Source: Page 37 of White Noise Keywords: "toilet," "raised," "letters"

From: noemail@nodomain.com Subject: -- The Osbourne's FAQ -- Date: 30 July 2004 Newsgroups: alt.music.ozzy

Archive-name: music/ozzy-osbourne-faq Posting-Frequency: every 21 days Last-modified: April 2003 Version: April 2003 The Complete Ozzy Osbourne Biography and FAQ The largest source of info on Ozzy on the Internet Last Updated: April 2003 Written By: Mike L. Note: This FAQ is seriously out of date. It is no longer maintained on a regular basis. It is posted automatically every month by the FAQ maintainers at MIT.EDU -------------------------------------------------------------------------- *READ* Disclaimer *READ* --------------------------------------------------------------------------- This article is provided as is without any express or implied warranties. While every effort has been taken to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this article, the author/maintainer/contributors assume(s) no responsibility for errors or omissions, or for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. All statements made in this file are those of the author. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 companies can't beat the pages run by Ozzy fans. 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. I have been asked if it is alright to use this FAQ. The answer, as stated above, is YES. The only condition is that you DON'T MODIFY THE FILE OR REMOVE THE CREDITS. (* Read the last sentence *) I no longer post on the newsgroup or actively collect Ozzy material. The reason is that I feel Ozzy is turning from a singer into a money marketing tool that everybody including his own wife is attempting to exploit. --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Revision History --------------------------------------------------------------------------- April 2003: - Added section 1.2b and 2.20. - Added to 3.5, 3.7, 2.18. March 2003: - Updated everything! (dead links removed, added new links, continued the timeline from 2000-2003, new song definitions, did you Know, dates, more childhood information, where they are now, etc etc etc) - Added sections 1.8 (much more information), 2.14-2.19 --------------------------------------------------------------------------- Table Of Contents --------------------------------------------------------------------------- [1.0] Introduction [1.1] What was Ozzy's childhood like? [1.2] How did Ozzy start his music career? [1.2b]Ozzy in Approach [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] Don Arden [1.9] Manager Number Two [1.10] 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? [2.14] After Ozzmosis/Ozzfest [2.15] 2002 and the world goes crazy! [2.16] Kelly Osbourne [2.17] Jack Osbourne [2.18] Aimee Osbourne [2.19] Who is Robert Marcato [2.20] The Family [2.21] Money money money [3.0] Ozzy Album Discography [3.1] Rare/B-sides/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] Where are they now? [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 with 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. 2003 ==== 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 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 55, 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 Britney Spears is 48, do you think she will still have sell out concerts? With the introduction of The Osbournes on MTV, a new younger generation of Ozzy fans are heading to the internet, exposed to the singer in a new light. The newsgroup has never so much activity. Unfortunately most of it comes from young people who have no ability to express themselves without the use of profanity "When I left school I wanted to become a plumber. When I heard the Beatles I wanted to become a Beatle" ...Ozzy --------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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 the Lucas car plant assembling electrical circuits. His family was in poor financial shape with no money, no car and little food. Ozzy says his childhood consisted of one pair of shoes, one pair of socks, no underwear, one pair of pants and one jacket. There would be a bucket at the end of the bed to urinate in, which sat there for months. Their beds never had clean sheets, and sometimes they used overcoats as bed shets. Ozzy was beaten quite a bit by his father, most of it was deserved for stunts like trying to kill his siblings. (Ed: While I don't condone the beating of a child, I also don't think one should attempt to kill one's siblings either. Take the above comment with this in mind.) One day Ozzy's friends gave his brother a used condom and told him it was a balloon. His brother went into the house with the condom blown up, and his father washed his mouth out with soap. 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. While in school, other students called John, "Ozzie" or "Oz-brain" with respect to his last name. Quite the rebel, Ozzy did however take part in various school opera-plays 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. He proceeded to cut the end of his thumb off, and it had to be reattached. He still bears a scar. His second job was as a toolmaker's apprentice. Ozzy then went on to work in a slaughterhouse in Digbeth for two years, killing cows. Perhaps this influenced his musical style, I do not know. Other jobs included an auto mechanic, house painter and even two weeks at a mortuary. His first musical job was working 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 (or was it 6 weeks?) in Birmingham's Winson Green Prison for breaking into an occupied boarding house. While incarcerated there, Ozzy tattooed the now famous letters O-Z-Z-Y 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. Shortly after his release from prison for burglary, Ozzy wound up in the hospital on glucode for 12 hours after being thrown through a glass window while fighting 3 men. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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. Ozzy's father loaned him some money and together they purchased a 50 watt amp. Ozzy placed an ad in a local record store reading, "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 disbanding. 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 rejoined 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 re-tuned 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 1967-August 1969) | Black Sabbath (Aug. 1969-1978) | 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" ...Advertisement by Jim Simpson --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 1.2b Ozzy in Approach --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- An old aquantaince of Ozzy's named Jeff Hibbard sent me his story on his time spent with Ozzy. I'm reprinting the article as it was published from "Swinging in the 60's" by Dave Reeves. Jeff has a webpage here where you can find the article too. http://www.geocities.com/Athens/Aegean/4974/ Unfortunately Jeff doesn't have any recordings with Ozzy, I already asked. "Alright mate?", I said to this mechanic who has come from another garage to collect some spare parts from us. He used to come on a regular basis for parts. He said he played in a band. He played bass guitar and there was also a lead guitar and a singer. "We practise in a cellar below this church up the road from Witton Island." "Oh, really" said I, "I've got a guitar. Don't play much really , but I like it though." "What guitar you got ?" said he. "Oh it's a Vox" said I. "Fancy joining our band? Said he "Yeah! " said I. That was it, I was in a group. The next time I meet him is in the concrete cellar. "Alright mate ?" "Alright Jeff ?" "Yeah!" "This is the lead guitarist." "Alright mate?" "Alright Jeff?" "Yeah!" "And this is the singer, Ozzy." "Alright Jeff ?" "Alright Ozzy?" They both have smart guitars; Ozzy just has a michrophone and they all play through one amplifier. A small combination guitar amp. There isn't a drummer or a P.A. system. The lead shows me how to play bar chords. I pick them up pretty quick, and we are soon playing as one, all those soul songs, but still drummerless. I think the idea is to get a drummer when we get somewhere larger to play. This place is OK. It has a concrete floor and ceiling and square supporting columns with a wider square at the bottom which could serve as seats. The winter draws closer though and there's no heating in here. Some nights I can hardly play because my fingers are so cold. We play away as Ozzy launches into Midnight Hour, and sings for all he was worth, and worth all he was singing for. My fingers are hurting and Ozzy's breath is freezing as it leaves his mouth. Last time we practiced here, we shared our cellar with another group, probally to cut the cost. The one guitarist works at Music Exchange at Snow Hill; he's the one who sold me this amp, and guitar I've bought.When I tried them out at the shop, I asked him if he played. He said "Oh no, I don't play." And there he is playing in a group. Bleeding liar! Why do they do that? Anyway, we picked Ozzy up tonight in the van from his house in Lodge Road. Yeah! Our van with the name of the group, The Approach, written on both sides. Funny that, Ozzy lives in Lodge Road and we live in Witton Lodge Road. That kid lives next door but one to me,the kid who taught me my first guitar piece. And over the road lives another kid who plays the drums. I think his name is Bill Ward. We have fun in that van. We were driving through Erdington on Saturday and the lads were shouting to the girls "Drop your lingerie!". I shouted "Drop your laundry!" "What did you say?" says Ozzy. "Drop your laundry" said I. I think I get the words mixed up sometimes! Ozzy has a funny way with words too. "Go on Ozz, make us laugh." "OK. Brass Boots, Hot pumps, Brass Boots, Hot Pumps." We all laugh. We trundle up Perry Common Road then in our van, drop me off first, then I say "OK, lads, see you at the next practice". Moms quite proud. She tells everyone, "Oh, our Jeff's in a group, you know." She likes to see the van with The Approach written on the sides. Ozzy's Mom always waves us off from their house. She stands on the doorstep. "Hey Mom! Did I tell you what Ozzy did the other night?" "Whats that, Jeff ?" says Mom. "Oh, he got drunk at the Aston Hotel, upstairs, and fell down the stairs and nearly crashed through a stained glass window.""The kids drink too much today" says Dad. Well, he came to practice the other week with his arm in bandages.`Must have been fighting. "Hey! Guess what? We've got a better place to play." "Where's that, Jeff ?" Underwood School, in their hall, on the Lyndhurst Estate. It's quite new. If we're gonna play louder, Ozzy's gonna need a P.A. system. So me and Ozzy went up town today, to George Clays on Broad Street. I bought a Vox Conqueror, a piggy back amp, and a speaker on chrome swivel stands. Ozz bought a Vox P. A. system and microphone. 0zzy doesn't use a stand. Along with the new place of practice, came a drummer. He left after a while and was quickly replaced. Ozzy looks smart, standing there, out front, microphone in hand, with his shiny suit on and short hair. He launches into Knock On Wood. "Hey lads! Did I tell you about that kid? He came to our house on Saturday night." "Oh, him." "Yeah! He only wanted to borrow me new amp." "Who for?" said Ozz. "For that new group who play in Erdington." "What group?" "I think they are called The Idle Race" "Oh, them! Yeah! The singers called Jeff Lyne. Anyway, did you lend it to him?" "No" said I, "I axed Dad and he said "No, son, it's not paid for. Here we are again practicing. The surroundings are better but this group thing is becoming more like a job. My hands aren't cold anymore and there's Mom and Dad standing in the doorway. I told them to drop by. I look across and they smile and wave, I smile back. Ozz doesn't bat an eyelid. He always looks straight ahead, microphone in hand. Gone are the days and nights at the little church where we began with one amplifier, one microphone, and three guitars. Gone are the nights outside the Curry Shop after practice, standing there under the street lamp with a carton of Chinese curry each. We start to learn a new song tonight, it's called Purple Haze, by that coloured guy. It's a strange song-strange words, strange sounds from that guitar. Its sticks out like a sore thumb amongst all the soul songs we play. I find I can play some of the lead, the bass doesn't like it. "You're the rhythm, play rhythm" says he. People are coming into the hall to ask us to play at their weddings and parties. The bass tells them "No! We're not ready yet". I have to stand next to this guy through each and every song. We should be playing to people. That's why we do it. There's no applause. Things are changing or is it me? I sense some rebellion in them veins again. We finish the set we have worked on for months. I take my guitar off, place it against the amp, and walk towards the toilets. The bass follows me. He stops me, looks me in the eyes and says, "The groups splitting". Ozzy follows the lead. He must be telling him. I couldn't believe it. "Don't cry" the bass says. It's alright for you I thought, you're almost out of these teenage years . I ain't too bothered about you, the drummer ain't been with us too long, the leads a lot older than me, but I'll miss the singer, he's dedicated. I'll probably never see him again, that Ozzy Osbourne. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 was eventually released in the movie festival circuit. Tony's stint with Jethro Tull was very brief (for two weeks). He left Tull and was soon back in Earth. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 Osbourne Dec. 3, 1948 in Aston Geezer Butler [bass] Terence Michael Butler July 17, 1949 --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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. (For those who are trying to track down The Rebel and A Song for Jim, the only known person who has these is said to be Pete Sarfas who used to run the old Black Sabbath Fan Club. Jim Simpson won't even answer your mail.) 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 doom 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 eerie 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". --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 Riley 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 COKE-Cola Company". It was also during this year that Ozzy and Thelma had their first mutual child, Jessica. