One of the pioneers of heavy metal and one of its most commercially successful and iconic artists, Ozzy Osbourne was born in Birmingham, England, as John Michael Osbourne.

After a long run of increasingly erratic drink and drug fuelled behaviour Ozzy Osbourne was finally sacked by his band members. It had been a difficult time musically for Black Sabbath, who'd been finding it hard to motivate themselves in the studio.

In July 2009, Osbourne parted ways with long-term guitarist Zakk Wylde, joking that his music was "beginning to sound like [Wylde's other band] Black Label Society". Wylde was replaced by Firewind guitarist Gus G, who was hired immediately after auditioning.