ** Live and video footage of one or more shows from The Ultimate Sin tour. The Ultimate Live Ozzy 12" picture disc, 1986, CBS Associated ** Live cuts from The Ultimate Ozzy video shoot. Included are The Ultimate Sin, Never Know Why, and Thank God for the Bomb. Possibly US only. Tribute double album, 1987, Epic (Europe and possibly world wide) Tribute double album, 1987, CBS Associated (US) ** This is the only album where Ozzy doesn't get solo billing. The album is listed as Ozzy Osbourne / Randy Rhoads. This is probably the album that was supposed to be released after Diary of a Madman. Reissued with 22bit remastering. Tribute Sampler CD, 1987, Epic or CBS Associated ** Selected cuts from Tribute. Promo only. Crazy Train 7" single, 1987, Epic ** Side 1 from Tribute; side 2 from Blizzard of Ozz. Not available in the US. Crazy Train 7" single, 1987, Epic ** White label promo, Crazy Train from the Tribute album on both sides. Crazy Train 12" single, 1987, Epic ** Side 1 from Tribute; side 2 from Blizzard of Ozz. Not available in the US. Close My Eyes Forever 7" single, 1987, EMI / Lisabella / Virgin ** Duet with Lita Ford. Available on Lita's best of and on her album entitled Lita. Back to Ozz EP, 1988, Epic ** Europe and Japan only. Tracks are The Ultimate Sin, Bark at the Moon, Mr. Crowley, and Diary of a Madman. Includes color poster with photos and family tree. Available in 12" vinyl and CD. The Mr. Crowley is the live version from the picture disc. No Rest for the Wicked album, 1988, CBS Associated (possibly Epic in Europe) ** CD and cassette have an additional track. The track is unlisted and is called Hero. Zakk Wylde on guitar. Reissued with 22bit remastering. Bible of Ozz special package, 1988, CBS Associated / Sony ** Japanese special release of No Rest for the Wicked. It contains the Japanese version of No Rest for the Wicked (which includes a second additional track called The Liar), an Ozzy Osbourne logo metal belt buckle, an Ozzy Osbourne logo patch, a Zakk Wylde name patch, and a Japanese book. The whole thing is packaged to resemble a bible. It has a thin cardboard slip cover with pictures from the album cover. Miracle Man 12" single, 1988, Epic ** 12" with Miracle Man, The Liar, and Crazy Babies. Possibly UK only. Not available in the US. Miracle Man 12" shaped picture single, 1988, Epic ** 12" shaped like Ozzy's head with the crown of thorns. Additional tracks not know. Miracle Man 7" single, 1988, Epic ** Additional track is Crazy Babies. Not available in the US. Miracle Man CD single, 1988, Epic (?) ** Promo only, picture CD single. Additional track is The Liar. Possibly nonU.S. I have never seen one of these. Miracle Man 12" single, 1988, Epic ** Promo single. Crazy Babies (Crazy Mix) 12" single, 1988, CBS Associated ** Promo only single. I can't tell the difference from the original version, but I've only listened to it once. Crazy Babies (Live) CD single, 1988, CBS Associated ** Promoonly single. The additional track, You Said it All, track is the same as the one taken from the Mr. Crowley Live EP. Crazy Babies 7" single, 1988, Epic / CBS ** Onesided Spanish promo. Hero 12" single, ????, ???? ** Promo 12" single. Possibly import. Additional tracks are You Said It All / Devil's Daughter / Fire In The Sky. I've never seen one of these. Breaking All The Rules CD single, ????, ???? ** Promoonly, picture CD single. Possibly import. Additional track is Miracle Man Live, different version from Just Say Ozzy. I've never seen one of these. Wicked Videos video cassette, 1988 or 1989 (?), (?) ** Video clips from No Rest for the Wicked. Best of Ozz CD, 1989, CBS / Sony ** Japanese only compilation with songs from Blizzard of Ozz through The Ultimate Sin. Led Clones 7" single, 1988/1989, Virgin / Capitol ** Additional track is Speak For Yourself. Ozzy sings lead on Led Clones and backup on Speak For Yourself. Both songs are from Gary Moore's album After the War. Speak For Yourself one song, 1988/1989, Virgin / Capitol ** Sings backup/harmony for this song from Gary Moore's album After the War. Also available as the Bside to the Led Clones 7" single. Purple Haze one song, 1989, Mercury / PolyGram ** This song appears on the Stairway to Heaven / Highway To Hell album by the Make A Difference Foundation. This all of the songs on this record were originally written by bands that have been touched by drug or alcohol problems. The band members are Zakk Wylde, Randy Castillo, and Geezer Butler. Ten Commandments album, 1990, Priority Records / CBS ** "Limited Collector's Edition" CD and cassette only (no vinyl). This was only released for a limited time and has been out of print for quite a while. Just Say Ozzy ep, 1990, CBS Associated (possibly Epic in Europe) ** Live ep from No Rest tour. Reissued with 22bit remastering. Bombers (Can Open Bomb Bays) one song, 1990, Chameleon Records ** Sings this song on Bill Ward's solo record Ward One: _Along the Way_. This CD is out of print. Jack's Land one song, 1990, Chameleon Records ** Sings this song on Bill Ward's solo record Ward One: _Along the Way_. This CD is out of print. The Urpney Song 7" single, 1990, Adventure Records ** Sings this song with Frank Bruno and Billy Connolly (this is the guy that played the teacher on Head of the class after Howard Hessman left). Also listed are Mike Batt and The London Philharmonic Orchestra. Additional track is The Whirlyped Launch; Ozzy does not sing on this additional track. The song is from The Dreamstone, animated TV series for Central TV. This song is also available on the album entitled The Dreamstone. Not available in the U.S. No More Tears album, 1991, Epic / Sony ** Japanese version has 2 additional tracks: Party with the Animails and Don't Blame me. No US vinyl. Reissued with 22bit remastering. No