In the 1980s, Ozzy Osbourne (December 3, 1948 – July 22, 2025) established a highly successful solo career after being fired from Black Sabbath, reinventing himself as an arena rock star known for both influential music and controversial, wild antics.
Fired from Black Sabbath in 1979 due to his severe drug and alcohol problems, Osbourne was in a bad place financially and mentally at the dawn of the decade. His future wife and manager, Sharon Arden (later Sharon Osbourne), took charge, helping him assemble a new backing band. This led to a major career renaissance that ultimately overshadowed his former band.
In 1980, he released his debut solo album, Blizzard of Ozz, which achieved multi-platinum status and featured hits like “Crazy Train” and “Mr. Crowley.” The album showcased his collaboration with the talented young guitarist Randy Rhoads, whose blend of classical influence and raw energy became a defining characteristic of Ozzy’s early solo work.
He quickly followed up with another successful album, Diary of a Madman (1981), before the tragic death of Rhoads in a 1982 plane crash. Throughout the decade, Osbourne released several more multi-platinum albums and became an MTV staple, bringing heavy metal into the arena rock era.
Ozzy became known for his extreme stage antics and offstage behavior, which garnered significant media attention and controversy. In 1982, during a show in Des Moines, Iowa, a fan threw a bat onto the stage. Believing it to be a rubber prop, Osbourne bit off its head, an infamous moment that required him to receive rabies shots. Also in 1982, in San Antonio, Texas, a drunken Osbourne was arrested for urinating on the Alamo Cenotaph, resulting in a 10-year ban from performing in the city.
His theatrics and lyrics led to accusations of promoting Satanism by the Christian right, and he was one of the rock stars targeted by the Parents Music Resource Center (PMRC). He continued to struggle significantly with drug and alcohol addiction throughout the decade, which often fueled his erratic behavior and led to professional and personal strife. He eventually sought help at the Betty Ford clinic.
In the 1980s, Ozzy Osbourne transformed from a washed-up former Black Sabbath singer into one of the most iconic and successful solo acts in heavy metal history, a “larger-than-life persona” that ensured his enduring legacy.
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