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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. [[ The California Jam is available on audio as well as hard to find video. I was sent a VHS of the show but it's poor wobbily quality. I forget the name of the person who sent it to me long ago but he told me his room mate had the entire copy. While others have made claims to having the entire set, it's always lip talk. ]] 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." --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 1.8 Don Arden --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- If Jim Simpson sounds like a manager from hell, you should be introduced to Don Arden. This is Sharon Osbournes father in case you're wondering the relevance. Don Arden was born Harry Levy In 1926 In Cheetham Hill, Manchester, England. Don spent most of the fifties working the boards as a singer comedian. Arden had ambition and drive in abundance but lacked the necessary diplomacy to ingratiate himself with influential show business moguls. His uncompromising aggression and short temper alienated so many important contacts that eventually he decided to branch out from performing into promotion. He began modestly, organising Hebrew folk song contests before putting together his own shows. By the late fifties, Arden had found his niche. As a master of ceremonies, he could still sing, crack jokes and keep audiences happy while his star attractions lay waiting in the wings. By the mid-sixties, Arden has reached a crucial stage in his career. He had promoted many successful package tours involving a number of American acts such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard and Sam Cooke, but his progress in this area was thwarted by the dramatic emergence of the Beatles and their ilk. Suddenly, American stars were passé and as the beat boom reached it?s peak, attendance figures at Arden?s concerts revealed a noticeable slump. After losing approximately £100,000 in a disastrous 10-week run, Arden abandoned his fifties rock ?n? roll stars and set out in search of young pop groups, his first involvement in the beat group scene came through Mike Jeffrey, manager of the Newcastle-based Animals. Jeffrey, a notorious hustler and shady operator, was looking for an influential agent to get his group work in the South. Arden brought them to London and secured a residency at the fashionable Scene club. The Animals went down a storm and Arden immediately became their full-time agent, ensuring that he had sole rights to promote them worldwide. He also claims responsibility for recruiting producer Mickie Most, who proved instrumental in setting in motion the Animals rise to international fame. Following the transatlantic chart-topper ?House Of The Rising Sun?, Arden made substantial profits from promoting the Animals, but with their association was relatively short lived. A dispute arose with Jeffrey and rather than involve himself in protracted legal action, Arden sold his rights to other parties. Jeffrey?s own managerial career was relatively short lived. Several years later, he died in mysterious circumstances following a plane explosion. The body was never recovered. By this stage, Arden realised that pop group management could prove extremely lucrative, and he wasted no time in signing the Nashville Teens. The Weybridge sextet had already undergone a gruelling apprenticeship at Hamburg?s all-night Star Club and emerged as one of the most exciting groups of their day. Soon they were snapped up by Decca. Arden?s main contribution to the Nashville Teens was keeping them in work constantly throughout their career. In spite of the Teens? intense gigging schedule, Arden occasionally found difficulty releasing sufficient funds to cover their various expenses. Ray Phillips recalls how Arden?s severe budgeting frequently frustrated the group: We had to go up and barter for the money. If we were owed a grand he?d say, ?Would you settle for £600?? We?d be sitting in the office waiting for some money to get to a gig. He?d keep us waiting till the banks closed. ?Oh, I?ve got no money now. I?ve got some here - would you settle for that?? Little did you know, that?s it - you were paid off. Although the group grudgingly accepted the ?bartering system? as a method of payment, pianist John Hawken insisted on challenging Arden?s absolute authority. Prior to a performance in Manchester, he arranged to collect £120 from his manager?s Carnaby Street office, but, upon arrival, he was handed a cheque for £20. Overcome by reckless indignation, Hawken raised his voice in complaint and demanded the full sum in no uncertain terms. Arden was evidently astounded by his impudent outburst, incensed, he leapt from his chair, seized Hawken by the throat and pinned him against the wall. Staring directly into his eyes, Arden screamed: ?I have the strength of 10 men in these hands?. Feeling the pressure of Arden?s fingers on his neck, young Hawken realised that this was no idle boast. Within seconds, the agitated Arden had dragged the musician towards his office window, two floors above ground level, and exclaimed wickedly: ?You?re going over, John, you?re going over?. Fortunately, Hawken managed to free himself from his manager?s grip and fled from his office in a distraught state. Suffice to say, Hawken learned the hard way that a manager of Arden?s stature always demands respect. In the aftermath of their brief success, the Nashville Teens continued working with Arden, always hoping to re-establish their old reputation. The fact that Arden kept the group on his books long after they were a lucrative proposition was some consolation and he would no doubt argue that without his involvement their life span would have been considerably shorter. Under the terms of their management contract he received one third of their gross receipts from live performances, so there was every incentive to sustain their flagging career. Although their business relationship was never ideal, there was no animosity forthcoming from the group when they finally left their long-time manager. In retrospect, Phillips portrays Arden as a highly successful business manager whose main deficiency was a lack of creative input: ?I got on well with Don Arden. I liked Don. But he couldn?t manage a band. He couldn?t inject ideas... He was into buying and selling rather than making. The Teens needed guidance and direction.? Arden went on to manage The Small Faces around 1965. As 1966 wore on it became blatantly obvious that there was a growing rift between Arden and his number one act. Prompted by their concerned parents, the group began to take a closer look at their financial state. With no accounts forthcoming from Arden and a history of extravagant spending behind them, the Small Faces were unsure whether they were millionaires or paupers. Eventually, the parents decided to pay Arden a visit and demand an explanation. For some reason, they never quite got round to talking about money. Arden fended off such questions by expressing his deep concern about the boys? drug-taking habits. Not suprisingly, the parents were up in arms and left Arden?s Carnaby Street office convinced that their children were hardened addicts. According to Ronnie Lane it took a great deal of persuasion to convince them otherwise. On another occasion, Lane himself visited Arden to discuss money matters but his confidence was shattered upon being introduced to one of Don?s assistants, a certain ?Mad Tom?. Arden alone was an imposing figure, but the selected heavies that hung around his office suggested that any criticisms of the man would best be left un-uttered. Following a group meeting, the boys decided to employ an independant lawyer and accountant to sort out their financial affairs. Battlelines were being drawn. The Small Faces would probably have remained under Arden?s aegis but for their concern over unaccounted revenue. News of their disenchantment spread through the back lanes of Tin Pan Alley, but Don convinced himself that all would be well. His countenance grimly altered when he heard a rumour that one of Robert Stigwood?s associates had expressed an interest in the group. Inflamed by proprietorial zeal and a sense that some unwritten code of entrepreneurial etiquette had been transgressed, Arden decided to teach the unfortunate Stigwood a lesson that he would never forget. Marshalling his forces, Arden enacted a remarkable scene which will live forever in the folk-lore of sixties pop management: I had to stop these overtures - and quickly. I contacted two well-muscled friends and hired two more equally hugh toughs. And we went along to nail this impressario to his chair with fright. There was a large ornate ashtray on his desk. I picked it up and smashed it down with such force that the desk cracked - giving a good impression of a man wild with rage. My friends and I had carefully rehearsed our next move. I pretended to go berserk, lifted the impressario bodily from his chair, dragged him on to the balcony and held him so he was looking down to the pavement four floors below. I asked my friends if I should drop him or forgive him. In unison they shouted: ?Drop him?. He went rigid with shock and I thought he might have a heart attack. Immediately, I dragged him back into the room and warned him never to interfere with my groups again. The shaken Stigwood, who had never personally contacted the Small Faces, took heed of Arden?s advice, as did many other figures in the pop world. Although Arden had sold the Faces? agency contract for a reputed £12,000, his company still owed the group royalty payments in respect of record sales. Retrieving those sums was to prove extremely difficult. An intriguing dispute ensued during which Arden demonstrated his predilection for drawn-out court proceedings. During the summer of 1967 an action was brought against Arden?s Contemporary Records for an amount of royalties due to the Small Faces. On receipt of the order, dated 9th June 1967, an account was filed which revealed that £4,023. 7s. was owed to the group. Several months later, on 11th October 1967, the Small Faces obtained judgement in their favour and Counsel for Arden stated in Court that his company had sufficient funds available to pay the debt. Having battled for nearly a year, it seemed as though the group had won a hard-earned victory against their former manager. Unfortunately, the Small Faces had underestimated Arden?s tenacity and, within a week, their premature celebrations came to an abrupt end. On 16th October, Arden?s solicitors, M.A. Jacobs & Sons, wrote to the Small Faces? legal advisers stating ?... with regard to the judgement which you have obtained against our Clients, our Clients are not in a position to meet this fully and in one payment. Therefore, they would suggest that they should discharge the debt by instalments of £250 per month...? Of course, this meant that the group would not receive their full £4,023. 7s. until as late as January 1969. Reluctantly, they accepted this instalment plan, but after proffering £500, Contemporary Records suddenly ceased payment. The Small Faces were left with no option but to petition for the winding up of Arden?s company and an order was duly granted on 5th February 1977, approximately 10 years after payment was due, that the group finally recovered the full sum of £4,023. 7s. Arden?s mastery of litigation was to remain a constant throughout his future management career. The loss of a major group such as the Small Faces might have proved a severe blow to a minor-league manager, but Arden always ensured he had acts in reserve. His strength lay in the success of his agency, Galaxy Entertainments, which booked over a hundred groups in it?s heyday including the Nashville Teens, the Applejacks, The Action, Neil Christian, the Fairytale and the Skatellites. In his role as starmaker, Arden carefully chose to manage those acts whom he felt had the strongest change of achieving success. While waiting the emergence of a new act to rival the chart feats of the Small Faces, Arden temporarily revived his own singing career. He was probably influenced by the dramatic rise in sales of ballad material in the UK during the first half of 1967. With Tom Jones, Engelbert Humperdinck, Vince Hill, Frank Sinatra and even Harry Secombe all scoring massive hits Arden must have felt that he stood an outside chance. He even hired a well-known ?promoter? to exploit the sales of his single, investing £250 in the process. ?Sunrise Sunset?, released on Decca, failed to chart, though it is doubtful whether many people expected to see Arden on ?Top Of The Pops?. Don later boasted that the single sold approximately 27,000 copies, though if such a figure is accurate, it is suprising that he decided not to release further material. Perhaps he was distracted by the formidable hit machine which fell into his hands in 1967. When Arden took over the management of Amen Corner from agent Ron King, they had already achieved some chart success. Don was intent on continuing their hit run and it was bizarre to witness how uncannily their career paralleled that of the Small Faces. Lead singer, Andy Fairweather-Low quickly emerged as a pin-up hero in the same manner as his predecessor, Steve Marriot; both singers hit the headlines by collapsing during rehearsals for important television programmes; both groups failed to crack the US market while managed by Arden; both were involved in disputes with their mentor; both prompted Arden to threaten a potential poacher; both left him and signed to Andrew Oldham?s Immediate label. For Amen Corner, 1967-8 was a tremendously exciting and frequently frustrating period which they will never forget. Signing to Arden appeared to guarantee drama and intrigue and under his tutelage they served the equivalent of a university course in the politics of the pop world. By the summer of 1968 they had notched up four hits, ?Gin House?, ?World Of Broken Hearts?, ?Bend Me Shape Me? and ?High In The Sky? and were regarded by the media as a cut above the average pop group. What the press did not reveal was the intense power struggle that served as a backdrop to this group?s short career. Guns, threats of physical violence and even a proposed assassination were just some of the happenings during Arden?s term of management. Events reached a head when Don learned the by now familiar tale that his group were searching for new management and had been approached by certain individuals. On this occasion, however, Arden found himself up against a consortium of wealthy and influential figures backed by a powerful pop music entrepreneur. The aims of the consortium have never been made clear, though Arden suggests that they may have regarded themselves as an independant trade union in search of better deals for pop artistes. However, the involvement of the mysterious pop mogul implies that their prime motive may have been to pressurise Arden into surrendering his more important assets. The first signs of trouble occurred when an intermediary of the consortium phoned Arden and suggested that he might release Amen Corner from their management contract. Arden?s reply was characteristically blunt and intimidating; I warned him that committing suicide might be better than causing trouble for me... The story was that £3000 had been put up to get me ?fixed?. I know full well that it is possible to hire someone to maim or kill for a few thousand pounds. But this time I was scared because there was talk of getting me through my one weakness - my family. Arden has always been strongly protective of his family, so it is not suprising to learn that he acted quickly. Three bodyguards were employed for a three-figure sum to provide round-the-clock protection for Arden?s wife and children while a counter-plot was being hatched. Don then hired a further six bodyguards and briefed them of his plans for frightening off the consortium. Their focus of attention was a patsy whom Don suspected had some connections with the consortium and seemed the single weakest pawn in their richly-funded Mafia-style vendetta. In broad daylight, Arden?s henchmen set out to his mews flat armed with sawn-off shotguns and revolvers. When the potential victim saw these thugs from his upper window, he screamed his lungs out. Having terrified this character out of his wits, the heavies casually returned to their car and drove away. Arden had presented his visiting card and effectively persuaded the consortium that it would be folly to risk taking this dispute to it?s logical extreme. Of course, Arden?s intimidatory retaliation was itself a dangerous ploy which might have backfired on him in various ways. Indeed, during the aftermath of this incident, he was contacted by a senior police officer investigating complaints concerning guns. It took all of Arden?s rhetoric and cunning to persuade the police that their informant was a crank. In spite of flexing his muscles, Arden could not retain the confidence of Amen Corner who left him for another manager shortly afterwards. There was much talk in the press about Don taking legal action to retain his interests in the group, though nothing came of it. Arden later claimed that he had sold Amen Corner?s contract for a profit of £50,000. The employment of minders and persuaders and the frequent disputes with managers and artistes soon earned Don Arden the title ?The Al Capone Of Pop?. An absurd rumour spread that he had been appointed by the Mafia to supervise their activities in London. Amused by the anxiety this caused in some quarters, Don actively perpetuated the myth by refusing to comment on the matter. The notorious reputation he acquired in the late sixties may have alarmed some of his acts, but many others were flattered by their association with such a powerful entrepreneur. Such