More Tears 7" single, 1991, Epic / Sony ** Additional track is S.I.N. Not available in the US. No More Tears CD single, 1991, Epic / Sony ** Special UK package. CD single in an embossed CD wallet with room for each solo studio record. Each sleeve has a different picture. Additional tracks are S.I.N. and Party With the Animals. No More Tears CD single, 1991, Epic / Sony ** promo only, 1 track Mr. Tinkertrain CD single, 1991, Epic / Sony ** promo only, 1 track No More Tears 12" picture disc, 1991, Epic / Sony ** Additional tracks are S.I.N. and Party with the Animals. Not available in the US. No More Tears CD single, 1991, Epic / Sony ** "Maxi single" with No More Tears, S.I.N., Don't Blame Me, and Party With The Animals. I believe Party... was from the movie Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Mama, I'm Coming Home 12" single, 1991, Epic / Sony ** European single with Mama I'm Coming Home (Special version adapted from the No More Tears Album), Don't Blame Me (previously unreleased), I Don't Know, and Crazy Train. Not available in the US. Mama, I'm Coming Home 7" single, 1991, Epic / Sony ** Additional track is Don't Blame Me. Possible promoonly. Mama, I'm Coming Home CD single, 1991, Epic / Sony ** "Maxi single" with Mama, I'm Coming Home, Don't Blame Me, and Party With the Animals. Mama, I'm Coming Home CD single, 1991, Epic / Sony ** promo only, long and short version I Don't Want to Change the World 12" single, 1991, Epic / Sony ** Promo only single with I Don't Want to Change the World, Mama, I'm Coming Home, and No More Tears. Probably not avaliable in the US. Don't Blame Me video cassette, 1991, SMV Enterprises ** Mostly interview footage of Ozzy and friends talking about his career. Some rare footage, including some Randy Rhoades bits. Therapy one song, 1991, Epic / Sony ** Sings chorus to this Infectious Grooves song. The song appears on The Plague That Makes Your Booty Move...It's The Infectious Grooves. Hey Stoopid one song, 1991, Epic / Sony ** Sings backup on this Alice Cooper song. The song appears on the Hey Stoopid album. Road To Nowhere CD single, 1992, Epic / Sony ** Promo only, additional track is Party With the Animals. Time After Time CD single, 1992, Epic / Sony ** promo only, 1 track The No More Tears Demo Sessions CD, 1992, Epic / Sony ** Numbered, limited edition, promoonly CD of demo songs for No More Tears. Tracks are I Don't Want to Change the World, Mama, I'm Coming Home, Desire, Time After Time, Won't Be Coming Home (S.I.N.) Mrs. J., An Interview with Ozzy 5/13/92 Mrs. J. is an acoustic piece by Zakk Wyld. All songs are basically the same as the released versions, just mixed differently with some different harmonies and solos. The exception to this is Won't Be Coming Home. This song eventually became S.I.N., but in this form the lyrics make it a really different song (in my opinion). The back of the CD has a painting by Ozzy. The liner notes say "Any broadcast of this recording is prohibited". Shake Your Head 12" single, 1992, Phonogram ** Was (Not Was) song where Ozzy duets with Kim Basinger. May also be available on a full length Was (Not Was) release I Ain't No Nice Guy one song, 1992, Epic / Sony ** Ozzy sings with Lemmy on this song from Motorhead's March or Die album. Also, the song Hellraiser (co written with Lemmy) appears here, but as done by Motorhead. Ozzy's version appears on No More Tears. Live & Loud double album, 1993, Epic / Sony ** Live album from the No More Tours Tour. CD is "limited edition". It comes in digipack with speaker grill front, booklet, and 2 temporary tattoos. This is a 2 CD set. It is somewhat limited since it is now out of print at least in the US. Vinyl not available in the US. Reissued with 22bit remastering, but in double jewel case. The original is still out of print. No tatooes in the remastered version. Live & Loud Sampler CD, 1993, Epic / Sony ** 13 song sampler from Live & Loud. The 13th song is Shot in the Dark and is unlisted on the CD. Promo only. Live & Loud video cassette, 1993, Epic Music Video / Sony ** Limited edition packaging of speaker grill similar to the CD. I believe the limited packaging version is out of print, but not the video itself since I've seen the video by itself. Changes CD single, 1993, Epic / Sony ** Contains Changes, No More Tears, Desire, Changes (with Audience). Changes 12" picture disc, 1993, Epic / Sony ** Tracks are the same as CD single. Not available in the US. Changes + 2: Live and Loud Sampler CD single, 1993, Epic / Sony ** Promo only version of the above. Iron Man one song, 1994, Columbia / Sony ** This song has Ozzy singing with Therapy? as the backing band. It appears on the Black Sabbath tribute Nativity In Black. This CD is available in a second, promoonly, 2 CD format. It is called The Bible According to Black Sabbath, Old and New Testaments. The Old Testament (first CD) is the same songs in the same order as the tribute, but as performed by Black Sabbath. The New Testament (second CD) is the actual tribute. I believe copies of this are pretty rare. There is no US vinyl of this, but there may have been a European pressing. Born to be Wild album, 1994, Jim Henson Records / BMG ** Ozzy does a "duet" with Miss Piggy on the record called Kermit Unpigged. Other artists on this disc include Vince Gill, Jimmy Buffett, and Don Henley. Ozzmosis album, 1995, Epic / Sony ** Japanese version has an additional track Whole World's Falling Down. Vinyl not available in the US. Perry Mason CD single, 1995, Epic / Sony ** Tracks are Perry Mason (edit), Perry Mason (album version), Living with the Enemy, The Whole World's Falling Down. Not available in the US. Perry Mason CD single, 1995, Epic / Sony ** Same as above, but without the album version of Perry Mason. Part 1 of a 2 part set. Not available in the US. Perry Mason CD single, 1995, Epic / Sony ** Tracks are Perry Mason (album version), No More Tears, I Don't Want to Change the World, Flying High Again. Not available in the US. Part 2 of a 2 part set. Perry Mason 7" picture disc, 1995, Epic / Sony ** Tracks are Perry Mason (edit), Living With the Enemy. Limited edition numbered picture disc. Not available in the US. Perry Mason CD single, 1995, Epic / Sony ** promo only, Perry Mason (edit), Perry Mason (album version). 