Insane Facts About Ozzy Osbourne, the Prince of Darkness

By Stuart Wolf - Sep 1, 2025

This article appeared in housecultures.com and has been published here with permission.

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From humble beginnings in Birmingham, John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne became the original rock god. He and his band, Black Sabbath, virtually invented Heavy Metal, and he lived one of the most outrageous lives in rock history. From blackout binges to biting the heads off bats, from his TV show and health problems, and passing just days after his final performance, here's his shocking story — including some insane facts about Ozzy Osbourne, The Prince of Darkness.

Born Into Poverty

John Michael Osbourne was born on December 3rd, 1948, in Marston Green, Warwickshire, near Birmingham, England. His father, John Thomas "Jack" Osbourne, worked night shifts as a toolmaker at the General Electric Company while his mother, Lilian, worked at a Lucas factory.

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John picked up the nickname Ozzy at a young age. He and his three older sisters, Jean, Iris, and Gillian, and two younger brothers, Paul and Tony, grew up in a small two-bedroom house at 14 Lodge Road in Aston, which didn't even have running water.

The Beatles Inspired Him

Ozzy suffered the worst kind of bullying at school and tried to take his own life several times in his teens. Acting in school plays, like Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado and H.M.S. Pinafore helped a little, but when Ozzy was 14, he heard The Beatles' first hit 1962's "Love Me Do" and instantly fell in love with the Fab Four.

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When the four mop-haired musicians from up the M6 motorway in Liverpool released "She Loves You," Ozzy later called it his inspiration for starting a music career.

He Went to Jail in His Teens

Ozzy struggled with dyslexia and could barely read or write. He left school aged 15, and took jobs as a construction site laborer, trainee plumber, apprentice toolmaker, car factory horn tuner, and slaughterhouse worker.

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As so often happens, teenage Ozzy fell in with the wrong crowd, and when he was 17, he got caught stealing from a clothing store. Rather than pay his son's fine, his father let Ozzy spend six weeks in Winson Green Prison, Birmingham, which turned him into even more of a teenage rebel.

He Was a Rare Breed

In late 1967, bassist Geezer Butler recruited Ozzy to sing in his band, Rare Breed. They played two gigs before splitting up. Next, they started another band, Polka Tulk Blues, recruiting guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward. They called the new band Earth, but there was already a band with that name.

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In 1969, the foursome settled on the name Black Sabbath, named after a 1963 Italian horror film. They didn't know it yet — but Ozzy, Geezer, Tony, and Bill were about to invent a new genre of rock.