Ozzy - Tapa dura

John Michael 'Ozzy' Osbourne was born, on 3 December 1948, in the industrial city of Birmingham, England. He was one of six children in a poor working-class family. He has been an icon for over thirty years but, as John O'Reilly asked back in 1998, of what? 'Of metal fans for being the vocalist of Black Sabbath? Or is he an overblown rock casualty? [...] Or a successful cartoon figure created by his marketing-genius wife?' Or just a devil-worshipping, foul-mouthed, multi-millionaire? Most recently, Ozzy has been very popular with the American and British public as the star of The Osbournes, a fly-on-the-wall-docu-soap that has beaten all previous MTV viewing figures. Here, the 'tat-tooed, former booze-ridden, former drug-crazed sex god' is seen as the far from average husband, and father of teenage children. This is I Love Lucy meets The Simpsons by way of The Addams Family - and the world loves it! In this diverting, fast-paced read, Sue Crawford, a professional author and journalist, charts the extraordinary life and times of Ozzy Osbourne with huge affection and a wit to match the man himself. Hard-core fans will not be disappointed either. Ozzy is a true original, who has made the most of his opportunities and talents. We may be no less surprised and delighted than he is himself to find him alive and well in the new millennium. This fascinating biography is that rare thing; a genuine page-turner. With 32 pages of colour photographs, including a number of rare and unusual shots, and a full discography and chronology, Ozzy is a comprehensive, mind-blowing study of the past, present and, with its specially commissioned astrological chart, even the future of a true survivor and a true star.

Sue Crawford is a journalist who has written for Sunday People, Express, and Sunday Express, and is the author of Rags to Richie and Sharon Osbourne.