4 From Ozzmosis CD EP, 1995, Epic / Sony ** UK promo. Tracks are Thunder Underground, Perry Mason, Tomorrow, and I Just Want You. Ozzatory Pt. 1 / Hard & Melodious Side CD EP, 199?, Epic / Sony (?) ** Japanonly promo. 13 tracks. Ozzatory Pt. 2 / Ballad & Melodious Side CD EP, 199?, Epic / Sony (?) ** Japanonly promo. 8 tracks. The Ballads of Ozz CD EP, 1995, Epic / Sony ** German promo. Tracks are See You on the Other Side, Ghost Behind My Eyes, I Just Want You, and Old L.A. Tonight. See You on the Other Side CD single, 1996, Epic / Sony ** Tracks are See You on the Other Side (edit), See You on the Other Side (album version), Voodoo Dancer, Aimee. Not available in the US. See You on the Other Side CD single, 1996, Epic / Sony ** Japanese release. Tracks are See You on the Other Side (short version), Voodoo Dancer, Living With the Enemy, Perry Mason (edit). Not available in the US. See You on the Other Side CD single, 1996, Epic / Sony ** promo only, See You on the Other Side (long version), See You on the Other Side (short version) I Just Want You CD single, 1996, Epic / Sony ** One of a two part set. Tracks are I Just Want You (Single Edit), Aimee, and Mama, I'm Coming Home. Not available in the US. I Just Want You CD single, 1996, Epic / Sony ** One of a two part set. Tracks are I Just Want You (Single Edit), Voodoo Dancer (Rough Demo), and Iron Man with Therapy?. Iron Man is the version from the Nativity in Black tribute album. Not available in the US. I Just Want You 12" single, 1996, Epic / Sony ** Tracks are I Just Want You (Album Version), Aimee (Rough Demo), and Voodoo Dancer (Rough Demo). All three tracks are on one side. The Other side has an etched "Best Wishes Ozzy Osbourne" in Ozzy's own "handwriting". There is also a little Ozzy sketch. Not available in the US. I Just Want You CD single, 1996, Epic / Sony ** Promoonly onetrack single. Headless Dove bootleg CD, 1996, Metalheadz ** This bootleg CD contains three Ozzmosis era songs: Tears for You, Back on Earth and Where Rain Falls. The cover shows a picture of Ozzy looking upwards at a half dozen flying doves with no heads. The front picture is in blue, the rear is a black and white logo which simply reads 'Ozzy Osbourne'. The CD originated from Toronto, Ontario but the store was raided by police and they no longer carry boots of any kind. The CD remains very rare. Walk On Water one song, 1996, Famous Music Corporation / EMI Virgin Music Inc. / Alamo Music Corp. / Testatyme Music ** Song from the movie soundtrack for Beavis and ButtHead Do America. Produced by, of all people, Moby. Joe Holmes, ex Lizzy Borden, joins on guitar. Walk On Water CD single, 1996, Famous Music Corporation / EMI Virgin Music Inc. / Alamo Music Corp. / Testatyme Music ** Promoonly one track single. Pictures Of Matchstick Men one song, 1997, ??? ** Performs this song with TypeO Negative for the soundtrack to Howard Stern's movie, Private Parts.
Top 3.1 RARE/BSIDES/ETC. The following are Bsides, bonus tracks, demos, or unreleased versions of Ozzy songs: * "You Looking at Me, Looking at You" [bside to "Crazy Train" 7" single] * "I Don't Know" [live bside to "Flying High Again" single] * "One Up the BSide" [bside to "Bark at the Moon" single] * "Spiders" [track on European BARK AT THE MOON replacing USA Slow Down] * "Hero" [unlabelled last track on NO REST FOR THE WICKED] * "The Liar" [from Japanese NO REST FOR THE WICKED] * "I Don't Want to Change the World" [from NO MORE TEARS demos CD] * "Mama, I'm Coming Home" [from NO MORE TEARS demos] * "Desire" [from NO MORE TEARS demos] * "Time After Time" [from NO MORE TEARS demos] * "Won't Be Coming Home (S.I.N.)" [from NO MORE TEARS demo w/alt. lyrics] * "Mrs. J." [from NO MORE TEARS demo] * "Don't Blame Me" [bside to "Mama, I'm Coming Home"] * "Party with the Animals" [bside to "Mama, I'm Coming Home"] * "The Whole World is Falling Down" [bside to "Perry Mason"] * "Living with the Enemy" [bside to "Perry Mason"] * "Aimee" [bside to "See You on the Other Side] * "Voodoo Dancer" [bside to "See You on the Other Side"] * "Purple Haze" [from the Make a Difference Foundation album STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN/HIGHWAY TO HELL] * "Iron Man" [with Therapy?, from NATIVITY IN BLACK) 1994 Columbia/Sony] * "Close My Eyes Forever" [duet with Lita Ford, from LITA FORD] * "Bombers (Can Open Bomb Bays)" (with Bill Ward, from WARD ONE: ALONG THE WAY) 1990, Chameleon Records * "Jack's Land" [with Bill Ward, from WARD ONE: ALONG THE WAY] * "Shake Your Head (Let's Go to Bed)" [with WasNotWas, from BORN TO LAUGH AT TORNADOS. Kim Basinger supporting vocals] 1992 Phonogram * "Led Clones" [with Gary Moore, from AFTER THE WAR] 1989 Virgin/Capitol * "Speak For Yourself" [with Gary Moore, from AFTER THE WAR] * "I Ain't No Nice Guy" [duet with Lemmy, from Motorhead's MARCH OR DIE] 1992 Epic/Sony * "Born to be Wild" [duet with Ms. Piggy, from KERMIT UNPIGGED] 1994, Jim Henson Records * "Therapy" [with The Infectious Grooves, from PLAGUE THAT MAKES YOUR BOOTY MOVE] 1991 Epic/Sony * "Hey Stoopid" [backup with Alice Cooper, from HEY STOOPID] 1991 Epic/Sony * "Staying Alive" [with Dweezel Zappa, unreleased] * "The Urpney Song" ["The Dreamstone" 1990 British cartoon] The list comes from information provided by: [email protected] and [email protected]