was evidently the case with Skip Bifferty, another of Arden?s rare failures. During the early stages of their career, the group harboured ambitions of achieving overnight success. However, the grinding toll of endless one-nighters that Arden so favoured frustrated and disillusioned them. Arden was less than impressed by their seeming lack of commitment and endurance: They weren?t tough enough to make it.... They wanted to become stars, but just when we got them from £10 to £100 a night, they went to pieces. They seemed to forget that nothing comes easy, you?ve got to work for what you get. They had no staying power, no patience and they wouldn?t accept guidance. And artistes have to co-operate with me. Skip Bifferty not only refused to co-operate with Arden, but actively sought to terminate their management contract, a course of action guaranteed to inflame their mentor?s wrath. Following a disagreement, they spent most of their time outside London, unsure of what to do next. Frightened and emotionally intimidated, they confessed their worst fears to Beckenham police and were advised by Detective Inspector John MacNamara to report any threats, unexpected visits or disturbances. Shortly afterwards, two cars pulled up outside their house and they were confronted by several thugs brandishing firearms and threatening dire consequences. Wisely, they telephoned MacNamara and after a lengthy chase one of the cars was stopped in London?s Tottenham Court Road. Several offensive weapons were discovered in the vehicle and the heavies were duly charged. It was another astonishing episode in the career of an Arden group who found themselves hopelessly out of depth in their dealings with the all-powerful Al Capone of Pop. The grandly-named Electric Light Orchestra was finally launched in Early 1972 and Arden booked an impressive tour, spending lavishly on billboard and trade announcements. After 18 months of preparation, however, the group was still not ready and the tour was postponed. When they eventually made an uneasy debut at the Fox and Greyhound, Croyden, the audience merely registered perplexity and Arden expressed concern about the over-ambitious nature of the project. By the late seventies, Arden has established himself as one of the most successful entrepreneurs in the music business with an international record label, Jet. His son, David, helped run the affairs of the UK company while daughter Sharon served an equally tough apprenticeship on the road looking after ELO and others. Flamboyant, outspoken, garrulous and high-living, Sharon shared many of her father?s personality traits and was no stranger to the excesses of road life, which included loud parties, food fights and hotel room demolishing. Her ?rock ?n? roll? lifestyle was welcomed by ELO and applauded by her greatest admirer, Ozzy Osbourne. Since leaving Don Arden, Ozzy has seen many lawsuits. The most bizarre of these was served backstage a Live Aid after Ozzy had appeared briefly onstage with his old friends from Black Sabbath. The writ alleged that Osbourne was attempting to reform the original group as a performing unit and actively discouraging them from associating with their former manager. Ozzy was astonished by the implications of the legal document and could be heard fulminating: ?If Don thinks I?m going back to Black Sabbath, he must be crazy!? Clearly, with a solo career in bloom, the last thing he envisaged was a Sabbath revival. Osbourne still seems unsure whether Arden is genuinely aggrieved or merely playing some clever game. Who can fathom this entrepreneur who never forgets or forgives past transgressions and appears to regard management contracts as eternally binding? Of course, such a controversial character is always likely to invite unwanted scrutiny and in 1979 Arden found himself under investigation by the BBC?s watchdog programme ?Checkpoint?. Roger Cook?s team made some damning comments on Arden?s business methods which greatly upset the man. Faced by Cook?s relentless questioning, Arden became increasingly evasive and frequently appeared bamboozled by the sheer weight of the accusations levelled against him. He swore at Cook, conjured up spurious rumours of homosexuality, and even threatened on air, to break the neck of any person found tailing him! It was a remarkable and chilling confrontation. There was one final footnote to the Arden/BBC extravaganza which neither party had anticipated. One of Don?s sixties groups, the Nashville Teens, took advantage of his plight in order to promote a comeback single, ?Midnight?, which they cheekily dedicated to the man. Extending the ironic gesture still further, they embarked on a ?Be nice to Don Arden? tour and even offered to play a benefit concert for the beleaguered rock mogul. It was a delightful spoof and a pleasing reminder that after all the financial disputes, harsh criticisms and bitterness, this hard-working, stoical group had somehow retained its sense of humour. Don Arden assumed a lower profile in the eighties, leading to speculation that he had mellowed with passing years. It was a happy delusion broken by newspaper headlines in 1985 and 1986 suggesting that he was in more trouble than ever. On 19th March 1986, David Arden appeared at the Old Bailey charged with carrying out his father?s instructions to blackmail and imprison Harshad Patel, an accountant who rose to power in the Jet organisation to become Don?s partner. Patel had fallen out with Arden, who accused him of extorting company funds in excess of $100,000. It was not a vast sum by Arden?s financial standards, but rather than pursuing his allegations through the courts, Don allegedly decided to take the law into his own hands using strong-arm methods. One evening, Don and David Arden, accompanied by two thugs, allegedly held Patel captive for over 24 hours. During his long ordeal, the unfortunate accountant was verbally abused by Arden Snr, who at one point allegedly flew into a rage and threw a cup of coffee over his victim. In an earlier hearing, it was suggested that Patel had been ?beaten up? and forced to sign a letter of credit for £69,000. Evidently, Arden had not bargained upon Patel?s indignation and willingness to contact the police about the incident. In the past, Don?s intimidatory tactics had attracted enquiries from the police, but these allegations were arguably the most serious yet, and, if proven, would almost certainly place Arden behind bars. The Old Bailey trial ended with Arden?s son, David, being sentenced to two years? imprisonment, albeit with one suspended. Meanwhile, Arden Snr remained in Los Angeles awaiting his fate. In open court, it was confidently stated that Arden would be brought back to England at the earliest opportunity to face these charges. An extradition order followed and, 20 months after his son?s incarceration, Arden arrived at the Old Bailey for one of the most dramatic court cases in pop history. Don Arden was arrested in the US in late 1985 and prior to extradition proceedings voluntarily returned to the UK where he was charged under his family name, Harry Levy, on two separate counts of false imprisonment and blackmail. During November 1987, the Old Bailey heard a staggering series of accusations from Harshad Patel, Arden?s former book-keeper/accountant. Patel explained that Arden suspected him of misappropriating funds from Jet Records and during a stormy meeting in November 1983 allegedly attacked him with a hatstand, pulled a gun from his briefcase and threatened: ?I?m going to shoot you?. The accountant was then dispossessed of several post-dated cheques and car keys before being unceremoniously sacked. He claims Arden demanded ?substantial compensation? for the supposed fraudulency and threatened to recruit Mafia associates to take care of matters. The perturbed Patel returned to England, but further trouble followed. On 7th December 1983 at 1 a.m., Patel was asleep at his house in Harrow when an American heavy named Charlie Holbrook alleged unless he accompanied him immediately to Arden?s Wimbledon home. There, Patel was supposedly interrogated by the son of a leading New York Mafia boss and physically assaulted by Arden, resulting in superficial injuries including a fractured rib. Following his alleged night of captivity, Patel claims he was taken to Arden?s accountants and persuaded to sign a bank draft for £69,132.37. That he assumed, was the end of the matter. Two months later, however, Arden discovered further irregularities. On 14th February 1984, Patel claims he received a second visit from Charlie. This time he was taken to Arden?s office in Portland Place and supposedly held prisoner for 24 hours, a period in which he claims to have been attacked by Arden, punched in the face and stomach, showered with coffee and water, consistently hit over the head with a 16 oz.paperweight, suffered danger from various flying missiles including an ashtray, prevented from leaving his seat or going to the lavatory for agonising spells in excess of 14 hours, and threatened with the possibility of being beaten with a baseball bat and chained up and done away with, along with his parents. The alleged presence of another Mafia persuader and the suggestion that David Arden alluded to Muslims chopping off the hands of thieves completed the accountant?s grim scenario. Eventually, Patel claims, he was released, bloodied and bruised, and warned that he must repay a further £10,000 compensation to Arden within one month, Soon afterwards, Patel contacted solicitors and police intervention followed. During the two-week trial, Arden strenuously denied Patel?s allegations, flew in several star witnesses from the States and focused considerable attention on a separate civil action concerning Patel?s alleged fraudulency of Jet. On 19th November 1987, a jury of eight men and three women found Arden ?Not Guilty? on all charges. At the age of 62, his character remains unblemished by a criminal record. (Source: The Don Arden Story from 'King Of The Universe' Fanzine in 1997 & 1998. Edited but used with permission from Jim Hoban, Carlisle, Cumbria, U.K) --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 1.9 Manager Number Two --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- After leaving Sabbath and in need of a new manager, Don Arden was hired. Ozzy and Sharon met when Ozzy walked into Don's 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". 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. On January 20,1978 Ozzy's father passed away. Here is a small portion of an interview with Ozzy regarding his father: "In England, they don't tell you, y'know. What they did to my father was, he hadn't eaten a fucking thing because of his -- whatever the fucking tube -- he had a lump here like a fucking black ball, in his sagophagus or whatever the fuck it is; he couldn't eat any food. Plus the fact that he had cancer of the fucking intestines, the bowels, so he couldn't shit. He never ate a thing for thirteen weeks. They operated on him about a fucking week before he died. They took the whole tube out and put a plastic one in. I don't know what it's like in the states, but in England...they put him in a fucking closet with the fucking mops and buckets, because he was on the death ward and it was too distressing for the rest of the patients so they put him in a cot, sort of a crib thing, a giant crib. They strapped him...like a boxer, fucking bandages on his hands, with a glucose drip going into his arm. He was stoned out of his head. You know, the most amazing thing he said to me. I told my father one day, "I take drugs. I said to him, "Before you go, will you take drugs?" He says, "I promise you I'll take drugs." He was on Morphine. Totally out of his mind on Morphine, because the pain must have been horrendous. They had the operation on a Tuesday, and he died on Thursday...No one could understand what he was talking about, because he was so out of it. He says to me -- he only understands drugs as "speed" -- he says, [whispers, a drawn-out, rattling imitation] "ssspeeeeed." And he died in my arms. I haven't got over it yet. The twentieth of January, I'll go freaking like a werewolf. I'll cry and I'll laugh all day long, because it's the day my daughter was born and the day my father died. Like a fucking lunatic. When they go, they're out of their misery. But what freaked me out more than anything else was the funeral. I was singing fucking "Paranoid" in the church...Seconal, drunk... it blew me away. All the family came that I'd never seen for fucking years, and they were making comments. In England, it's a weird scene at a fucking death. My father hated his brother Harold -- my whole family's fucking nuts." This took a toll on Ozzy and he decided to 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. Ozzy had this to say on the album: "The fucking studio's a pile of shit, the fucking -- we had two songs half- written before we'd gotten into the studio. The reason we'd gone to Canada was because of the tax-exile thing, because the taxes are so high in England. In the end, it cost us nearly 500 fucking thousand dollars to make that album, and it was the biggest pile of horseshit that I've ever made in my life. I'm embarrassed with that album." 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) --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 1.10 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 (ex-Rainbow) 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 2.0 Ozzy and Randy --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- After being fired from Sabbath, Ozzy spent three months staying in the Le Parc Hotel in Los Angeles. 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 Randall William Rhoads was turning heads. Randy's father was a music teacher and his mother ran a music school. The following comes from the Official Randy Rhoads Web site: "His love and understanding for music can rightfully be traced back to his mother, Delores Rhoads, and to his introduction to music at such a young age. Mrs. Rhoads has owned and operated the Musonia School of music in Burbank, CA since 1949. After graduating from UCLA with a bachelors degree in music she taught in the Los Angeles School system before leaving to play professionally and to start her Musonia. Randy's father was a music teacher himself, but he left when Randy was 17 months old, leaving Mrs. Rhoads to raise her three children, Randy, Kellie and Kathy, and to head the music programs Musonia school of Music, Burbank, CA." The website is: www(dot)csun(dot)edu/~igra/rhoads/ 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 bye-bye 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" --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 promoter 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 --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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. The show was to feature Foreigner and UFO. 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 (36) invited some of the people for a ride in his Beechcraft Bonanza airplane (9-10 am). The bus driver took Don Airey and Jake Duncan (the tour manager) for a spin. Aycock had been involved in a previous accident in which a young boy was killed. 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 ex-wife was standing outside the bus and it is assumed the pilot dove the plane into the bus in an attempt to kill her. Aycock circled the bus three times, and on the fourth pass, the plane clipped the tour bus and careened into a nearby house where it exploded. Ozzy ran into the house and pulled out a deaf man, who was unaware of the fire. Rachel and Randy were both killed in the crash. The fire destroyed the home, and adjacent garage. 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 used to play guitar for Gillan (Ian Gillan, who would join Sabbath). Bernie would not stay with Ozzy long however. Bernie left Ozzy's band. The reason is not known for sure. Some people say he was not used to playing big gigs. What is known is that Bernie had a UK tour lined up for his 'Electric Gypsies' album. His departure from Ozzy was bound to happen. 