Ozzy Osbourne

John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (3 December 1948 – 22 July 2025), nicknamed Prince of Darkness, was an English heavy metal singer, singing for Black Sabbath and on his own. He died in July 2025, seventeen days after his last concert at the age of 76.

Osbourne was born in Marston Green Hospital in Marston Green, England.^[3] He grew up in Aston, Birmingham, England. He had dyslexia.^[4] He was convicted of burglary when he was a teenager,^[4] for which he was fined. He was sent to prison for not paying the fine.

Osbourne was the lead singer for Black Sabbath between 1968 and 1978. He joined again in 1997 for occasional tours. Osbourne and Bob Daisley wrote a song called 'Suicide Solution', which was released on Blizzard of Ozz. It was heavily ridiculed claiming it was about suicide, which coincided with the words "shoot, shoot" whispered in the song.^[5] Osbourne was replaced by former Rainbow vocalist Ronnie James Dio in June 1979. However, Daisley states it's about Osbourne’s substance and alcohol abuse. He bit the head off of a bat on stage while on a solo tour in Des Moines, Iowa supporting the Bark at the Moon album beleiving the bat was fake and made of rubber.^[6]

Osbourne released his first solo album, Blizzard of Ozz in 1980.

On 5 July 2025, Osbourne performed his final show at the Back to the Beginning concert event, having announced earlier in the year that this would be his last live performance due to his health.^[7] The final show was a charity event with £140 million being raised for Parkinson's research and children's hospitals.^[8][9]

He and his wife Sharon had three children together: Aimee, Kelly and Jack. They became more famous when they appeared in a reality show called The Osbournes which followed their daily lives, it was made by MTV and ran between 2002 and 2005. He also has three children from his first marriage to Thelma Riley:^[10] Elliot, Jessica, and Louis.

Osbourne was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, which he publicly revealed in January 2020.^[11]

In 2020, Osbourne also revealed that he had chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and emphysema.^[12]

Osbourne died at the age of 76 on 22 July 2025 at a hospital after being taken from his home in Jordans, Buckinghamshire by air ambulance.^{[1][13][14][15]} The cause of death was a heart attack caused by Parkinson’s disease and coronary artery disease.^[16]

• Blizzard of Ozz (1980)
• Diary of a Madman (1981)
• Bark at the Moon (1983)
• The Ultimate Sin (1986)
• No Rest for the Wicked (1988)
• No More Tears (1991)
• Ozzmosis (1995)
• Down to Earth (2001)
• Under Cover (cover album, 2005)
• Black Rain (2007)
• Scream (2010)
• Ordinary Man (2020)
• Patient Number 9 (2022)

• Yakety Yak, Take it Back (1991) ... Himself

• The Official Ozzy Osbourne Website
• Ozzy Osbourne - Discography
• Metal Storm - Ozzy Osbourne - Discography