Top 3.2 Song Definitons MIRACLE MAN : The hypocrasy of preacher Jimmy Swaggart who put Ozzy down but then fell from glory himself when caught with a prostitute. MY LITTLE MAN : A song Ozzy wrote for his son Jack, it sounds like it is a last goodbye to his son. KILLER OF GIANTS : A song about man and nuclear missles and how, if we keep up this mad rush to have the bigger weapon, we will obliterate ourselves. PERRY MASON : Perry Mason defending a man accused of killing someone. The original idea had nothing to do with Perry Mason, it was just a title Ozzy wrote down. GOODBYE TO ROMANCE : Despite the misleading lyrics this is not about love. The lyrics are about Ozzy's days with Sabbath, now dead and gone, and was his way of saying goodbye to them. "Yesterday has been and gone, tomorrow will I find the sun or will it rain". You figure it out. CRAZY BABIES : Babies who are the result of crack cocaine mothers. SEE YOU ON THE OTHER SIDE : A song about death. Written after Sam Kinnison died in a traffic accident and Steve Marriott of Humble Pie died as well. SUICIDE SOLUTION : The dangers of alcohol. ROAD TO NOWHERE : A retrospective look at Ozzy's life. SO TIRED : I absolutely love this song. A soft ballad and easy listener about a woman who is cheating on her lover and it is time for them to part. DEMON ALCOHOL : Basically the same as Suicide Solution. The dangers of drinking. BLOODBATH IN PARADISE : Charles Manson and his following, the Tate and LaBianca murders. YOU'RE NO DIFFERENT : People who put down Ozzy, take a look at yourself before judging others. BARK AT THE MOON : A creature scorned and buried alive. The creature comes back to seek revenge on them. MR. TINKERTRAIN : The problem of child molestation in our society. MR. CROWLEY : Ozzy had heard about Mr. Crowley and wanted to know what he was all about. The song is Ozzy asking Mr. Crowley who he is. NO BONE MOVIES : Just a guess, but I'd say pornography. FLYING HIGH AGAIN : A song about drugs. FAIRIES WEAR BOOTS : Written about skinheads who wear boots. This came after the Sabs were beaten up by skinheads.
Top 3.3 Did You Know? The dwarf on the Diary of a Madman tour was the same actor who played R2D2 in Star Wars? Ozzy's contract stipulated that 25 pounds of raw meat would be thrown at the audience for the Diary of a Madman tour? Gary Moore was originally considered for the Ozzy's guitarist on Blizzard of Ozz. In 1971, a nurse committed suicide while listening to the Paranoid album. A Texan fan of Ozzys built a tomb for Ozzy and himself to rest in when they both died. The fan expected to lay beside Ozzy in death, forever. When Ozzy left Sabbath, he had to steal music equipment from a warehouse to start up a new band. Ozzy has a sketch of his on display at the Hard Rock Cafe in Tokyo? In 1982, Ozzy donated 25,000 dollars to the SPCA to help neutralize some of the bad publicity involving animals. Some of Ozzy Osbourne's Favorites records are: Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles Revolver, The Beatles Rubber Soul, The Beatles The White Album, The Beatles Led Zeppelin I, LZ Led Zeppelin II, LZ Band on the Run, Paul McCartney and Wings Arc of a Diver, Steve Winwood Hello, I Must Be Going, Phil Collins Kissing to Be Clever, Culture Club Essence to Essence, Donovan Ozzy's brothers names are Paul and Tony while his sisters names are Iris and Gillian. Ozzy was not born in a hospital but delivered by a midwife at home. When Ozzy lived with his first wife Thelma, they took turns feeding the chickens. One day it was Ozzy's turn but he was busy drinking with his friends. Thelma kept asking Oz to go feed them, finally Ozzy went outside with a shotgun and killed them. Ozzy and Bill once urinated on Hitler's shrine in Berlin. Ozzy is superstitious and will not wear the colour green. Being a big star, Ozzy does not attend social engagements. He prefers to sit at home and listen to music while he draws sketches. When Oz was only 14 years old he was in a band called the Black Panthers. The very first pub Sabbath played in as Black Sabbath was the Mermaid, in a region of Birmingham called Sparkbrook. It closed down years ago, as it is in an area now almost completely inhabited by ethnic groups who have no care for it. [by Mike H] Ozzy plays all of the characters in his 'So Tired' video. Don Airey also makes an appearance. Ozzy is the godfather of Zakk's child and the child is named John Michael, after Ozzy. Ozzy sends flowers to Randy's grave each year? Ozzy was drinking Tequila for the very first time. He ended up getting so drunk that he fell asleep under a table in a hotel restaurant. The cleaner woke him up by hitting him over the head with a broom, thinking he was a homeless person. While in the Betty Ford clinic for alcoholism, Ozzy stayed in a room with a mortician who cried all the time and was constantly depressed. Ozzy wants to have a FOURTH child this year? Ozzy once unknowingly urinated out a window onto a waiting audience below him. Towards the end of Ozzy's days with Sabbath, Ozzy had planned to call his first solo alum, "Am I Going Insane?". Instead he wrote a song of the same title for the Sabotage album. The sound of crying at the end of "Am I Going Insane?" is actually Ozzy's baby? On Christmas Eve one year, Ozzy opened his bay window to look at the snow covered countryside. As he sniffed at the icy air, there in front of him was a stoat sitting up on its hind legs looking back at him. If you've read the book by Steve Rosen you know that the author was with Ozzy and the band when they trashed a hotel room. The events which lead up to it were as follows: A girl who called herself Stormy Monday was in their hotel room undulating to imaginary music. As she moved around the floor, caressing herself, she