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01
His favorite band was The Beatles, who inspired him to become a musician when Beatlemania spread worldwide.
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02
Former neighbour of Pat Boone. Boone’s cover of Crazy Train was used as the theme for The Osbournes.
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03
Wife Sharon Osbourne is the daughter of his original manager, Don Arden. Arden dropped Osbourne, Sharon took over as his manager, and later married him.
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04
He discovered his dyslexia only as an adult, after being told for years that the reason he had trouble reading in school was because he was dumb.
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05
Before the success of The Osbournes in 2002, he was known by most people as the singer who bites heads off bats. This rumor traces back to one isolated incident. On January 20, 1982, at a concert in Des Moines, a bat wound up on stage, which had either been stuck in the rafters or thrown up there by a crazed fan. Osbourne bit it for a goof, thinking it was a rubber toy. He had to take a week of rabies shots. Despite a $25,000 donation later that year to the SPCA, the bat story grew to be an urban legend.
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06
Diagnosed with Parkinson’s Syndrome and had to take daily medication for the rest of his life to combat the involuntary shudders associated with the condition. May 2005.
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07
Claimed he slept with a bayonet under his bed.
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08
Attempted suicide on several occasions as a teenager.
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09
Arrested in September 1989 after attempting to strangle wife Sharon Osbourne while drunk. He awoke in jail the next day not knowing why he was there. He and Sharon reconciled in October 1990 after Ozzy endured extensive drug rehabilitation.
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10
He was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Recording at 6780 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California.
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11
His father’s death in 1977 led to several hospitalizations due to his depression.
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12
He didn’t have a driver’s license until he was 61. Prior to that, he had failed the driving test 19 times.
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13
His nickname Ozzy was actually a name that schoolmates taunted him with as a child and teen.
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14
Had two children from his first marriage to Thelma Mayfair: Jessica Osbourne born 1972 and Louis Osbourne born 1975. He also adopted his first wife’s son, Elliot Kingsley born 1966, from a previous marriage. His children with second wife Sharon Osbourne are Aimee Osbourne born 9-2-83, Kelly Osbourne born 10-27-84, and Jack Osbourne born 11-8-85.
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15
Every single one of his solo albums of original material has gone multi-platinum.
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16
Was sued in recent years by former bandmates Bob Daisley and Lee Kerslake for royalties on Blizzard of Ozz and Diary of a Madman. Ozzy retaliated by deleting their parts from the albums entirely and rerecording them with his then-current band.
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17
In 2007, was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Black Sabbath and honored at the VH1 Rock Honors as a solo artist.
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18
His song Suicide Solution created controversy when a fan committed suicide. The fan’s parents alleged that Ozzy was responsible and sued him. The suit was cleared completely.
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19
When he was a child, his family was so poor that there was no running water in their house.
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20
Daughter Aimee Osbourne opted out of appearing in the MTV reality show The Osbournes, but his and Sharon’s two other children, Kelly and Jack, agreed to take part.
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21
Reunited with Black Sabbath in 1985 for the Live Aid festival, and again in November of 1992 for the last night of Ozzy’s so-called final tour. After the success of this show, the idea of a new Black Sabbath record and full tour was proposed, but Ozzy decided not to sign. It wasn’t until December of 1997 that all four original members reunited again, to perform and record what would become the live album Reunion.
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22
He attended the births of children Jessica, Aimee and Kelly Osbourne, but not those of Louis and Jack.
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23
He didn’t answer to his birth name of John and wouldn’t respond to anyone who called him by it.
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24
He left school at fifteen and was employed as a construction site laborer, trainee plumber, apprentice toolmaker, car factory horn-tuner, and abattoir worker.
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25
His remake with daughter Kelly Osbourne of the Black Sabbath song Changes went straight to #1 in the UK when it was released a week after his quad-bike accident.
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26
Some of his many tattoos included the letters O-Z-Z-Y across his left knuckles, happy faces on both knees, THANKS on his right palm, a red hooded ghoul on his left chest, and a blue dragon on his right chest. The first two were self-made during a brief time in jail in the late 1960s.
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27
The 2009 Sunday Times List estimated his net worth at $147 million.
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28
Father of Kelly Osbourne, Jack Osbourne, and Aimee Osbourne by current wife Sharon Osbourne; and of Jessica Osbourne and Louis Osbourne by first wife Thelma Reilly.
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29
He was the fourth of six children to Lillian Unitt and John Thomas Osbourne. His brothers were Paul and Tony, and his sisters were Jean, Iris, and Gillian.
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30
He starred in the MTV reality show The Osbournes 2002, along with his wife and two of his children.
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31
Along with contemporary Alice Cooper, he was one of the first shock rockers.
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32
Black Sabbath’s name came from a 1963 film Black Sabbath starring Boris Karloff. Sabbath’s early songs reflected the same types of themes that were the centerpiece of those movies. Ozzy later named one of his solo albums Diary of a Madman, the title of a 1963 Vincent Price horror film.
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33
The cover of his 1982 live album Speak of the Devil was partially censored in some stores. The cover depicted a fanged Ozzy with blood actually raspberry jelly oozing from his mouth. The stores put a sticker over his mouth to obscure the blood. Once Ozzy discovered this, he demanded that the sticker be removed or he would have his record company pull the album from those stores. Not wanting to lose the album sales, the stores adhered to Ozzy’s wishes.
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34
Black Sabbath were inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame for their outstanding contribution to British music and integral part of British music culture on 16 November 2005.
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35
Much like the Hollywood Walk of Fame stars, he has a Walk of Stars star on Broad Street, Birmingham, England.
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36
He toured the U.S. with Black Sabbath for the annual summer concert series Ozzfest.
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37
Long said that Suicide Solution, a song about the dangers of alcoholism, was written as a tribute to former AC/DC vocalist Bon Scott who had died an alcohol-related death in 1980. However in 2002, the writer of the song, former bassist Bob Daisley, revealed that the song actually alluded to Ozzy himself.
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38
On Monday, December 8, 2003, he was seriously injured while riding his ATV quad bike on the grounds of his Buckinghamshire estate. The accident occurred while he was taking a day off from his hectic promotional schedule surrounding the UK release of Changes – a duet with his daughter Kelly. He broke his collarbone, six ribs and a vertebra in his neck. The injuries were not considered life-threatening, though he did undergo surgery.
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39
Threw a bucket of water on the audiences at his concerts.
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40
He had a vasectomy in 1986.
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41
Black Sabbath was voted the 85th Greatest Rock n Roll Artist of all time by Rolling Stone magazine.
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42
Formed a band called Law after leaving Black Sabbath in 1979. They played 2 gigs before he changed their name to the Blizzard of Oz.
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43
When he started out in music, the demand for rock singers in his hometown of Birmingham was so strong that anyone with their own microphone and PA amplifier could get a paying gig. Osbourne’s father paid for the equipment, to spare him having to work a menial job after his failures in school.
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44
He was the victim of a burglary at his Buckinghamshire home in November 2004. Almost ยฃ2 million worth of jewellery was stolen.
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45
In 2020 he revealed he had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease COPD.
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46
The song title S.A.T.O. from the Diary of a Madman album is actually his wife’s initials Sharon Arden Thelma Osbourne.
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47
On April 12th, 2002, he was honoured with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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48
Released his autobiography I Am Ozzy with Chris Ayres.
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49
Lived in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, England, and Los Angeles, California.
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50
With wife Sharon Osbourne, he announced that the family had agreed to a deal with MTV, worth a reported $20 million, to do two more seasons of The Osbournes, the highest rated show in the history of the channel.