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. The Alamo is the 1836 site of the legendary battle between the Texans and the Mexican army. Ozzy 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. I received a piece of email from one of the officers who arrested Ozzy at the Alamo. Contrary to the dress we was supposed to be wearing, he says Ozzy was not in one. This is just one of the many contradictions in this FAQ. Until they can be proven, they will remain. Here is the e-mail I received (Thanks Sam): "I am one of the officers who arrested Ozzy at the Alamo and to set the record straight he was not wearing a womans clothes. He had on athletic shoes with no socks, a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants with no underwear. He also had a pack of cigarrettes rolled up in one sleeve. He was wasted and he never spoke. Billy actually arrested him and I was driving the "wagon" that day. The wagon is a van outfitted for prisoner transport. I was called to transport him from the Alamo to jail. The jail was then directly across from the S.A.P.D. and it now is the Wackenhut federal parole violator jail. I've kicked myself several times since then for not having kept copies of the reports. I know what he was wearing because I searched him for weapons and had very close contact with him. Half way to the jail, which was only about a mile away the dispatchers were already calling wanting to know who had him in custody. By the time I dropped him off there was a long black stretch limo waiting for him. You might note for your records he was actually given a big break. He was arrested and booked for public intoxication a class "C" misdemeanor which carries a max $200.00 fine. The law that more appropriately applied was "Desecration of a venerated Object" which covers among other things "Shrines." The Alamo is considered a shrine. You can post my info on your web page if you like. I think it would be cool to hear from fans to answer their questions. Check back later on the report. Send me the exact date again as I really do not remember and I'll try to get it for you. " (Where did you go Sam?) Ozzy married his long time friend Sharon, on a Honolulu-Hawaii beach on July 4, 1982. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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: After leaving Black Sabbath, Ozzy was rejected by many record labels. Tony Martell, CBS records executive, signed Ozzy to a contract. Ozzy and wife Sharon were being introduced to the head executives of CBS records in Los Angeles (Guitar Magazine claims it was New York). 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 ninety-nine and nine-tenths 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 quiet-not 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 out 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 low-budget 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! Dial-A-Demon 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 drain. 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 first 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 Then it cuts away 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 nineteen-year-old 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. On Jan. 13, 1986 the parents of John, sued Ozzy. The lawsuit was thrown out on Dec. 19, 1986 by a California Superior Court judge. On July 18, 1988 an appeals court uphold the decision to dismiss the lawsuit. The Institute for Bio-Acoustics 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 one-half 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 over-dose, 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 hair 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 --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 first-degree 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 sent to Max Norman 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 HMP Wormwood Scrubs prison in the UK. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 eerie 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 world-wide 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 2.9 No More Beers --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- "A lot of my drinking friends died in their 40's-heart attacks, one guy's liver exploded. There but for the grace of God go I. Their must be a guiding star over me" [Ozzy 1996] 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. No More Tears was originally going to be titled "Say Hello To 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 stick-on 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. Or so he wanted us to think. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 2.10 Ozzmosis --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- In 1993, Ozzy was officially retired. His fans had the 'Live and Loud' video and double 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 "X-Ray" 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". (1995 release) Ozzmosis is defined as "the diffusion of fluids through a membrane" :) Geezer Butler, his old Sabbath friend would also be on the album and tour. The band recorded the album in Paris, and was produced by Michael Beinhorn. Since Zakk was busy with his own project, Pride and Glory, it was arranged that Steve Vai would be contributing to the album. The songs would be split so that both Zakk and Vai would appear on the album. Because of the record company once again interfering with plans, only Zakk's material made it to the final product. However Steve Vai 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... --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 previously 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 jeopardize 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 'Ozz-Fest'. 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. Ozz-fest featured the following hard rock groups: Danzig, Sepultura, Prong, Slayer, Biohazard, Fear Factory, Neurosis, King Norris, Earth Crisis, Powerman 5000, Coal Chamber, and Cellophane. [[ The Ozzfest continues to this very day with some very expensive price gouging. Water selling for $2-4, hotdogs at around $4. It's a blatant rip off of all music fans. ]] Towards November '96, Ozzy played his last show of the tour in Hawaii. His plans now were 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 would be a song called "Back on Earth" which was co-written with Steve Vai. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 concert-goers. 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 rumors. 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 answer-to-your-problem-solution. 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 statistically 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 committed his own sins is hypocrisy. 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". --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 2.13 Will there ever be a reunion? --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- It depends on what kind of reunion you want to know about. The possibility of Ozzy and the three Sabs reuniting as a permanent group is nill. It just won't happen. A partial reunion for the sake of fans (or should I say fan$) is probable. 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 Sabbath-head'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. This chapter deals with the idea of Black Sabbath reunited for good. In fact, Black Sabbath and Ozzy HAVE reunited for concerts, but both remain two separate bands. Since the Costa Mesa show, Ozzy has agreed to reunite with Sabbath for a small tour. This coincided with a live album which was released October 31, 1998. This will not be a permanent reunion, however the band is touring North America in 1999. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 2.14 After Ozzmosis (Ozzfest) --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Ozz Records =========== Ozzy and Sharon started their own record label, Ozz Records in 1996. The first release under the label was "The Ozz Fest - Live". The company began as an idea that they could be more personal and fun than the large corporate labels. They began building a studio in London. The record label was eventually abandoned because Ozzfest was a full time effort. 1995-1996 ======== After the release of Ozzmosis in 1995, Ozzy was ready to return to the music scene after his hiatus. Sharon, his wife and manager had tried unsuccessfully to have Ozzy become an addition to Lollapolooza. She was turned down, because Lollapolooza organizers felt Ozzy was old and not quite the fresh face they were seeking. So in a moment of anger she decided she'd simply start her own. It would be called Ozzfest. After ironing out the details, a trial run of The Ozzfest debuted in 1996 with the following bands: Ozzy Osbourne (headliner), Danzig, Slayer, Sepultura, Prong, Biohazard and Fear Factory. They did two gigs in October 1996 which were a large success."The Ozzfest Live" was recorded OCtober 26th during this trial run. One of the appealing aspects of Ozzfest is that in addition to the main stage, there was also a smaller stage for lesser known bands. Sharon allowed up and coming talent to make a name for themselves including such bands as Coal Chamber, Powerman 5000 and Celophane. Then 1997 saw the full blown Ozzfest festival, 1996's trial run having showed a definite interest. It featured Black Sabbath (headliner), Marilyn Manson, Pantera, Type O Negative, Fear Factory, Machine Head and Powerman 5000 on the main stage. The second stage featured Downset, Neurosis, Slo Burn, Coal Chamber, Drain STH and Vision of Disorder. Bill Ward complained to the media that we wasn't asked to appear on behalf of Black Sabbath. Sharon's response: "Bill was not asked to play on this bill due to inter-personal business conflicts between himself, me and Ozzy. It is a private issue that we have kept private out of respect to Bill. If Bill doesn't understand that we are only trying to protect him, we will announce the reason why he wasn't asked to do this tour." The festival was a carnival of sorts where a person could also get tattoos or piercings done. The largest complaint about the Ozzfest are the prices. Vendors gouge customers because no outside food is allowed. Bottled water for $2 or $15 for fish and chips and a drink. Ozzy and Manson filed suit against New Jersey Sports and Exhibition Center in East Rutherford, New Jersey. They refused to put Ozzfest tickets on sale unless Marilin Manson was taken off the bill. In May, the Meadowlands decided to allow tickets to sell and was considered appealing a judge's decision. Fans are able to purchase bottled water "Blessed" by Ozzy himself for the mere price of $2.75 each. Ozzy's voice seemed to give out at the Ozzfest gig in the New Jersey Meadowlands, so he cancelled his show for the Polaris Amphitheater in Columbus, Ohio which was two days later. Understanding and compassionate fans uprooted trees, overturned a car, lit fires and tore down fencing. 23 fans were arrested. Ozzy would make up for the cancellation on July 1st. The Ozzfest grossed around $600,000 per show. (Ed: Probably from all of the food sales). With the Ozzfest tour over for 1997, Ozzy and Sharon released "The Ozzman Cometh" which featured some of his greatest hits and the release of some "basement tapes" Ozzy had found while cleaning house. They included rare versions of "War Pigs," "Black Sabbath," "Fairies Wear Boots," and "Behind the Wall of Sleep". Ozzfest beat out Lollapolooza for gross profits, ironic since Lollapolooza refused to have Ozzy as part of their tour. Having seen Black Sabbath and Ozzy playing on tour, fans were wondering about the possibility of a studio album. The last album recorded with all four original members of Black Sabbath was in 1978. On December 4th and 5th the original members of Black Sabbath reunited to play at the NEC in their hometown of Birmingham, England. The shows were recorded for possible release in the future. The band announced they would be returning to the studio to record new material! 1997 into 1998 ============== As 1998 began, Ozzfest 1998 was announced. The bands would include Tool, Megadeth, Limp Bizkit, Soulfly, Coal Chamber, Sevendust, Two, the Melvins, Incubus, Snot, Ultraspank, Kilgore, System of a Down, and Monster Machine. The original Sabbath members were rehearsing in Wales for the upcoming tour when Bill Ward suffered a mild heart attack. Bill would not be on the European tour but might be able to play for the American tour. Vinny Appice takes his place. The shows recorded at the NEC are to be released as a live album along with the new studio songs, "Psycho Man" and "Selling My Soul." (Ed: I found these to be a little disappointing). The album is simply entitled "Reunion". I received a copy autpgraphed by all four members. The tour would back up the Reunion album release and finish in May 1999. On December 31, 1998 New Years Eve, Black Sabbath began their American tour in Arizona. Ozzy had this to say: "There was the four of us who started off way back in '68. We had an idea which shook the world I suppose. Without any one of us, it's not Black Sabbath. The drummers we used were adequate drummers, but there's only one Bill Ward you know, there's only one Tony Iommi, there's only one Geezer Butler, and there's only one me. The chemistry is just incredible. When we did the live album at the N.E.C., the chemistry was just like we never separated. It was a pretty amazing, magic show." Around this time, Ozzy quit smoking which was not an easy task. 1999 ==== With Ozzy still on the road on the Sabbath tour, Sharon Osbourne Management and SFX Entertainment. announced that Ozzfest would be renewed for 5 more years. When Ozzy is finished touring, he agrees to record "Shock the Monkey" with Coal Chamber. This would be put off for a while due to Ozzy falling ill. It would eventually be released on "Chamber Music". Reunions and re-releasing the same old music over and over, there was still one nagging question. When would Ozzy release his next album? After all it had been 4 years. Ozzy announces when the 1999 Ozzfest is finished, he will head back into the studio to work on a new album for the year 2000. Ozzy and Black Sabbath marked the end of their first tour with the original members at the same venue where theyt started their reunion in December 1997. December 21 and 22 are the dates. Ozzfest 1999 grossed 19 million (that's $19,000,000) in 1999. More sales of bottled water possibly? :) 2000 ==== Ozzfest 2000 continued with acts such as Pantera, Incubus, Godsmack, Methods of Mayhem, P.O.D., Static-X, Queens of the Stone Age and Ozzy. It began on July 2 in Palm Beach, Florida and concluded on Sept. 2 in San Bernardino, Calif. Management touted this as Ozzy's final Ozzfest (sort of reminds you of the No More Tours). Ozzy would go on to say, "Never say never. I keep saying to my wife, 'It's just getting bigger and bigger and bigger and I want to do other things.' I'm the kind of the guy where, when I'm out there, I want to be home, and when I'm home, I want to be out there. I'm never happy wherever I am, so all I know is I don't know." 2001 ==== In April, Ozzy's mother passed away from diabetes and kidney problems. He was able to see her about a week before she passed away but didn't attend the funeral. Ozzy also ventured out into the PC game market. Ozzy lent his voice and likeness for "Black Skies", in which players assume the role of the Ozzy himself. The game was never released but the song made it. A date of October 16 is announced for Ozzy's new studio album, 2000 having seen no album as previously thought. By April he has written nine songs and there are plans to complete nine more before Ozzy heads back on the road for Ozzfest. "Gets Me Through" is the first single for Ozzy's album and was released Sept. 4th to radio stations. The album's title will be "Down to Earth". The cover shows an actual x-ray of Ozzy. "They X-rayed me for like three hours, the guy kept saying, 'It's going to be fine, Ozzy.' I thought I was going to come out of there glowing. It was very frightening.", Ozzy said. The album was