would watch the band for their reactions. Realizing she couldn't go through with it, she stopped just short of removing her top. Angry, Ozzy ripped a thermostat off the wall. Then he tore the pictures off the wall. He then tore the TV from the mounting and it was given rides up and down the elevator. Then he broke the glass containing the fire extinguisher and sprayed eveyone. (This is about where the author takes over the story). Ozzy once planned to have a Tshirt made which read, "If your day is totally screwed up, blame Ozzy Osbourne" because of all the blame being put on him for supposed effects on people from his music. Ozzy's favourite beer is Starbucks. He has a dog named Baldrick and owns 6 dogs in all. Ozzy owns an 18th century home in Buckinghamshire and one in Beverly Hills. Ozzy was drinking in a bar with a girl named Regan, who was insulting Ozzy and who then threw an icecube at his head. Ozzy dumped a bowl of popcorn over head. After this she proceeded to try and slash him with a lit cigarette. Her arms were held down while various drinks were then poured down her dress. Ozzy routinely uses a fire hose to douse his audience with water. His security staff has taken to wearing raincoats now. Ozzy's grandfather had a tattoo of a snake which went from his head all the way down to his toes. Once at the Niagra Falls Hilton, out of boredom Ozzy lit some matches under a fire sprinker. Sirens and bells began to sound and people began running around in sheer panic and soon firemen and policemen arrived and started running around as well. When Oz was younger he said that for his tombstone he wanted a statue of him in the Volume 4 cover position (outstretched arms, peace sign). In a testament to his supposed animal cruelty... Ozzy was staying in a Swiss hotel once when he found a stray dog outside. The dog was starving so Ozzy put a string around his neck and walked him into the hotel's restaurant. Immediately staff told him he couldn't bring a dog into the place. Ozzy said that since he was staying in one of their most high priced rooms, he thought the dog should be fed. So they reluctantly fed him. The waiter asked Ozzy what he'd like to have, then asked, "What will the dog have?" "How would the dog like his steak done?" Anyway, the dog ended up with a meal in his stomach. A Christian, determined to save Ozzy from damnation, once followed the tour bus from a concert for over 300 miles. Ozzy's song 'I Don't Want to Change the World' won him a Grammy award. The Osbourne family was travelling on a plane. A woman complained about his rowdy kids and said, "My dogs behave better than your kids". Sharon replied, "Thats because you're probably having sex with them". The kids also filled her jacket pocket with peas and other vegetables. Ozzy is so used to being called "Ozzy" that he no longer knows someone is talking to him if they call him "John". When Ozzy had hos dragon tattoo made, he had no idea what he wanted. He simply asked the tattooist to make something, which he did, right out of his own imagination. "All Moving Part's Stand Still" is about a cross dressing president who turns out to be a woman in real life? Ozzy has a brother named Gordon (hi!) Fox Television has offered Ozzy his very own television show. The show would be about a singer who is on the road and has to adapt to life at home after being away from home for so long. Oz says he won't do it though because he doesn't like the way his voice sounds. Sharon Osbourne used to be manager of many other groups as well such as Gary Moore, but dropped them so she could spend more time with Ozzy. Tony Iommi also used to manage bands such as Judas Priest. Ozzy's personal assistant's name is Tony Dennis. Ozzy once visited a dying fan in the hospital. The fan was unable to talk and wrote out what song Ozzy would dedicate to him (Crazy Train). After he and Sharon have a fight, Ozzy will sometimes go to Tiffany's and buy Sharon an expensive piece of jewellery to make up for it. Ozzy had a grand mal seizure which has left him with physical side effects. He also takes prozac because of a chemical imbalance. Ozzy was officially banned from Salt Lake City, permanently by a group of mormons. Ozzy once owned an XJ12 sportscar which was used only for special occasions. Ozzy ended up sinking it after driving through a fence in his yard. Ozzy has worked with many different artists such as Dweezil Zappa, Kim Basinger, Miss Piggy, Lita Ford, Sam Kinnison, Theraphy?, Bill Ward, Alice Cooper, Gary Moore, Motorhead, Holly Knight, and Slash. Ozzy's management uses Compuserve to aid in booking shows.
Top 3.4 Tattoos Ozzy has over fifteen tattoos over his body. Some of them are: Red hooded ghoul on left chest Blue dragon with red flames on right chest Unknown tattoo (leaves or dagger?) on right arm Stick man figure on left wrist just below thumb Unknown tattoo (letters) on his left palm, starts with "A" [***] Letters O,Z,Z,Y on his knuckles of left hand [***] The word 'THANKS' is marked on his right palm Happy faces on both knees [***] Rose on right shoulder, he would later have the word 'Sharon' tattooed under it Skull with knife through it on left arm Long pointed dagger with Ozzy banner on left arm Bat and woman's face on upper left shoulder Symbols and a number "3" on his arm. [***] Sword on his right thigh Ozzy's tattoos can be seen on the Complete Ozzy Osbourne Homepage (http://www.cyberpunk.ca/ozzy/) [***] These tattoos were done while Ozzy was in jail. He used two different methods during at least two different incarcaration periods. The first method (his knees and knuckles) was done using a piece of graphite (as in pencil lead) and a needle. The other method was done using a tin of grey polish, melting it and sticking it into the skin with a needle.
