Born in 1948, John Michael ‘Ozzy’ Osbourne grew up in Aston, Birmingham.

He left school at 15 and did odd jobs including factory work before teaming up with school friend Geezer Butler in several bands.

Known to fans as “The Prince of Darkness” and the “Godfather
of Heavy Metal”, Osbourne rose to fame as Black Sabbath’s lead vocalist, pioneering heavy metal with albums like 1970 classic Paranoid.

He later went on to have a successful solo career with Blizzard of Ozz (1980), featuring hits like Crazy Train.

The singer also found a different kind of fame thanks to noughties MTV reality show The Osbournes, which followed his somewhat chaotic life in Los Angeles with wife Sharon and two of their children, Kelly and Jack.

During his career, Osbourne was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame and the US Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame – twice for both, with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist.

He also has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame – as well as in Birmingham’s Broad Street – an Ivor Novello, and five Grammy wins from 12 nominations. 

Plus, he received other honours such as the NME’s Godlike Genius award, and Classic Rock’s Living Legend prize, over the years.