produced by Tim Palmer, with guest appearances by drummer Mike Bordin, bassist Robert Trujillo and guitarist Zakk Wylde. Six years and fans finally had a new album. A short tour was announced under the name of "Black Christmas" but was changed to "Merry Mayhem" after the terrorist attacks of September 11th. The two month tour beginning Halloween, featured Rob Zombie, Mudvayne, Soil and OneSideZero. Proceeds from "Ozz Bless America" merchandise sold throughout the Merry Mayhem tour was donated to the families of firefighters and police affected by the World Trade Center. Merry Mayhem wrapped up New Years Eve. Ozzy suffered a stress fracture and had to reschedule 10 dates on his Merry Mayhem tour, when he slipped stepping out of the shower before his Tucson, Arizona show. Ozzy continued to tour for a week before seeing a doctor when the pain continued to increase. Rob Zombie used the time off to focus on directing two new videos, his own "Never Gonna Stop" and Ozzy's "Dreamer". --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- [2.15] 2002 and the world goes crazy! --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- "The Osbournes" portrays Ozzy as a "blithering idiot. (Ted Nugent) Note: On March 27th, Ozzy's former drummer Randy Castillo died at age 51 from cancer. Ozzy's wife, ever the shrewd marketer took her husband's fame to new heights. With MTV at her side, she set about to create a reality based television show called The Osbournes. This would be an unscripted real life look at what life in the Osbourne household was like. While MTV asked it be real, and the family maintained it was 100% unscripted, the family also admitted later that parts of it were made just for television. Everywhere they went, a camera followed. Viewers saw Ozzy taking out the garbage, fights with neighbours, dogs defecating on the rugs time and time again and plenty of fighting.. When the show premiered on March 5th, critics were giving it mixed reviews. Some felt it was nothing more than an explecitive laced attempt to cash in on Ozzy's name. Others felt it was a sad view of family values and morals. Sharon, of course, would not apoligize for putting such a show on the air however one must wonder just what sort of values are expressed telling your siblings and parents to "f*** off" or calling your wife a "C**t". While the Osbournes are a "family", there doesn't seem to be much respect for one another. Take for example Ozzy pleading with his wife not to bring home any cats. Sharon agreed with Ozzy but then went out and purchased cats regardless. Then viewers saw Ozzy angry at his wife for booking him back to back nights for concerts and Ozzy was furious because it was draining for him. (Ed: It's my personal belief that Sharon doesn't respect Ozzy's wishes on anything, but exploits him to the fullest.) Yet fans and parents alike were able to relate to Ozzy and his family. We saw Ozzy go to lengths to caution his children to practice safe sex. "Please don't get drunk or do drugs tonight, and if you have sex, use condoms" says Ozzy to his daughter. Viewers were able to relate to their child coming home with their first tattoo (and looking at Ozzy, what can you say). There was Ozzy's total confusion over being unable to operate the satellite dish remote, when his son Jack was more than capable of doing so. The show has made Ozzy Osbourne a household name and earned him many fans. Those who didn't know who Ozzy was before the show surely know now. The ratings were an average of 6 million viewers a week. It's been an enormous success for MTV. Music fans adored the show. Parents probably found they could relate to Ozzy and parenthood and there were surely the curious. There must be many people out there who expected to tune in to find a raving madmad killing animals. Instead they found a stuttering man who undoes his pants to warm himself by a bonfire. The Osbournes is not exactly a family show. It's continually filled with the bleeping where someone has used the "f-word" (59 bleeps in the first half hour). Some stations air it uncensored, but if you do have the censored version it gets hard to follow the conversation at times for there are so many bleeps. There are also some diehard fans who feel the show has made Ozzy look like a bumbling idiot. There does seem to be two Ozzy Osbournes. The crazy madman on stage and the puttering stuttering father and husband cleaning up after his wife's dogs. Regardless of your like or dislike for the show. what the show has done is made household names out of each of the Osbournes. Aimee, the smartest of the bunch decided not to be included in the show. For Jack and Kelly, Sharon and Ozzy, they've become people we can identify with. The children receive recognition on the street and have appeared on talk shows. Sharon has done a wonderful job of making her family household names. The attention can sometimes be too much. Sharon has flip flopped on her feelings for the show. She has stated she wishes she had never done the show but then decided to go ahead with another season. Tourists are flocking to the house in droves, the family has little privacy. They've also considered taking the show overseas to their English home for some privacy. The first season earned them $200,000. The second season has been reported to have been renewed at $20 million. Bill Cosby had this to say on the show: "First of all, all of you (media) need to stop with this Ozzy Osbourne. This is a sad, sad family. It is a sad case. The children are sad and the parents are sad. And this is not entertainment," he told Access Hollywood. He said the show was the sort of comedy that reminds people of the sort of activity they do not want in their own lives. Even so, millions of viewers tune in to watch them weekly. They were featured in an ad for Pepsi Twist in front of an estimated 100 million viewers for the January 26th Superbowl. Ozzy was also invited to the White House for dinner with The President. Naturally internet users are flooding the Ozzy newsgroup after having watched The Osbournes. Where fans used be able to discuss touring, rarities and Ozzy, now they're contending with critics and young people posting to the newsgroup in poorly thought out messages (sigh). Once the television show was firmly in place and everybody knew who the Osbourne family was, they released "The Osbourne Family Album". The Osbourne Family Album is a compilation of favourite songs from each member of the family. The listing is as follows: Pat Boone - "Crazy Train" Ozzy Osbourne - "Dreamer" The Kinks - "You Really Got Me" System of a Down - "Snowblind" John Lennon - "Imagine" The Cars - "Drive" Starsailor - "Good Souls" Dillusion - "Mirror Image" Eric Clapton - "Wonderful Tonight" Ozzy Osbourne - "Mama, I'm Coming Home" Ozzy Osbourne - "Crazy Train" Chevelle - "Family System". It also featured Kelly Osbournes debut with her version of Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach". She recorded the song with Incubus members Mike Einziger (guitar) and Jose Pasillas (drums). Kelly originally asked her sister Aimee if she'd record it, but Aimee declined. The song was meant to be a theme song for the television series. Cancer ====== On July 3rd, 2002 Sharon underwent surgery for recently discovered cancer. This almost caused Ozzy to begin drinking again. Expect to see much of this covered during the second season of The Osbournes. By July, the cancer had spread. Ozzy broke down in tears when asked about Sharon when interviewed by Barbara Walters. Sharon began three weeks of chemotherapy beginning July 29th. "This is definitely the last year, We can't do it anymore.", Sharon told Barbara. Even if this is the last year, the money is far from slowing down. They've signed a $3 million publishing deal with Pocket Books. They also have merchandising with the Signature Network of San Francisco. Expect to see Osbourne sleepwear, watches, clothing, dartboards, backpacks, condoms and a voice-activated plush bear. The Osbournes and the company say they've signed up 55 licensees for more than 300 products and are hoping for retail sales of up to US $200 million in 2002. 2003 ==== Ozzfest will continue into 2003 from June to August. Sharon Osbourne will host her own talk show this fall and receive $3-5 million. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- [2.16] Kelly Osbourne --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- "And I'm not trying to be a supermodel, so I wish people would just leave it alone" Kelly Osbourne on people's perception of her having to follow the singer stereotype. Kelly Osbourne seems to have an appeal for the youth of today. Perhaps it's because she doesn't wear skimpy clothes and hasn't had her breasts enlarged. Whatever the reason is, she remains true to herself and dresses on her own terms. And the fans love her for being herself. Not bad for a young woman who is said to have dropped out of school in grade 10. Upon asking her sister Aimee to sing Papa Don't Preach, Aimee declined and suggested Kelly do it instead. It was more of a lark, but Kelly took up the chllenge. The execs at Epic Music were so impressed that they included her version of the Madonna song on 'The Osbourne Family Album' and she was offered her own album. Her website has this to say about her... "This was about attitude, not sex appeal; reality, not fantasy. So, two months on-and-off in New York turned out Shut Up!, an eleven song collection that bespeaks as much about Kelly Osbourne as any trend-setting outfit she may wear or any off-handed comment that might spring from her mouth. Songs such as "Disconnected", a churning, grinding rocker, and the endlessly catchy and melodic teenage rage of "Dig Me Out" fulfill the promise of Kelly as an unvarnished voice for the "everyteen" of the new rock scene. Inundated by calculated media caricatures of what the M Gen should be Kelly comes across as a real deal, take-no-sh*t anti-star. She carved out her own niche, and Shut Up! serves up the sweet and the sour with sass and spunk to spare." She plans to move out of her parents house and into her own home, some five blocks away in April 2003. Relationship wise, she was seeing Bert McCracken, a 20 year old singer from a punk band named The Used. Bert dumped Kelly by telephone on Valentines Day 2003. Kelly took this hard, especially the abrupt manner in which it was done. She's made a vow never to date men again, but in due time will learn to love again as do we all. Christina Aguilera and Kelly have been known to be very vocal about their dislike for one another. Rumors persist about near fights breaking out at clubs between the two. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- [2.17] Jack Osbourne --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- "I just find it really immature, I'd like to see them say it to my face, I'd crush their skull in." Jack on rumors he is gay. (Heat magazine) The son of Ozzy and Sharon scouts out new talent for Epic Records. He also has influence on what bands appear on Ozzfest. He can be found on cd covers being thanked for helping rising bands. Jack's favourite band is Tool, which is reflected in the t-shirts he often wears. Rumors circulate that Jack is gay, Jack has said that he once had sex with three women at the same time which would prove otherwise if he's to be believed. He's been seen with Rod Stewart's daughter Kimberly and model Catalina Guirado. It's been reported that Jack has been helping her launch a pop career in LA and the pair have been seen on dates. He's writing songs for her. He appeared on Dawson's Creek as a cameo appearance as well as That 70's Show in 1998. Jack has a bit of a weight problem as does his sister Kelly. This seems to be a much debated topic on the internet. (Ed: Why do people obsess over such trivial details) --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- [2.18] Aimee Osbourne --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Aimee remains a mystery, no music release no appearances on The Osbournes. Rumors say that Aimee is going to start her own jewelry company. "I'm starting a jewelry company, It's going to be really pretty stuff with lots of gems." The line is expected to launch sometime next September. (Ed: This is uncomfirmed) --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- [2.19] Who is Robert Marcato? --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Editor: This section has been included into the biography because I want people to know who Robert's mother was and to read how strong she was. Fans of The Osbourne's may have noticed a new member to the family, Robert Marcato. Robert, 18, is the son of Reagan Erin Marcato, a single mother. Reagan Marcato moved to Southern California from Mays Landing, N.J., around Christmas 1987 looking to start a new life. She made her career in food service and was manager of a popular 1950s-style diner on Sunset Boulevard. Marcato's life revolved around her son, and she successfully battled Los Angeles school administrators to fund a special-education program for Robert, who is dyslexic. Robert met Osbourne children Aimee and Kelly in school and became close friends with them. Unfortunately Reagan passed away with cancer on July 30th, 2002 at the age of 36. However The Osbourne's had become quite close to Robert and his mother. Ozzy told Reagan before she died that her son would never have to worry about money or tuition. The Osbourne family 'adopted' him in a sense of the word and Sharon refers to him as 'Baby Osbourne'. It's quite tragic to lose your family at the age of 18, and to such a cruel disease. This move by The Osbourne's was a huge act of kindness. "When I look at somebody like Regan, who didn't have the resources I had, what have I got to complain about?" Sharon said. "She was the most amazing woman and was such a brilliant and strong woman. She left home when she was 18, put her baby in the car and drove from one end of the country to another." When Regan got sick, Sharon took matters into her own hands. "She had no medical care at home and she was beyond saving - they won't let you stay in the hospital and die, so you go to a hospice or go home," Sharon said. "I had private nurses for her 24 hours a day for the last nine days of her life. Every day, the doctors would say, 'Maybe two more hours.' But she lived for nine days - she defied everybody." --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 2.20 The Family --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- ===== Ozzy (John Osbourne) ===== Father Born: Dec. 3, 1948 (Birmingham, England) Stats: 5' 10" and weighs 160 lbs Occupation: singer Ozzy Osbourne Appreciaton Society P.O. Box 15397 Beverly Hills, CA 90209 ====== Sharon ====== Wife/Manager/Mother Born: October 10, 1952 (London, England, UK) Stats: unknown Sharon Osbourne Management - address unknown ====== Kelly ====== Daughter Stats: 5 foot 2 inches, 124 lbs, left handed. DOB: Oct. 27, 1984 Phobia: spiders Occupation: singer Education: GateWay School In Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, England. WestMark School In Encino, California, USA Fan Club: Kelly Osbourne PO box 5249 Beverly Hills, CA 90209 ==== Jack ==== Osbourne's Son Born: Nov. 8, 1985 London, England Stats: unavailable (No fan club) ===== Aimee Rachel ===== Osbourne's Daughter Born: Sept. 2, 1983 Stats: unavailable (No fan club) ======= Lillian ======= John Osbourne's mother/Children's grandmother Stats: N/A Assembled electrical circuits In The Lucas Car Plant. Lillian Died In 2001 from diabetes. ============= Jack Osbourne ============= John Osbourne's father/Children's grandmother Stats: N/A Occupation: Tool-maker, Worked nights. Died In 1977 From Cancer. ========== Don Arden ========== Grandfather/Sharon's father Read section [1.8] ========== Hope Arden ========== Grandmother/Sharon's mother Occupation: Dancer Died In 1998. