Ozzy Osbourne's post-Sabbath solo career is the stuff of which urban legends are made: In 1981 he bit the head off a live dove during a meeting with Columbia Records executives; a few months later a concert-goer in Des Moines tossed what Osbourne assumed was a rubber bat onto the stage and discovered only after sinking his teeth into that it was the real thing; a year later he peed on the Alamo, incurring the wrath of San Antonio officials who banned him from the city. There have been fines and riots and several law suits (all unsuccessful) brought against Osbourne by parents alleging that his song "Suicide Solution" (actually a bitter-sweet remembrance of AC/DC frontman Bon Scott, who died of alcohol poisoning) inspired their teenagers to take their own lives.

Yet for all the lurid B-movie trappings of his solo career Osbourne has proven to be a man of discriminating taste when it comes to the music itself. His first two albums (Blizzard Of Ozz and Diary Of A Madman) went platinum largely on the strength of songwriting collaborations between Osbourne, guitarist Randy Rhoads and bassist Bob Daisley. For all the weighty rock elements (thundering rhythms and Rhoads' distinctive, scintillating guitar work) the songs are threaded with an impeccable pop sensibility. It was a winning combination that yielded a string of hard rock classics including "Crazy Train," "Goodbye To Romance," "Flying High Again" and "Over The Mountain." Then, in 1982 a tragic tour plane accident killed Rhoads along with other members of Osbourne's entourage, and it took some time for the singer to recover. Throughout most of the '80s Osbourne's substance abuse problems and the urban mythology surrounding him began to take their toll. The puffy, jump-suited specter of Elvis began to loom dangerously near and, even worse his albums began to exploit his unfortunate behavioral problems to cover for a lack of musical focus. With the exception of the Randy Rhoads tribute album, the mid-'80s were something of a wash-out. In 1986, however Osbourne went into rehab and cleaned up his act. 1988's No Rest For The Wicked found him getting back on track.

In 1996, as a celebration of all things Ozzy, the first Ozzfest was staged--a one-off festival that featured an impressive roster of metal magnates including Sepultura, Danzig and Slayer. Response to Ozzfest was so enthusiastic that organizers arranged for Ozzfest '97, which featured a much-anticipated Black Sabbath reunion.

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