Top 3.5 Milestones Dec. 3, 1948 Ozzy Osbourne is born in Aston, Birmingham, England Dec. 6 ,1956 Randy Rhoads is born. 1962 Ozzy joins one of his first bands at age 14, Black Panthers. 1967 Ozzy, Geezer, Tony and Bill form Earth. 1969 Earth calls themselves Black Sabbath. 1969 Black Sabbath returns to England from Germany. So far they have not found someone to carry their record. Jan. 1970 Vertigo decides to sign Sabbath to their label. Feb. 1970 Sabbath breaks the audience record at Henry's. Feb.13 ,1970 Black Sabbath releases its debut self titled album. This would set the stage for the term 'heavy metal'. Oct.23 ,1970 A near riot results when a drunken crowd awaits the band. Sept.4 ,1970 Simpson and Sabbath part ways. April 6,1974 Sabbath plays the huge California Jam. Soon after they fire their manager. 1975 Free from their manager's greedy hands, the band releases the Sabotage album. 1977 Ozzy's father passes away. Oz quits Black Sabbath but comes back in time for the Never Say Die album and tour. 1978 Ozzy is fired from Sabbath, Ronnie James Dio replaces him. 1980 Ozzy signs with Jet Records. He releases his first solo album, Blizzard of Ozz which goes platinum plus in the U.S. Sept.12,1980 Ozzy plays his first concert in Glasgow, Scotland. 1981 Ozzy divorces his first wife. He goes on to release his second album, Diary of a Madman. This album also goes platinum. Jan. 20,1982 Ozzy bites the head off the bat. Feb. 19,1982 Ozzy urinates on the Alamo and goes to jail. Mar. 19,1982 Randy Rhoads dies in a plane accident in Leesburg, Florida. 1982 Bernie Torme replaces Randy but backs out and so did the Speak of the Devil album. 1982 Black Sabbath releases 'Live Evil', Ozzy releases 'Speak of the Devil'. July 4, 1982 Ozzy marries his long time companion, Sharon Arden. 1983 Ozzy signs to Epic Records. Bill Ward quits Black Sabbath. 1984 Ozzy enters the Betty Ford clinic for drinking problems. He also begins his Bark at the Moon project. 1985 Ozzy plays the first Rock in Rio festival to over 200,000 people. July 13,1985 He also reunites with his exSabbath members for the Live Aid reunion in PA. 1986 Ozzy wins a lawsuit that claimed "Suicide Solution" was responsible for a teenage suicide in California. 1987 Due to popular demand by his fans, Ozzy puts out the Randy Rhoads tribute album. He only plays one concert that year. 1988 Zakk Wylde joins Ozzy's lineup of guitar players. 1989 Ozzy donates $15,000 to AIDS charities in Philadelphia. Aug.1213/89 Ozzy plays the Moscow Music Festival which benefits drug and alcohol programs. 1991 No More Tears is released setting new grounds in Ozzy's career. No more macabre album covers and titles. 1992 Ozzy announces this will be his last tour. 1992 Ozzy wins a grammy award for "I Don't Want to Change the World". Ozzy announces he is going to retire and embarks on the "No More Tours" tour. Nov. 15,1992 Ozzy plays his last show at Costa Mesa, CA 1993 Live and Loud is released to accompany his last tour. 1993 > 1995 Ozzy takes three years off to relax and be a family man. Finally he heads back into the studio and comes up with Ozzmosis. A spectacle in his history of albums. He says he is never going to retire again: The next time that he retires will be when they lower him into the ground. Oct.25, 1995 Ozzmosis album is sold in stores. Sept.14,1996 OzzFest starts October 1996 Ozzy announces he is starting his own record label, "OzzRecords" to promote smaller bands.
Top 3.6 Questions Q: I saw that a John Osbourne was in a late 60's band named "Magic Lanterns". Some dealers sell this LP at high prices. Was Ozzy really in the band? A: NO, Ozzy has never been in Magic Lanterns, it was another John. Q: Why do some albums have bonus tracks. I notice a lot of Japanese albums have these. A: Albums cost more to buy in Japan, and come out after the American versions. Bonus tracks encourage the Japanese to buy their own country's version instead. Q: What is the name of the extra track on 'No Rest for the Wicked'? A: Hero.
Q: Are there any old/rare (preSabbath, presolo) Ozzy songs out
there?
A: Yes, but good luck trying to find them. The following songs are rare
material:
* "THE REBEL" Black Sabbath demo (Regent Sound demo) which can be sampled
on the "Black Sabbath Story Volume 1" VHS. What some people do not know
is that both this song and "Song for Jim" were actually released back in
1969 as 7" singles. They ARE out there, but I imagine most of them have
since been disbanded to garbage dumps or destroyed.
* "SONG FOR JIM" Instrumental, song made for their first manager Jim
Simpson.
* "IMPRESSIONS OF LINDA" (unverified, Polka Tulk band era, it kind of
sounds like Ozzy but I can't say for certain)
* "SLOW BURN" Ballad recorded with Holly Knight but not released because
the final version was not good enough.
Ozzy was asked about his first two impossible to find singles. He simply
does not remember ever recording them. Geezer was asked about 'The Rebel'
(while drinking in a local pub), but he was in such a bad mood that an
answer was not possible.
Q: What do the letters NIB, AVH, SATO, SIN on his albums mean?
A: NIB This is *not* Nativity In Black. Ronnie Dio has said this himself.
Geezer Butler has said it was named after Bill Ward's beard
which resembled a pen nib (tip).
AVH Alcohol, Valium and Hash. The name of this song comes from an
interview with one of the sound engineers. The title of the song
was considered politically incorrect so initials were used. The
song describes the painful withdrawal of quitting alcohol and
drug addictions.
SATO Sailing Across the Ocean
SIN Shadows In the Night
Q: Did Ozzy really sing the BeeGee's "Stayin' Alive"?
A: Yes he did. He did this for Dweezil Zappa's "Confessions" album, the
record company did not want to authorize the release however and so Donny
Osmond's version made it to the album. Oz can be heard on bootleg versions
though.
Q: Where can I find these rare and live Ozz/Sab boot tapes?
A: I am not going to get into this except to say almost every home page
(including mine) will help you in those matters.
Q: What is the name of the classical music played before each Ozzy concert?
A: The piece is "O Fortuna" from the Carmina Burana opera by Carl Orff.
Q: Why do some Black Sabbath albums have Ozzy singing "Wicked World" and
yet others have "Evil Woman" instead?
A: The Evil Woman single appears on UK versions of their first album only
because of copyright problems. The song was initially sung by a band named
Crow from Minnesota. The American version has Wicked World in its place.
Q: Is Joan Osborne (the beauty) related to Ozzy?
A: No, besides they spell their last names differently.
Q: The opening movie on Ozzy's tour is hilarious. Is it available?
A: Sharon (wife/manager) has said she will see about this. There are
finally bootleg video tapes of this funny opener video available too. For
those who haven't seen this, the video portrays Ozzy in different settings.
For example, he sits beside Forrest Gump on the bench (the box of
chocolates scene), he dances in Saturday Night Fever, and he knocks on the
door of the Apollo in Apollo 13.
[The next four questions are answered by a friend of the Osbourne's]
Q: What are Ozzy's siblings doing, ie. professional, white collar work,
factory, etc. Are they in England?
A: All I am allowed to say is that they still live in the home district of
WALSALL. It is a poor district in some senses, though poor these days is
nothing like what poor meant when Ozzy was a kid. It is a very
workingclass, though very community spirited town.
Q: What are some of the names of the pubs you and Geezer and the other Sabs
frequent, do you play darts?, drink?, drink and puke?, drink and puke and
play darts?, play cards?, etc etc.
A: These days they stay in their home district of REDDITCH and only Geezer
and Geoff Nicholls can be seen in town at the likes of the Rock Cafe and
Costermongers.
Q: Is Birmingham still a factory oriented town where people work the
factories and go to the bars afterwards or has it improved financially?