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 2.21 Money money money --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Ozzy is no longer that rags to riches success story that kept people fascinated in their teens. He is no longer just a musician. Ozzy is now a household name, a television show, and books. Ozzy is over 2500 items for sale on E-Bay. His family have become household names, his wife exploiting every conceivable way of using her and her family for profit. Take a look at Britney Spears and Pepsi. We see Britney drinking Pepsi therefore simply because we like her music (I don't) or think she's beautiful (I don't), we should run out and buy Pepsi. Look at an ad for car audio equipment and you may often find a large breasted model in the ad. She doesn't know the difference between a capacitor and a crossover but you still want that cd-player because the big breasted woman in the ad is looking at the young man in the car who has that cd-player and she's smiling. In reality most women would probably laugh and think you're a jerk. This is the way marketing works. When something (or someone) is hot, we tend to use it to our advantage to produce revenue. This isn't to say it's immoral or wrong to do, it's how marketing works. we are the consumer, we buy products. Marketing tries to make us aware of products, and that is best done through the hottest music and movie stars. There is reason to throw caution to the wind though. For instance would you buy a condom with Ozzy's name on it simply because it had his name on it, made by an unknown company or would you go for a well known brand that you know won't break on you? Sharon has made a success out of her husband, and certainly he owes her much credit for that success. It seems at times that that success is taking him away from the music and trying to turn him into a marketing tool. Others are just as quick to cash in on the Osbourne name. Here are some examples of the insanity: Example One ============ Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne have been sued for $15 million by a clothing manufacturer who claims the couple stole his T-shirt slogan: "F--k My Family I'm Moving In With The Osbournes." The suit, filed Tuesday (May 28) by T-Shirt Hell, Inc. in New York District Court, alleges trademark infringement by the couple and other associated business entities when they authorized the production and sale of its own shirt with the catchphrase: "*&@# my family! I'm moving in with...The Osbourne Family." Court documents claim that representatives at Ozzy's label, Epic Records, knew of the earlier shirt before making its own, producing as evidence a series of email communications from March 2002 between an employee at the label and T-Shirt Hell discussing the purchase of 40 of the shirts. The Osbournes' version was authorized for manufacturing and sale in May, the suit alleges. Epic Records and parent company Sony Music are also named in the suit, among others. Example Two =========== Fox News Channel has brushed aside a threat of legal action by Ozzy Osbourne's lawyer for airing an interview with the rocker. Part of Osbourne's lengthy chat with Greta Van Susteren aired on the Fox network's "Pulse" newsmagazine and the rest was scheduled for Van Susteren's Fox News Channel show the next day. Osbourne's lawyer, Orin Snyder, said Osbourne sat down with Fox only because he was told the interview was for a special it was planning on the anniversary of Elvis Presley's death. "It is particularly disturbing that Fox would employ such improper journalistic techniques to take advantage of Mr. Osbourne and his family in an effort to sensationalize Sharon Osbourne's recent illness," Snyder wrote in a letter to Fox News Channel executives." Fox News Channel rejected the claim as without merit. The network said it never planned a Presley special. Fox's lawyers pointed out that Osbourne, no stranger to reporters, spoke with Van Susteren on camera for an hour about a wide range of topics, including his wife's illness. The interview was even taped by MTV for the second season of its reality show "The Osbournes." So it would seem that it's become acceptable for the Osbournes to run from talk show to talk show and discuss Sharon's health. It's become acceptable for the Osbournes to have Sharon's chemotheraphy broadcast on MTV. Everything is fair game so long as the Osbourne's reap money for it. Perhaps the real reason they didn't want the show to be aired was because Sharon had already promised an exclusive interview to ABC's Walters (for money of course). And Ozzy broke the deal by talking to Van Susteren about Sharon's battle with cancer. Example Three ============= Ozzy's music company has time and time again released his music under different titles, with different artwork and with different music selections. If you own Ozzy's entire collection of music, is there really any point in buying another CD of the same songs you already own just to have that CD with different artwork? If you own all of Ozzy's albums, do you really also need The Ozzman Cometh, Ten Commandments, Bible of Ozz, Best of Ozz and The Essential Ozzy Osbourne? Apparently so, not to mention the half a dozen live albums as well. It's marketing baby, and that's what his record company is paid to do. Example Four ============ A Los Angeles-based producer, Gary Binkow, sued Sharon and Ozzy claiming they stole his idea for "The Osbournes." Binkow says he met repeatedly with the couple and executives from Miramax TV in 1999-2000 to discuss "a real-life docu-sitcom" about the aging rocker and his family. Editor: This section of the biography may not be popular with many Ozzy fans. However as the author of this lengthy bio I would like to ask you something rhetorical. Can you really expect a rock musician to live a full life and not commit any acts that could be deemed as stupid? Can you truly expect your "idol" to not now and again use some technique to gain more money from you, the fans? This is not a pro-Ozzy or anti-Ozzy biography. It is a truthful bio and you'll have to accept that. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 3.0 Ozzy Album Discography --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- This discography comes from OZZY@AIRMAIL.NET 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 (ex-Quiet Riot) on guitar. Reissued with 22-bit remastering. Crazy Train 7" single, 1980, Jet Additional track is You Looking at Me Looking at You. May be promo-only. 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 [Image] album, 1981, Jet Reissued with 22-bit remastering. This is also available in 12" promo-only picture disc. 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). Flying High Again [Image] 12" single, 1981, Jet / CBS Associated Probably a U.S. only promo release. Additional track is Diary Of A Madman (18 Minute Montage). Tonight 7" single, 1981, Jet / CBS Associated White label promo for this track. Talk of the Devil double album, 1982, Jet (England and possibly all non US) See below for details on this piece. 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 re-released the CD under its European (and possibly Japanese) name (Talk of the Devil) and added Sweet Leaf. Reissued with 22-bit 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. Paranoid 7" single, 1982, Jet U.S. single for this song. Additional track is Never Say Die. Both tracks taken from Speak Of The Devil. 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 (ex-Rough Cutt, Sexist, almost Dio, and Ratt(?)). Reissued with 22-bit 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. Bark at the Moon 7" single, 1983, CBS Associated White label promo for this song . 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 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. 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. The Other Side Of Ozzy 12" EP, 1985, CBS Japan Japanese only release containing 10 rare B-sides 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 22-bit 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 and different artwork. 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 12" single, 1986, Epic / CBS Single with Shot In The Dark, Killer of Giants, and Rock And Roll Rebel. 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. The Ultimate Live Ozzy 12" maxi-single, 1986, CBS Associated Japanese-only black vinyl pressing. Tracks are the same as the picture disc. 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 22-bit remastering. Tribute double album, 1987, CBS Associated(Japan) Japanese version of this release includes a poster. 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 one song, 1987, EMI / Lisabella / Virgin Duet with Lita Ford for her album entitled Lita and on The Best Of Lita Ford. Close My Eyes Forever 7" single, 1987, EMI / Lisabella / Virgin Duet with Lita Ford. Tracks are Close My Eyes Forever and Under The Gun; Ozzy does not appear on the B-side. 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 in U.S. (Epic in Europe) CD and cassette have an additional track. The track is unlisted and is called Hero. Zakk Wylde on guitar. Reissued with 22-bit remastering. Bible of Ozz special package CD, 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 Single with Miracle Man, The Liar, and Crazy Babies. Possibly UK only. Not available in the US. Miracle Man 12" shaped picture single, 1988, Epic Single shaped like Ozzy's head with a crown of thorns. Additional track is Crazy Babies. Miracle Man 7" single, 1988, Epic Additional track is Crazy Babies. Not available in the US. Miracle Man 7" single, 1988, CBS White-lable promo for this song. Miracle Man CD single, 1988, Epic (?) Promo only, picture CD single. Additional track is The Liar. Possibly non-U.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 Promo-only 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 One-sided Spanish promo. Crazy Babies 7" single, 1988, CBS White-lable promo for this song. Hero 12" single, 1989, CBS Promo-only single. Additional tracks are You Said It All, Devil's Daughter, Fire In The Sky. Breaking All The Rules CD single, ????, ???? Promo-only, 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 B-side 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 in U.S. (Epic in Europe) Live ep from No Rest tour. Reissued with 22-bit remastering. Live Pigs CD single, 1988(?), CBS Associated Promo-only two track with War Pigs (Live) from Just Say Ozzy and Breaking All The Rules. 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 22-bit 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. 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. Mr. Tinkertrain CD single, 1991, Epic / Sony promo only, 1 track. 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 12" single, 1991, Epic / Sony European single with Mama I'm Coming Home (Special version adapted from the No More Tears Album), Goodbye To Romance, and Time After Time. Not available in the US. Mama, I'm Coming Home 7" single, 1991, Epic / Sony Additional track is Don't Blame Me. This is a jukebox single and (after much looking) can be found with the jukebox title inserts. 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 and is available as a promo-only one track CD single. 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, promo-only 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 digi-pack 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 22-bit remastering, but in double jewel case. The original is out of print. No tattoos 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 + 2: Live and Loud Sampler CD single, 1993, Epic / Sony Promo only version of the above. Changes 12" picture disc, 1993, Epic / Sony Tracks are the same as CD single. Not available in the US. Changes 7" single, 1993, Epic / Sony Tracks are Changes and No More Tears. Since it is on Epic, it is probably European only, but I can't tell. Also, the one I have has no picture sleeve, but I don't know if it is supposed to have one. 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, promo-only, 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 one song, 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 (?) Japan-only promo. 13 tracks. Ozzatory Pt. 2 / Ballad & Melodious Side CD EP, 199?, Epic / Sony (?) Japan-only 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 Promo-only one-track single. 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 Butt-Head 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 Promo-only one track single. Greatest Hits CD, 1996, DOG Entertainment, Licensed from Sony Music Entertainment. Inc Greatest hits package printed in Portugal. Tracks are Perry Mason, Mr. Tinkertrain, Miracle Man, No More Tears, Bark at the Moon, Crazy Babies, The Ultimate Sin, Never Know Why, I Just Want You, Believer, Mr. Crowley, Thunder Underground, Over the Mountain, Forever. Pictures Of Matchstick Men one song, 1997, Warner Bros. Records Inc. Performs this song with Type-O Negative for the soundtrack to Howard Stern's movie, Private Parts. Pictures Of Matchstick Men CD single, 1997, Warner Bros. Records Inc. Promo-only single. Tracks are the full length and the edit. The OZZfest Live album, 1997, Ozz Records Live record with various artists that appeared in the first OZZfest concerts. The tracks and bands are as follows: Loco - Coal Chamber, Ride Thy Neighbor - Cellophane, Broken Foundation - Earth Crisis, Organized - Powerman 5000, Locust Star - Neurosis, Replica - Fear Factory, These Eyes - Biohazard, Attitude - Sepultura, Angel of Death - Slayer, Perry Mason - Ozzy Osbourne. The OZZfest Live CD, 1997, Ozz Records Promo-sampler from the OZZfest CD. Labeled "Sanitized For Your Protection (All Clean Versions)". The tracks are Sepultura - Attitude, Fear Factory - Replica, and Ozzy Osbourne - Perry Mason. The OZZfest '97 Double CD, 1997, Best Buy Co., Inc. Promo-only 2 CD compilation of bands. Some of which appeared at one of the OZZfests, some of which did not. The only Ozzy track on this piece is Revelation (Mother Earth). Comes with a coupon book for use at Best Buy stores. The Ozzman Cometh [Image] Double CD, 1997, Sony Best of Ozzy CD. Includes 4 unreleased Black Sabbath tracks: Black Sabbath, War Pigs, Fairies Wear Boots, and Behind The Wall Of Sleep. These songs were taken from "Ozzy's 1970 Basement Tapes". Black Sabbath has an additional verse and War Pigs has different lyrics. There is also an interview from 1988. The Japanese version has two additional tracks: Walk On Water (from Beavis and Butt-head Take America) and Pictures Of Matchstick Men )from Howard Stern's Private Parts). It also has a sheet of stickers depicting all of Ozzy's solo records, the cartoon Ozzy with the cross, and a logo from the No Rest For The Wicked era. On the U.S. version, there are multi-media tracks which neither the European nor the Japanese version have. These tracks are the videos for Crazy Babies, Crazy Train, Perry Mason, I Just Want You, and Paranoid (live). There is also a screen "killer" (saver) and a "whack-a-mole"-like video game where you "whack Ozzy's bones". Back On Earth [Image] CD single, 1997, Sony Non-U.S. CD single. Extra tracks are Walk On Water and I Just Want You. Back On Earth CD single, 1997, Sony Promo-only CD single with Radio Edit and Album Version. War Pigs CD single, ???, ??? Promo-only CD single with two tracks. Vertical Man CD, 1998, ??? Ozzy performs this song on Ringo Starr's record. Nowhere To Run CD, 1998, Sony This track appears on Chef Aid: The South Park Album. Ozzy performs with DMX and 'Ol Dirty Bastard. Music by Crystal Method with Fuzzbubble. Buried Alive CD, 1999, EMI This track appears on Rick Wakeman's Return To The Centre Of The Earth. Shock The Monkey CD, 1999, ??? Ozzy performs with Coal Chamber on this track for the Peter Gabriel tribute and on the Coal Chamber record entitled Chamber Music. This Means War one song, 1999?, ???? ???? Ozzy has a guest appearence on this Busta Rhyme's track. Down to Earth CD, 2001 Mike Bordin: Drums Zakk Wylde: Guitar Vocals Robert Trujillo: Bass --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 3.1 RARE/B-SIDES/ETC. