About Ozzy

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne was born on december 3, 1948 in Aston, Birmingham, England.
He is the lead singer of the pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, a popular solo artist and reality television star. With his wife Sharon, he is also the organizer of the Ozzfest annual tour which began in 1996.

After leaving school and having many odd jobs he ended up in a band with Geezer Butler. This group then split leading Ozzy and Geezer to join Tony Iommi and Bill Ward in a new band that went under several names (including Earth) that ended up being called Black Sabbath after a song of the same name that appeared on their first album (released 1969/70).
He recorded several more albums with Sabbath despite the decline of his relationship with Tony Iommi, which after several break ups led to him leaving/being fired from the band in 1979.
After a short time he launched a solo career with a line up behind him that varied immensely from album to album and tour to tour.

During the 80's he was treated several times for alcoholism and was sued twice after that a fan committed suicide after listening to his song "Suicide Solution". The fan's parents alleged that Ozzy was responsible and sued him. The suit was cleared completely.

He has 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).

Before the success of "The Osbournes" (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 of its own, to the point where even numerous unrelated heavy metal bands were commonly accused of ritualistically killing live animals on stage.

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