What are it's main industries?
A: The whole of the midlands region is still the industrial heart of
England, though affluence is much more apparent these days. Triumph
motorcylces has had an enormous increase in fortunes these days and there
are many new worldbeating industries here, so the poverty thing has all
but gone, though we still have poor districts.
Q: Is Sabbath still thought of as evil devil music or has the church and
Christians relented somewhat?
A: You have to remember, the way you chaps view things tends to always be
taken a step further than here. We have never seriously had a problem with
the devil thing Vs Sabbath. England is full to the brim with legends,
ghosts and mysterys as well as cults. It is seen more as the theatrical
thing that makes up our characters and culture. The first we really knew
about the problems it caused was when we heard about someone blowing his
face off, because he claims Ozzy told him to to it in a song. I am not
being rude at all ( I love America ) but that simply wouldn't happen here
and if it did, the person would be treated with the contempt he/she
deserved. Listen to any interview with Lemmy and he will tell you the same
thing.
Q: I saw Ozzy on his recent tour. Why doesn't he play a lot of his new
material?
A: His voice can't make the high notes as often. In the studio you can do
it over and over until you get it right. On stage you have just one shot.
Watch Ozzy on David Letterman performing, "I Just Want You" and see what I
mean.
Q: What is this about Ozzy suing Tony Iommi?
A: Ozzy filed a suit against Tony because some years ago Tony borrowed
money ($5075,000) from Ozzy to get out of jail. Tony was put in jail for
nonpayment of child support. When he refused to pay the money back to
Ozzy, a suit was then filed.
Q: What is "plastic water", I've heard Ozzy say he drinks this and he sings
it on "I Just Want You" ?
A: Ozzy is referring to Diet Coke, which like most diet pop and beer,
tastes like water.
Top 3.7 Quotations "Musically they are completely uncompromising, and would rather starve than sell out to more commercial forms of music." [Vertigo Sab Promo] "A lot of other bands just have guys in the crowd. Ozzy has a mixed audience. But groups like Quiet Riot or Def Leppard attract just the girls, and I find the girls are very fickle. Next year, a prettier band will come up, and your dead. The men are more faithful" [Sharon] "Ozzy had no technical qualifications really. At least Tony or Geezer could play their scales or a B flat chord. Ozzy wouldn't know what a chord was if it fell out of the sky and hit him in on the head. He knew nothing about music whatsoever. All he had was feel. But he had far more going for him than the rest of the band. The band, in my opinion, was purely Ozzy." [Jim Simpson commenting on Ozzy when he was with Sabbath] "I'm the guy kids love and parents hate. The guy mothers love to hate. When you've achieved that, you've achieved a goal." [Ozzy] "We've obviously got what the people want. It's agressive music and I think America likes agression." [Ozzy in Sabbath] "Well listen, how does a sparrow make an emergency landing? With a sparrowchute." [Ozzy talking to reception desk in his hotel room] "You hear your mother crying because she has no dough to feed you. Or my father and her always fighting over something. And I used to sit on the front steps all the time and think 'one of these days I'm going to buy a Rolls Royce and drive them out of this shithole'. And I did it." [Ozzy on life before fame] "I never go on stage drunk or stoned or anything." [early days Ozzy]
Top 3.8 Fan Club Info Send a self addressed stamped envelope with .80 cents (US) postage to the following address: Ozzy Osbourne Appreciaton Society P.O. Box 15397 Beverly Hills, CA 90209 USA You will receive an 8x10 autographed picture of Ozzy, signed by himself personally. If you would like to submit a tape of your band in the hopes that you can be part of Ozzy's new record label, Ozz Records, use the same address above. You may also email Ozzy's fan club at: [email protected] For the latest Ozzy merchandise informnation, send a SASE legal sized envelope (foreign letters include IRC coupon) to: Ozzy Osbourne c/o Rock Express P.O. Box 59 San Francisco, CA 94101 ** Postal Address' ** (Unverified) Ozzy Osbourne 1801 Century Park West Los Angeles, CA 90067 1 Red Place London, W1Y 3RE, England Box 15397 Los Angeles, CA 90209
Top 3.9 Where to find lyrics, tabs, links, and other info The internet boasts a vast array of Ozzy and Black Sabbath links for home pages, guitar tabs and lyrics. With the invention of the wonderful language known as HTML, you can simply select a link from the list below: ========== Home Pages (will usually contain lyrics, pictures, tabs, and links): ========== ====== Lyrics ====== www.epix.net/~aevanich/ozzy.html www.cyberpunk.ca/ozzy/lyrics.html =========== Guitar Tabs =========== http://hem.passagen.se/le24/tab.htm If you want guitar tabs, bass tabs, or what have you, try this site out. This is the OLGA (OnLine Guitar Archive) and will have what you're looking for! : http://www.mdstud.chalmers.se/~md4calle/olga.html ============ Randy Rhoads ============ thoth.stetson.edu/music/rhoads/index.html http://www.urban.or.jp/home/tu9669/randy/index.html Ozzy also has an autobiography called "Ozzy Osbourne Diary of a Madman" by Mick Wall. The ISBN number is 0946391467, Zomba is the publisher. Ozzy was unhappy with this book however as he wanted a more in depth look at things, not just the groupies and stories that took place. There is also a biography out on Ozzy from Ballentine Biographies. The ISBN is 0345332407 and the Library of Congress catalog number is 8691095. The first edition was from May 1986.
Top 3.10 Ozzy's Movie Career "The f***ing Monkeyz?" ...Ozzy in Jerky Boys movie "These evil people have just got to be stopped" ...Ozzy in Trick or Treat 1986 Like some musicians, Ozzy has been in a few movies and in keeping with Oztradition they are humourous roles. In the 1986 horror movie "Trick or Treat", Ozzy plays Reverend Aaron Gilstrom, a priest who wants the evil being spread through music stopped :) The movie starred Marc Price who played Skippy in the Family Ties television show. Also stars Gene Simmons as a DJ. [Note: Watch the movie all the way to the end, past the credits and you'll see Ozzy once again] There is also mention of Ozzy being in the movie 'Riders of the Storm' as an "urban animal". The movie starred Dennis Hopper. 19xx Though not a movie, Ozzy appeared in The Decline of Western Civilization Part 2 which was a documentary about heavy metal directed by Penelope Spheeris, a well known producer. 1994 In the 1994 Jerky Boys movie, Ozzy played a band manager who runs into the Jerky Boys in a bar. The band he manages plays 'Symptom of the Universe'. 1996 Ozzy also has completed his part for Howard Stern's upcoming "Private Parts" movie, released in 1997.