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- The following are B-sides, bonus tracks, demos, or unreleased versions of Ozzy songs: * "You Looking at Me, Looking at You" [b-side to "Crazy Train" 7" single] * "I Don't Know" [live b-side to "Flying High Again" single] * "One Up the B-Side" [b-side 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" [b-side to "Mama, I'm Coming Home"] * "Party with the Animals" [b-side to "Mama, I'm Coming Home"] * "The Whole World is Falling Down" [b-side to "Perry Mason"] * "Living with the Enemy" [b-side to "Perry Mason"] * "Aimee" [b-side to "See You on the Other Side] * "Voodoo Dancer" [b-side 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" [back-up with Alice Cooper, from HEY STOOPID] 1991 Epic/Sony * "Staying Alive" [with Dweezil Zappa, unreleased] * "The Urpney Song" ["The Dreamstone" 1990 British cartoon] The list comes from information provided by: supreme(at)inforamp.net and ozzy(at)airmail.net --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 3.2 Song Definitons --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- SWEET LEAF : Marijuana. OLD LA TONIGHT : Written around the time of the LA riots, the song is about Los Angeles. BACK ON EARTH : Death, and the spirit returning to Earth after you die. CRAZY TRAIN : Society and can we all get along. MIRACLE MAN : The hypocrisy 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 missiles and how, if we keep up this mad rush to have the bigger weapon, we will obliterate ourselves. THANK GOD FOR THE BOMB : See above. 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. I was also sent this e-mail from Norm O'Brien: ==================================== Oz: "I wrote that song for my wife. I absolutely adore my wife. The love that I have for her and the love she has for me will never die. I truly believe that if I pop off first or she goes then we'll meet up on the other side. I believe in life after death, which is strange because at one point I didn't believe in life after birth." Chortles Ozzy Heartily. Oz: "I believe in life after death because I'm getting closer to it now and I'm at the half way point now at least! It's like a message to Sharon because I love her" Sharons view of the song is a little different... Sharon: "Ozzy wrote that song when he was really ill earlier this year and he was being wrongly diagnosed," She recalls. "He was told that he had an illness that was really bad and we thought that that was it, that he was going to die. That's where it came from." ==================================== 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 those who buried him. 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 : A song about 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. DREAMER : Hoping for a better world tomorrow. THE JUNKIE : Life with a drug addiction. GETS ME THROUGH : Apparently about the fans. CONTRADICTION (Kelly) : For her sister Aimee, who chose not to appear on "The Osbournes." ON YOUR OWN (Kelly) : about a bad friend SHUT UP (Kelly) : her school teachers --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 3.3 Did You Know? --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Ozzy's LA house has a urinal in the bathroom. The reason for this is because Ozzy kept urinating on the toilet seat. Ozzy tried to hang himself from a clothes-line during a wild childhood, but was stopped by his father. Ozzy's calls his son from his first marriage Bombins (his real name is Louis). Ozzy's sister Gillian has been comitted twice. Once after she went and cut the heads off all the familys photos. Ozzy once beat up one of his teachers with an iron bar. The teacher would later be fired. Ozzy stabbed his aunt's cat at the age of 11. Ozzy would break in to his 63 year old neighbour's home when she went to work. The woman's children had been killed in an air-raid and her husband killed in the war. The more you read this biography the more you realize how much of a turd Ozzy was as a youth. At the age of 14, Ozzy tried to hang himself using clothesline. His father caught him and beat him for it. Ozzy tried to strangle one of his brothers and tried to light his sister on fire by pouring gas on her dress. The FBI once visited Ozzy because they heard he was planning to urinate on the steps of the White House (untrue). Ozzy and Sharon drive a Range Rover. Ozzy once shot 17 of his cats. Ozzy once took a crap in the elevator of a plush hotel. The elevator doors opened, and there he was with his pants down. Ozzy's first royalty check was spent on 50 pounds to his mother, a pair of shoes and some cologne (because he hated the way he smelled). Ozzy donated $10,000 to the caretakers of the Alamo in 1992. Tommy Aldridge was Ozzy's best man during his marriage to Sharon. The Cal Jam 1974 show earned the band $250,000 but they only received $1000 each. Their manager pocketed the rest. Ozzfest expenses are about one million dollars per week! Ozzfest currently takes 9 transports to move all the set. Ozzy travels by bus instead of plane now, because too much time alone in his hotel room left him time to smoke. Ozzy had three older sisters and two younger brothers. He is only close to his sister Jean. Ozzy used to set fire to barns in the cornfields when he was younger. A fan made an Ozzy Osbourne Cabbage Patch Doll for Ozzy, complete with tattoos. Ozzy's least favorite video is "The Ultimate Sin". The daughter from Ozzy's previous marriage is a surveyor, while the son is a chef, now turned DJ. When Ozzy began singing for the first time, at age 15, only 3 people turned up (at the Birmingham firehouse) When Ozzy is online, being interviewed, someone else actually types the responses (I kind of figured that one out already). Ozzy's 'Party with the Animals' was featured in Buffy the Vampire Slayer? The title 'Diary of a Madman' comes from Aleister Crowley's biography? 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 fan of Ozzys in Texas 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 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 color 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 wanted to have a FOURTH child? 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 everyone. (This is about where the author takes over the story). Ozzy once planned to have a T-shirt 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 favorite 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 sprinkler. 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, "That's 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 his 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? 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 jewelry 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. Sharon once flew to Tokyo to join Ozzy on tour. After the show she went ahead to their hotel room, only to be woken hours later by a young Japanese girl climbing into their bed. A drunken Ozzy had forgotten his wife had arrived. "It's funny now," she says, with a tight smile. "It wasn't then." Ozzy was once stabbed in the stomach with a screwdriver at a dance. Jack has bought only one pair of jeans in the last eight years. Ozzy's son Louis is a techno DJ with a webpage at www(dot)louisosbourne(dot)com Aimee Osbourne once paid $18,000 for charity passes to see Hanson. In a show of support to his wife Sharon, Ozzy has promised to shave his head while she undergoes chemotherapy Kelly's first concert sold out in just 15 minutes. She also bids on items on E-Bay. Kelly bought a $75,000 watch. Kelly was working in the same studio as Christina Aguilera. Kelly put boogers on all of the door handles on Christina's car. Ozzy is a grandfather to Isabelle Hobbs. She's the daughter of Jessica, Ozzy's child from his first marriage. The National Enquirer says Ozzy had Robin Williams come over to entertain his wife while she was recovering from cancer. There's an adult movie out called the The Ozzporns which is a parody of The Osbournes. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 - "Mom and Pop" tattoo 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. [***] - Needle on his right thigh - Ozzy has a new tattoo under the rose on his right arm which looks like a demon's face. [***] These tattoos were done while Ozzy was in jail. He used two different methods during at least two different incarceration 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. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 fired their manager. 1975 - Free from their manager's greedy hands, the band releases the Sabotage album. 1976 - We Sold Our Souls is released. Reached #48 in the US, #35 in UK. 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. Sept 2, 1983 - Aimee Rachel is born. 1983 - Ozzy signs to Epic Records. Bill Ward quits Black Sabbath. Feb. 1984 - Glass from a broken mirror gets lodged in Ozzy's throat. Oct. 27, 1984 - Kelly Lee Osbourne is born. Nov. 1984 - Ozzy enters the Betty Ford clinic for drinking problems. He also begins his Bark at the Moon project. Nov. 8, 1985 - Jack Osbourne is born. 1985 - Ozzy plays the first Rock in Rio festival to over 200,000 people. July 13,1985 - He also reunites with his ex-Sabbath 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. May 2, 1986 - Ozzy co-hosts Friday Night Videos with Dr. Ruth 1987 - Due to popular demand by his fans, Ozzy puts out the Randy Rhoads tribute album. He only plays one concert that year at the Wormwood Scrubs prison. 1987 - Contrary to the above, Ozzy is reported to have played a 6 six week tour of UK prisons. He also played "Jailhouse Rock" 1988 - Zakk Wylde joins Ozzy's lineup of guitar players. 1989 - Ozzy donates $15,000 to AIDS charities in Philadelphia. Aug.12-13/89 - Ozzy plays the Moscow Music Festival which benefits drug and alcohol programs. Sept. 2,1989 - Ozzy is jailed after threatening Sharon. Oct. 1990 - The parents of two Georgia teens file lawsuits against Ozzy for the deaths of their children. Dec. 16, 1990 - Ozzy appears on the TV show Parker Lewis Can't Lose May 6, 1991 - Lawsuit filed in Georgia is dismissed on First Amendment grounds. 1991 - No More Tears is released setting new grounds in Ozzy's career. No more macabre album covers and titles. Oct. 1, 1992 - Ozzy plays San Antonio, TX after being banned for 10 years. He donates $10,000 to the caretakers of the Alamo. 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. Mar. 28, 1992 - Fans cause $100,000 damage when Ozzy invites audience members on stage at Laguna Hills, CA 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. Dec. 31, 1995 - Ozzy's Retirement Sucks tour begins. Sept.14,1996 - Ozz-Fest begins October 1996 - Ozzy announces he is starting his own record label, "Ozz-Records" to promote smaller bands. March 1997 - The Ozzfest Live album is released with bands from the 1996 tour. May 1997 - Ozzfest 1997 begins June 15, 1997 - Ozzfest plays in East Rutherford, NJ despite threats to pull the show if Marilyn Manson took part. The show went on. Nov. 11, 1997- Ozzman Cometh double CD is released featuring some old Sabbath songs with alternative lyrics and a new song called "Back on Earth". Dec. 4/5,1997- Black Sabbath reunites in Birmingham, UK to do two live shows. Ozzy is very happy about the second show. July 3, 1998 - Ozzfest kicks off in New Jersey. Oct.31, 1998 - Black Sabbath and Ozzy to release a live album from the Dec. 5/97 UK show, along with two new studio tracks. Jan. 1, 1999 - Black Sabbath's original four members launch a North American tour. May 27, 1999 Ozzy kicks off his fourth annual Ozzfest, featuring Black Sabbath. March 2000 - New Mexico's Belen High School refuses to allow students to play Ozzy's Goodbye to Romance. Dec. 2000 - Randy Castillo is diagnosed with cancer. April 10, 2001 - Ozzy's mother passes away from cancer. Oct. 10, 2001 - Down to Earth is released. Dec. 23, 2001 - Ozzy stages a Merry Mayhem charity concert for the World Trade Center victims at the Meadowlands in New Jersey. He also stopped by Ground Zero to pay his respects to the victims and workers. Dec. 2001 - Rob Zombie directs Ozzy's new video, Dreamer. Jan. 4, 2002 - Black Sabbath are nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance ("The Wizard" from Ozzfest 2001: The Second Millenium) by the National Acadamy of Recording Arts & Sciences. Feb. 2002 - The Osbournes appear on the cover of TV Guide. March 2002 - The Osbournes premiers on MTV which draws 4.1 million viewers to its regular Tuesday time slot on March 26 March 5, 2002 - The Osbourne premieres. March 26, 2002 - Former Ozzy drummer Randy Castillo passes away of cancer. April 1, 2002 - An "Expanded Edition" album is reissued of existing Ozzy songs. April 12, 2002 - Ozzy receives his star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame in front of the Ripley's Believe It or Not Museum April 19, 2002 Ozzy and his family appeared on the cover of Entertainment Weekly April 29, 2002 - Ozzy makes an unnanounced appearance on the Tonight show. May 2002 - Ozzy wins a Prism award for his song The Junkie, which raised drug awareness. May 2002 - Sharon Osbourne is voted one of People magazine's 50 Most Beautiful People. May 4, 2002 - Ozzy and Sharon are invited by one of their new fans, Fox News Channel's Greta Van Susteren, to the White House Press Correspondents Dinner. May 15, 2002 - The Osbournes hold a press conference in New York to announce the release of a "Family Album" with Kelly's debut song. May 29, 2002 - VH1 picks Sharon Osbourne to help pay tribute to Queen Elizabeth II. June 6, 2002 - Kelly Osbourne will sing for the first time on stage during the MTV Movie Awards. The song is "Papa Don't Preach" June 3, 2002 - Ozzy sing's Paranoid at the Queen's Concert at Buckingham Palace. Other acts performing included Paul McCartney, Eric Clapton, and Rod Stewart. June 11, 2002 - The Osbourne Family Album is released. July 2002 - Ozzy makes an appearance in Austin Powers - Goldmember. July 2002 - The Osbournes are sued by a producer named Gary Binkow, claiming they stole his idea for The Osbournes. The show is also nominated for an Emmy. July 3, 2002 - Sharon Osbourne is diagnosed with cancer. July 10, 2002 - Sharon Osbourne undergoes surgery for colon cancer. August 16, 2002 - The lawsuit brought against Ozzy by Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake was dismissed. Sept. 2002 - Kelly's version of "Papa Don't Preach" enters the English singles chart at number three. Sept. 2002 - CTV (Canadian Television) broadcasts The Osbournes uncensored. (They do this with The Sopranos also) Oct. 3, 2002 - "Dreamer" reaches #5 on the German singles chart. Oct. 29, 2002 - Symptom of the Universe : The Original Black Sabbath 1970-1978 released. Nov. 6, 2002 - Barbara Walters interviews the Osbournes. Nov. 26, 2002 - Season II of The Osbournes premiers and Ozzy's daughter Kelly releases her debut album titled "Shut Up". 2003 - The Osbournes first season is released on DVD. Jan. 2003 - Sharon disputes whether a talent agent should have won a $15,000 necklace as a doorprize for their New Years Eve wedding vow renewal party. She even hosts a newsconference (yawn) to shame the agent into returning it. Jan. 13, 2003 - Ozzy, Sharon, Kelly, and Jack host the 30th Annual American Music Awards Jan. 14, 2003 - Kelly leaves for a three week European tour. March 3, 2003 - Ozzy and Sharon appear on Larry King Live. March 17, 2003 - Ozzy holds a press conference to announce Jason Newsted (Metallica bassist) has joined his band. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 3.6 Questions --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- Q: Where can I find a Black Sabbath FAQ? A: www.black-sabbath.com, the file is by Alexander Rack Q: What religion is Ozzy? Is he satanic, athiest, Catholic? A: While I do not know for certain, I do know Ozzy's children attemd Catholic schools. Ozzy himself wears crosses, but whether this is a religious or fashion symbol is unknown. Q: What are the Ozzfest dates? Is Ozzy coming to my town? A: Hey, I find my information the same way you do. Try the links mentioned for Ozzfest. Don't ask me. 