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                       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     Note: This FAQ is seriously out of date. It is no longer maintained on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.

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                                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 passΘ
and as the beat
boom reached itÆs peak, attendance figures at ArdenÆs concerts revealed a
noticeable slump.
After losing approximately ú100,000 in a disastrous 10-week run, Arden
abandoned his fifties
rock ænÆ 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 æHouse Of The Rising SunÆ, 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. JeffreyÆs 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 HamburgÆs all-night Star Club and
emerged as one
of the most exciting groups of their day. Soon they were snapped up by
Decca.

ArdenÆs main contribution to the Nashville Teens was keeping them in work
constantly
throughout their career. In spite of the TeensÆ intense gigging schedule,
Arden occasionally
found difficulty releasing sufficient funds to cover their various expenses.
Ray Phillips
recalls how ArdenÆs severe budgeting frequently frustrated the group:

We had to go up and barter for the money. If we were owed a grand heÆd say,
æWould you
settle for ú600?Æ WeÆd be sitting in the office waiting for some money to
get to a gig.
HeÆd keep us waiting till the banks closed. æOh, IÆve got no money now. IÆve
got
some here - would you settle for that?Æ Little did you know, thatÆs it - you
were paid off.

Although the group grudgingly accepted the æbartering systemÆ as a method of
payment,
pianist John Hawken insisted on challenging ArdenÆs absolute authority.
Prior to a performance in Manchester, he arranged to collect ú120 from his
managerÆs
Carnaby Street office, but, upon arrival, he was handed a cheque for ú20.
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: æI have the strength of 10
men in these handsÆ.
Feeling the pressure of ArdenÆs 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:
æYouÆre going over, John, youÆre going overÆ. Fortunately, Hawken managed to
free
himself from his managerÆs grip and fled from his office in a distraught
state.
Suffice to say, Hawken learned the hard way that a manager of ArdenÆs
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:
æI got on well with Don Arden. I liked Don. But he couldnÆt manage a band.
He couldnÆt
inject ideas... He was into buying and selling rather than making. The Teens
needed
guidance and direction.Æ


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 boysÆ drug-taking habits.

Not suprisingly, the parents were up in arms and left ArdenÆs 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
DonÆs assistants, a certain æMad TomÆ. 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 ArdenÆs 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 StigwoodÆs 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: æDrop himÆ. 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 ArdenÆs
advice, as did many other figures in the pop world.

Although Arden had sold the FacesÆ agency contract for a reputed ú12,000,
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 ArdenÆs 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
ú4,023. 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 ArdenÆs tenacity and,
within a week,
their premature celebrations came to an abrupt end. On 16th October, ArdenÆs
solicitors,
 M.A. Jacobs & Sons, wrote to the Small FacesÆ legal advisers stating
 æ... 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 ú250 per month...Æ Of
course, this
meant that the group would not receive their full ú4,023. 7s. until as late
as January 1969.

Reluctantly, they accepted this instalment plan, but after proffering ú500,
Contemporary
Records suddenly ceased payment. The Small Faces were left with no option
but to petition
for the winding up of ArdenÆs 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 ú4,023. 7s. ArdenÆs 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 itÆs 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 æpromoterÆ to exploit the sales of his single,
investing ú250
in the process. æSunrise SunsetÆ, released on Decca, failed to chart, though
it is doubtful
 whether many people expected to see Arden on æTop Of The PopsÆ. 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 OldhamÆs 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, æGin
HouseÆ,
 æWorld Of Broken HeartsÆ, æBend Me Shape MeÆ and æHigh In The SkyÆ 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 groupÆs short career. Guns,
threats of
physical violence and even a proposed assassination were just some of the
happenings
during ArdenÆs 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. ArdenÆs reply was
characteristically
blunt and intimidating;

I warned him that committing suicide might be better than causing trouble
for me...
The story was that ú3000 had been put up to get me æfixedÆ. 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 ArdenÆs 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, ArdenÆs 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 itÆs logical extreme.

Of course, ArdenÆs 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 ArdenÆs 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 CornerÆs
contract for a
 profit of ú50,000.

The employment of minders and persuaders and the frequent disputes with
managers and
 artistes soon earned Don Arden the title æThe Al Capone Of PopÆ. 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 ArdenÆs 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 werenÆt tough enough to make it.... They wanted to become stars, but
just when we got
 them from ú10 to ú100 a night, they went to pieces. They seemed to forget
that nothing
comes easy, youÆve got to work for what you get. They had no staying power,
no patience
 and they wouldnÆt 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
mentorÆs 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 LondonÆs 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 fatherÆs personality traits and
was no stranger
 to the excesses of road life, which included loud parties, food fights and
hotel room
 demolishing. Her ærock ænÆ rollÆ 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:
 æIf Don thinks IÆm going back to Black Sabbath, he must be crazy!Æ 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 BBCÆs watchdog
programme æCheckpointÆ.
Roger CookÆs team made some damning comments on ArdenÆs business methods
which greatly upset
 the man. Faced by CookÆs 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 DonÆs sixties groups, the Nashville Teens, took
advantage of his plight
in order to promote a comeback single, æMidnightÆ, which they cheekily
dedicated to the man.
 Extending the ironic gesture still further, they embarked on a æBe nice to
Don ArdenÆ 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
 fatherÆs instructions to blackmail and imprison Harshad Patel, an
accountant who rose to
 power in the Jet organisation to become DonÆs 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 ArdenÆs 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
æbeaten upÆ and
 forced to sign a letter of credit for ú69,000. Evidently, Arden had not
bargained upon
 PatelÆs indignation and willingness to contact the police about the
incident. In the past,
DonÆs 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 ArdenÆs son, David, being sentenced to two
yearsÆ 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 sonÆs 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,
ArdenÆs
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: æIÆm
going to shoot youÆ.
The accountant was then dispossessed of several post-dated cheques and car
keys before
 being unceremoniously sacked. He claims Arden demanded æsubstantial
compensationÆ
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 ArdenÆs
 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 ArdenÆs accountants and persuaded to sign a bank draft for
ú69,132.37.
 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 ArdenÆs 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
accountantÆs grim scenario.

Eventually, Patel claims, he was released, bloodied and bruised, and warned
that he must
repay a further ú10,000 compensation to Arden within one month, Soon
afterwards, Patel
contacted solicitors and police intervention followed.

During the two-week trial, Arden strenuously denied PatelÆs allegations,
flew in several
 star witnesses from the States and focused considerable attention on a
separate civil
action concerning PatelÆs alleged fraudulency of Jet. On 19th November 1987,
a jury of
eight men and three women found Arden æNot GuiltyÆ 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 [e-mail]


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:[e-mail]

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