Top 3.11 What are his exSabbath members doing? BILL WARD left black Sabbath in August of 1980, a day before they were to play in Hawaii. He gave personal reasons for his reason, however his constant alcohol and drug abuse also played a part in his decision. Bill has gone on to release two solo albums, "Ward One" in 1990 and his latest album, "When the Bow Breaks" which has yet to be released. Bill has also been sober for many years. He remains one of the kindest person you could talk to if you wanted to reminisc on the old Sabbath days. We wish him the best of luck! GEEZER BUTLER continued to shuffle between Ozzy Osbourne's band and Black Sabbath. His last words on Black Sabbath were, "I am never playing with Black Sabbath again". He teamed up with Fear Factory's Burton C. Bell and now has a band of his own called "G/Z/R" (pronounced Gee Zee R). His band's first album was the 1995 "Plastic Planet". Most of the songs for the album were written during a two week period at a Massachusetts farm. "Giving Up the Ghost", is a song from the album which describes his feelings about Black Sabbath, and how he feels the band should be put to rest. TONY IOMMI is still with Black Sabbath. From the beginning, Tony would always want to be part of the band, and according to Ozzy, to be in control of the band. Black Sabbath went on to release many albums after Ozzy's departure. People still argue whether Sabbath died when Ozzy left. Ozzy's concerts sell out, Sabbath's are half full or cancelled due to poor sales. JIM SIMPSON won the lawsuit against Sabbath and their managers. He was awarded 35,000 pounds. He now manages the Birmingham Jazz Festival. RONNIE JAMES DIO has just come out with a new album titled "Angry Machines". There is no love lost between him and Ozzy. Dio calls Ozzy 'a fat slob who looks like Benny Hill' and Ozzy used to use a dwarf in his shows whom he would call "Ronnie" :).
Top 4.0 Closing Remarks Black Sabbath are undoubtedly one of, if not, THE band, which created the genre of heavy metal. There are already a handful of tribute albums dedicated to Sabbath and countless bands who were inspired by Sabbath. Ozzy has repeatedly said he hates being classified as a heavy metal artist however since it has become so diverse. Alice In Chains and Bon Jovi are considered heavy metal. See his point? If you look at his albums lately, they really aren't heavy metal. His albums contain a diverse mix of gentle ballads to hard rocking songs with ear splitting guitar licks. There are fans of metal who listen to Metallica or Slayer but hate Ozzy. Then there are those who would give their next born child just to be able to meet the man. These are our own personal tastes, but I think there is probably a song on every one of his albums that everybody could enjoy. Classify his music as you will, the man deserves some credit for his part in music history. True, he has led a life of ups and downs, much of it under the influence of various drugs (though he is now sober). He has made McDonald Happy Meals out of various flying animals. He has been accused by just about every religious organization to be a devil worshipper, a promoter of Satan's music. Yes, Ozzy's life has been surrounded by highs and lows, and it is quite likely that when he dies he will be remembered only as a lunatic madman. Who is the real John Osbourne? Nobody but him really knows. The John Osbourne that I know and like is just an ordinary man who plays a role. He enjoys making kids happy and going crazy on stage. Sure he has made some mistakes in the past, and the media propagates these because he is a world famous celebrity. John Osbourne eats and sleeps the same way you and I do, and he has feelings just as we do. His wife is conservative, dresses in stylish attire and conducts herself as a professional manager. She is not a groupie, nor does she conduct herself in any appropriate ways. Sometimes, because she is the wife of Ozzy she is not taken seriously, but this woman is every bit competant as the next manager out there. The two of them have made some excellent business investments which have enabled them to lead a very wealthy life. They have also helped small bands get off on a good start. Take for example, Motley Crue. While the Crue was still a club band, Ozzy allowed them to tour with him and thus helping them become more popular. It is painfully obvious that he is getting old though. He no longer jumps up and down like a wild man, no longer runs back and forth from one end of the stage to the other. His later concerts show him either standing at the mic, hopping up and down or walking from one end of the stage to the other. His voice can no longer make all the high notes it once did, and he will sometimes mouth curses at his frustration with this. Nobody knows what lies ahead down the road for Ozzy Osbourne. The one thing I do know however is that his shows continue to sell out, his albums continue to sell millions and millions. I wonder what will he be doing when he is eighty years old, if he is alive. I think even if it was Ozzy doing karaoke in a wheelchair at a small bar, the crowds would still come out to see him. His fans and I can only hope he will be around to entertain us for some time to come. We love you Ozzy!
Top 4.1 Credits The information from this file was gathered from various sources. If you are a hardcore Ozzy fan, you may recognize a lot of the information from a book or interview you have read. The information was *not* however, taken from anybody's web page. I've noticed a lot of web pages had carried the same information I had found while researching. All information for this file was obtained from: == The Black Sabbath Story I VHS (Castle 383163) == Chris Tetley Interview == RockIt's Black Sabbath and Ozzy comics (Issue 1? It was a one time deal) == Ozzy Osbourne Biography by Ethlie Vare == Article by Steve Rosen == Guitar World, Dec. 1995 == Alexander Rack's Black Sabbath FAQ == Mark Plummer article (Newcastle show, 1970) == Black Sabbath Mailing List ([email protected]) == Ozzy on various talk shows == Scott Cohen's "Ozzy Osbourne" article == AOL/Ticketmaster Interviews == My own personal knowledge == The Story of Black Sabbath by Steve Rosen (ISBN 1860741495) == Articles by Brian Harrigan, Mick Houghton, Royston Eldridge == Ozzy interviews (audio and video) Special thanks to Lisa Hutson, Mike H., [email protected] This file will be revised as more information both past and present becomes available. This FAQ is posted automatically, every month, to alt.music ozzy, alt.music.blacksabbath and news.answers. Please email me with any corrections or additions you may have.
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