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: Did Ozzy ever eat his own feces? (This is a question I received via ICQ) A: Not so far as I know, although he once stuck his finger in his rear end :) Q: Where do I find Ozzfest dates and info? A: AARRGGHH! Try ozzynet(dot)com or ozzfest(dot)com 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: Did Ozzy really get punched in the nose for ripping bibles? A: Ozzy was angry at the protestors that gathered Sabbath wherever they went. Religious groups would follow the band and carry bibles and crosses. In the hotel rooms where the band stayed, were, of course bibles. Ozzy began ripping up bibles in a form of protesting back. Tony Iommi punched Ozzy in the nose for doing this. Q: Whatever happened to Ozz Records? A: Red Ant Records (www.red-ant.com) went out of business. Q: What is the name of the extra track on 'No Rest for the Wicked'? A: Hero. Q: Are there any old/rare (pre-Sabbath, pre-solo) 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. * "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, SATO, and 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). SATO - Sailing Across the Ocean. Note that I just found out the original record jacket says "Saturdays and Thursdays only", which are visiting days for asylums. Another reader said this: "Don't quote me on this, but it has always been my belief (and my friends) that S.A.T.O. is Ozzy's wife's initials (Sharon Ann Theresa Osbourne??? I may be wrong on the middle names... the song is supposedly about his finally finding "the one" - "Tried the rest, found the best..." SIN - Shadows In the Night Q: What is said at the end of Crazy Train? A: Ozzy was putting his voice through an oscillator and asked someone in the studio what he had had for breakfast. The person replied, "an egg". Ozzy asked, "What?", and the person replied, "an eggggggg". Q: Was Captain Kangaroo Ozzy's father? A: No. Q: Did Ozzy really sing the Bee-Gee'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: What is said in the beginning of "Bloodbath in Paradise"? A: "Your mother sells whelks in hull." 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: You are looking for a short videotape called "Ozzy Goes to Hollywood". [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 working-class, 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 motorcycles has had an enormous increase in fortunes these days and there are many new world-beating 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 mysteries 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 do 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 ($50-75,000) from Ozzy to get out of jail. Tony was put in jail for non-payment 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. Q: Why didn't Aimee appear on The Osbournes? A: Aimee wants to focus on her music career and not be caught up in the melodrama of a television reality show. Probably the smartest of the bunch who isn't trying to cash in on Ozzy's name. Q: What are these dance mixes from Madonna all about? A: They are not Madonna, someone just thought they knew who the woman was. They originated from Ontario, Canada by a friend named Colin M. Colin made these on his own and sent me a demo tape with about 8 songs. Only two Crazy Train mixes and a couple demos of My Little Man that I edited with Cool Edit were released When I saw how people were selling them on so called rarity cd's and putting them on Napster, I was not amused. Colin has trusted me with these and they remainder will not see the light of day unless he chooses to. Colin made them under Gyr-8 music. The singer is named Robin and hails from the Toronto area. Her voice can be heard on a few Chris Sheppard mixes. Q: Will Kelly (Ozzy's daughter) ever do a duet with her father? A: She's been asked this many times, an answer is still up in the air. Q: Did the Osbournes ever find their missing dog? A: Yes, Pippi was returned to them by a neighbour. Q: Are Kelly or Jack gay? A: Apparently not. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 3.7 Quotations --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- "In a weird way, Ozzy is a great anti-drug promotion. Look at him and how fried his brains are from taking drugs all those years and everyone will say, 'I don't want to be like that.'" [Dan Quayle] "When I was a kid, I'd get one gift. It was a smelly old sock with a few nuts in it, couple of pennies, an apple and an orange, and that was it." [Ozzy, invoking the spirit of Christmas past] "Happiness to me is getting stoned" [Ozzy] "I used to hate the sight of him, I couldn't stand him, and I used to beat him up whenever I saw him." [Tony on childhood with Ozzy] "I know I ain't going to fucking live to be an old man. I know that." [Ozzy] "I've come to the conclusion that people don't want to know the truth-that I'm a happily married man with three kids that I absolutely adore, and that what I do is entertain people. I am not f--king Dracula" 1989] "I'm an absolute perfectionist. I'm never happy with a finished album. There's always something I don't like." [1990] "If I had to start it all over again, the only thing I would change is I'd learn to read a contract better." [1992] "To be honest, I am a little bit crazy. I accept that. I've always been outrageous. I've never been the every day you. I've always gone over the top with everything" [Ozzy 1985] "Had he lived, I truly believe he'd have been one of the greatest guitar players that ever walked the earth. He was when he was here." [Ozzy on Randy] "You get one and you can't stop. It becomes an addiction." [Ozzy on tattoos] "I'm not the greatest singer in the world, but I do give people entertainment" [1986] "My mother said to me, 'Get a proper job. Quit this f--king around.' She still thinks it's a crazy f--king thing I'm doing" [1985] "Every year I hear, metal is dying. It's been dying since f--king 1978!" [Ozzy on the success of Ozzfest] "Musically they are completely uncompromising, and would rather starve than sell out to more commercial forms of music." [Vertigo Sab Promo] "My mother was an amateur singer, my father was an amateur drunk" [1985] "It's good fun and it's had great rewards. It's been such an eye opener for me. Everything that I have ever wanted to have has come from rock and roll. I've had happiness, I've had sadness. I've had everything. I've experienced life, death, birth, marriage, divorce, and it's been a whole bunch of fun. I wouldn't have it any different. I'd do it all again tomorrow." [1986] "I fell in love with Randy as a player and a person the instant I saw him. He had the best smile in the world. Randy was the best guy in the world to work with. There is no comparison between him and Tony Iommi, and I can only compare the two because they were the only guitar players I had ever worked with. I was attracted to Randy's angelic attitude towards the whole business. I didn't have to teach him anything; all that he was lacking was guidance. He listened to every word I spoke to him, and we had a great rapport together." [Ozzy on Randy] "I would hate my children to be the typical rock and roll brats. My father always taught me that if you haven't got anything else, the cheapest thing in the world is good manners." [1986] "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] "I'd rather do a club show to 1,000 people than a huge show to 10,000 people. It's just more fun when you can see who you're singing to." [Kelly Osbourne] "We've obviously got what the people want. It's aggressive music and I think America likes aggression." [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] --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 3.8 Fan Club Info --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- You may e-mail Ozzy's fan club at:WorldOfOzz@AOL.COM Updates are also available at www(dot)ozzy(dot)com. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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): ========== Black Sabbath - www.black-sabbath.com and www.blacksabbath.com Bill Ward - www.billward.com Tony Iommi - www.iommi.com Cozy Powell - www.cozypowell.com Ozzy www.ozzynet.com - ozzfest(dot)com - ozzbournes(dot)com - www.ozzydirect.com www.mtledge.com (Metal Edge) www.ubl.com (Ultimate Band List) Anti-Ozzy Page http://www.av1611.org/rock/ozzy.html ====== Lyrics ====== http://retone.webhostme.com (my page) www.lyrics.ch http://www.lyricsfreak.com/o/osbourne-ozzy/lyrics.htm http://www.ozzman.com/ozzlyrics.htm =========== Guitar Tabs =========== http://retone.webhostme.com (my page) http://hem.passagen.se/le24/tab.htm www.olga.net (Online Guitar Archive) ========== Live Music (Real Audio/Midi/WAVE/MP3) ========== www.hardradio.com www.liveconcerts.com www.rebelradio.com (Real Audio can be found at www.real.com) ============ Randy Rhoads ============ http://www.flash.net/~ulknatme/ http://www.rrclub.com/ http://www.kolumbus.fi/kari.tammilehto/Index.html ====== Kelly Osbourne ====== http://www.kellyosbourne.com http://4-kelly-osbourne.com http://www.kellyosbourne.org ====== Books ====== Ozzy has an autobiography called "Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman" (1990) 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. Black Sabbath by Chris Welch (1982) Black Sabbath : Wheels of Confusion (1997) by Steve Rosen Black Sabbath - The Ozzy Osbourne Years (Robert Conte) 2000 Ozzy Unauthorized - Sue Crawford 2002 hardcover Ozzy Knows Best - An unaithorized biography - Chris Nickson The Osbournes - Unf***ingauthorized - Reed Tucker 2002 paperback Ozzy "Talking" (Harry Shaw paperback 2002) The Osbournes - (David Katz & Michael Robin 2002 paperback) Diary of a Madman - Ozzy Osbourne - (Carol Clerk 2002) The Osbournes: Bleeped (Kord Miller 2002 paperback) There is also a biography out on Ozzy from Ballentine Biographies. The ISBN is 0-345-33240-7 and the Library of Congress catalog number is 86-91095. The first edition was from May 1986. Ozzy Osbourne by Garry Johnson (1985 paperback) Monsters of Metal:Ozzy Osbourne by Ethlie Vare (1986 paperback) ** See www(dot)amazon(dot)com for a wide selection ** --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 Oz-tradition they are humorous 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 plays a short part in Howard Stern's "Private Parts" movie, released in 1997. 2000 ---- Director Penelope Spheeris, producer of Decline of Western Civilization Parts 1, 2, and 3, and Wayne's World) took out a full crew on last year's tour to capture the Ozzfest. The people, the music, the excitement, the chaos. The feature length documentary is enhanced by the use of cutting-edge High Definition technology and a full Dolby Digital Surround Sound audio treatment. A special film tour is being planned for this year to take the film across the country, and, in addition to the feature presentation. 2000 ------ Ozzy appeared in Adam Sandler's "Little Nicky". 2001 ------ Ozzy appeared in "Adam Sandler Goes to Hell" and on the "Moulin Rouge" soundtrack. 2002 ----- Ozzy makes an appearance in "Austin Powers - Goldmember". --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 3.11 Where are they now? --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- AIMEE OSBOURNE moved out of the house and chooses not to participate in The Osbournes. She doesn't wish to be typecast or judged. Still nothing as far as a music album. Good luck to you :) KELLY OSBOURNE sang at the MTV 2002 Movie Awards. She continues to establish her music career. Sales of her album are doing well. JACK OSBOURNE says he doesn't ever plan on moving out from his parent's house. Jack scouts new talent for Epic records. 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, "When the Bow Breaks", released April 29, 1997. Shortly before the 1998 Ozzfest was to begin, Bill Ward suffered a heart attack while rehearsing. His latest album is titled "Beyond Aston" (his hometown) which is set for release in 2003. Bill has his own web site at www.BILLWARD.com 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. There is a website at www(dot)geezerbutler(dot)com which has yet to be opened. 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. Tony has a new web site at www(dot)iommi(dot)com. He released an album in October 2000 titled Iommi (CDPTY207). BLACK SABBATH was awarded a Grammy Award for their song "Iron Man" from the Reunion album. The ceremonies were held Feb. 23, 2000 in Los Angeles. Black Sabbath won the award for "Best Metal Performance", with Bill Ward picking up the award on behalf of the band. He had this to say, "I think it's totally cool," he said. "I didn't think that 31 years ago, I'd be standing up in a suit. I feel more like an accountant than the guy who plays drums in Black Sabbath." (www(dot)blacksabbath(dot)com) JIM SIMPSON won the lawsuit against Sabbath and their managers. He was awarded 35,000 pounds. He now manages the Birmingham Jazz Festival. He was asked to provide information for this FAQ, but has not responded. You can find him at www(dot)bigbearmusic(dot)com. RONNIE JAMES DIO (www(dot)ronniejamesdio(dot)com) will be releasing "Stand Up and Shout: The Dio Anthology" in 2003. His latest album is Killing The Dragon. 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" :). PHIL SOUSSAN (www(dot)philsoussan(dotcom) says he didn't like waiting around during the retirement of Ozzy (No More Tours) and quit the band. He is currently a house producer for Bronze Records and has produced a debut album for Jet 68. JAKE E LEE (www(dot)jakeelee(dot)com) went on to join Ray Gillen in Badlands for two albums (Badlands, 1989 and Voodoo Highway, 1991), until Ray's unfortunate death. For more information, visit the website. BRAD GILLIS (www(dot)bradgillis(dot)com) is still touring with Night Ranger and has a tour set for 2003. TOMMY ALDRIDGE, is going to be touring with Whitesnake again in 2003. He gave up touring for a while to concentrate on freelancing. He has a website at www(dot)tommyaldridge(dot)com. BOB DAISLEY still lives in London and is close friends with Ozzy and has been doing session work for studios around London. However in early 2000, he and drummer Lee Kerslake filed a $20 million suit against the Osbourne's. They claim they haven't been properly credited for their songwriting contributions and haven't been paid for the use of those songs on subsequent compilation albums. He has a website at www(dot)bobdaisley(dot)com. Bob is now living in Syndey, Australia. RUDY SARZO (Quiet Riot/ Whitesnake/Sun King) is back in Quiet Riot and still touring. SHARON OSBOURNE sucessfully completed chemotheraphy for her cancer. She remains Ozzy's wife and manager. Sharon may be getting her own talk from Telepictures Productions in Fall 2003. She states the three people she'd like to interview the most are Ben Affleck, Justin Timberlake, and Eminem. ZAKK WYLDE has his own website at www(dot)zakkwylde(dot)com and is still in Black Label Society. He is still touring and can be found at the same venues as Ozzy now and again. DON ARDEN still scouts for new talent and dreams of a comeback. His Jet records folded in 1986 due to legal bills accumulated in connection with the assaults and other illegal activities. --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 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 competent 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. With the addition of Ozzy's two daughters into the music scene, we can be sure that the name Osbourne will by synonymous with music for some time to come. We love you Ozzy! --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- 4.1 Credits --------------------------------------------------------------------- ----- The information from this file was gathered from various sources. If you are a hard-core 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 any one web page. I've noticed a lot of web pages had carried the same information I had found while researching. Information for this file was obtained from: => The Black Sabbath Story I VHS (Castle 38316-3) => Ozzy's official site => Chris Tetley Interview => Guitar World Magazine (Aug. 1988) => Rock-It'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 => Ozzy on various talk shows => Scott Cohen's "Ozzy Osbourne" article => AOL/Ticketmaster Interviews => The Story of Black Sabbath by Steve Rosen (ISBN 1-86074-149-5) => Articles by Brian Harrigan, Mick Houghton, Royston Eldridge => Metal Edge magazine => Ozzy interviews (audio and video) => Kelly Osbourne Website => Various Google information => My own personal knowledge

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