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John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne (1948–2025) was an English singer and songwriter from Birmingham, known as the original vocalist of Black Sabbath and for a solo career spanning more than four decades. With Sabbath, he helped establish heavy metal through albums such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), Master of Reality (1971) and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973). His distinctive voice and theatrical public persona made him one of the genre’s most recognisable figures, widely known as the “Prince of Darkness”.
Following his dismissal from Black Sabbath ...read more
John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne (1948–2025) was an English singer and songwriter from Birmingham, known as the original vocalist of Black Sabbath and for a solo career spanning more than four decades. With Sabbath, he helped establish heavy metal through albums such as Black Sabbath (1970), Paranoid (1970), Master of Reality (1971) and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973). His distinctive voice and theatrical public persona made him one of the genre’s most recognisable figures, widely known as the “Prince of Darkness”.
Following his dismissal from Black Sabbath in 1979, Osbourne began working with guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist and lyricist Bob Daisley, and drummer Lee Kerslake. This partnership produced Blizzard of Ozz (1980) and Diary of a Madman (1981), establishing his solo career with songs including Crazy Train, Mr. Crowley and Flying High Again. Rhoads’ guitar work became a defining feature of these recordings, while Daisley played an important role in their songwriting and lyrics.
Rhoads died in a plane crash in 1982, and Osbourne subsequently recorded with several other prominent guitarists. Jake E. Lee appeared on Bark at the Moon (1983) and The Ultimate Sin (1986), before Zakk Wylde began a lengthy association with Osbourne on No Rest for the Wicked (1988). Their collaboration continued through No More Tears (1991), which included Mama, I’m Coming Home, and Ozzmosis (1995). These changing partnerships helped shape the different periods of his solo catalogue.
Osbourne’s solo music combined heavy metal and hard rock with an emphasis on melody, prominent lead guitar, keyboards and power ballads. His recordings retained the dark imagery associated with his Sabbath years while reaching a broader audience through accessible songwriting. Related artists include Black Sabbath, Dio and Judas Priest, particularly within the traditional heavy metal side of his catalogue.
Together with his wife and manager Sharon, Osbourne launched Ozzfest in 1996, providing a major platform for established and emerging metal acts. The MTV series The Osbournes, which premiered in 2002, introduced him to another audience. He also returned to Black Sabbath, recording 13 (2013) with Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler. His career received two Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductions: with Sabbath in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024.
His final studio albums were Ordinary Man (2020) and Patient Number 9 (2022). On 5 July 2025, he gave his farewell performance at the Back to the Beginning benefit concert at Villa Park in Birmingham, performing both solo material and a final set with Black Sabbath’s original lineup. Osbourne died on 22 July 2025, aged 76. « hide |
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