Ozzy Osbourne Chris Ayres Popular Books
Ozzy Osbourne Chris Ayres Biography & Facts
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English musician and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adopted the nickname "Prince of Darkness". Osbourne became a founding member of Black Sabbath in 1968, providing lead vocals from their self-titled debut album in 1970 to Never Say Die! in 1978. The band was highly influential in the development of heavy metal music, in particular their critically acclaimed releases Paranoid, Master of Reality, and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath in 1979 due to alcohol and drug problems. He then began a successful solo career with Blizzard of Ozz in 1980 and has released 13 studio albums, the first seven of which received multi-platinum certifications in the US. He has since reunited with Black Sabbath on several occasions. He rejoined in 1997 and helped record the group's final studio album, 13 (2013) before they embarked on a farewell tour that ended with a 2017 performance in their native Birmingham. His longevity and success have earned him the informal title of the "Godfather of Metal". Osbourne has sold over 100 million albums, including his solo work and Black Sabbath releases. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Black Sabbath in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024. He was also inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame both solo and with Black Sabbath in 2005. He has been honoured with stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and Birmingham Walk of Stars. At the 2014 MTV Europe Music Awards, he received the Global Icon Award. In 2015, he received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors. In the early 2000s, Osbourne became a reality television star when he appeared in the MTV reality show The Osbournes alongside his wife and manager Sharon and two of their children, Kelly and Jack. He co-stars with Jack and Kelly in the television series Ozzy & Jack's World Detour. Early life John Michael Osbourne was born at Maternity Hospital in Marston Green on 3 December 1948, and grew up in the Aston area of Birmingham. His mother, Lilian (née Unitt; 1916–2001), was a non-observant Catholic who worked at a Lucas factory. His father, John Thomas "Jack" Osbourne (1915–1977), worked night shifts as a toolmaker at the General Electric Company. Osbourne has three older sisters named Jean, Iris, and Gillian, and two younger brothers named Paul and Tony. The family lived in a small two-bedroom home at 14 Lodge Road in Aston. Osbourne gained the nickname "Ozzy" as a child. He dealt with dyslexia at school. His accent has been described as a "hesitant Brummie". At the age of 11, he suffered sexual abuse from school bullies. He claims to have attempted suicide multiple times as a teenager. Osbourne left school at the age of 15 and was employed as a construction site labourer, trainee plumber, apprentice toolmaker, car factory horn-tuner, and slaughterhouse worker. He dabbled in crime as a youngster and was convicted of robbing a clothes shop, but was unable to pay the fine; his father also refused to pay it in order to teach him a lesson, resulting in Osbourne spending six weeks in Winson Green Prison. He participated in school plays, including Gilbert and Sullivan's The Mikado and HMS Pinafore. Upon hearing the first hit single of the Beatles at age 14, he became a fan of the band and credited their 1963 song "She Loves You" with inspiring him to become a musician. In the 2011 documentary God Bless Ozzy Osbourne, he said that the Beatles made him realise that "[he] was going to be a rock star the rest of [his] life". Career Black Sabbath In late 1967, Geezer Butler formed his first band, Rare Breed, and recruited Osbourne to serve as its vocalist. The band played two shows, and then broke up. Osbourne and Butler reunited in another band, Polka Tulk Blues, which included guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward, whose band Mythology recently broke up. They renamed the band Earth. But after being accidentally booked for a show instead of a different band with the same name, they decided to change the band's name again, settling on the name Black Sabbath in August 1969. The band's name was inspired by the film of the same title. Black Sabbath noticed how people enjoyed being frightened during their appearances, which inspired their decision to play a heavy blues style of music laced with gloomy sounds and lyrics. While recording their first album, Butler read an occult book and woke up seeing a dark figure at the end of his bed. Butler told Osbourne about it, and together they wrote the lyrics to "Black Sabbath", their first song in a darker vein. The band's U.S. record label, Warner Bros. Records, invested only modestly in it, but Black Sabbath met with swift and enduring success. Built around Tony Iommi's guitar riffs, Geezer Butler's lyrics, Bill Ward's dark tempo drumbeats, and topped by Osbourne's eerie vocals, their debut album Black Sabbath and Paranoid were commercially successful and also gained considerable radio airplay. Osbourne recalls, however, that, "in those days, the band wasn't very popular with the women". At about this time, Osbourne first met his future wife, Sharon Arden. After the unexpected success of their first album, Black Sabbath were considering her father, Don Arden, as their new manager, and Sharon was at that time working as Don's receptionist. Osbourne admits he was attracted to her immediately but assumed that "she probably thought I was a lunatic". Osbourne later recalled that the best thing about eventually choosing Don Arden as manager was that he got to see Sharon regularly, though their relationship was strictly professional at that point. Just five months after the release of Paranoid, the band released Master of Reality. The album reached the top ten in both the United States and UK, and was certified gold in less than two months. In the 1980s, it received platinum certification and went Double Platinum in the early 21st century. Reviews of the album were unfavourable. Lester Bangs of Rolling Stone famously dismissed Master of Reality as "naïve, simplistic, repetitive, absolute doggerel", although the very same magazine would later place the album at number 298 on their 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list, compiled in 2003. In September 1972, Black Sabbath released Black Sabbath Vol. 4. Critics were dismissive of the album, but it reached gold status in less than a month and was the band's fourth consecutive album to sell over one million copies in the United States. In November 1973, Black Sabbath released the critically acclaimed Sabbath Bloody Sabbath. For the first time, the band received favourable reviews in the mainstream press. Gordon Fletcher of Rolling Stone called the album "an extraordinarily gripping affair" and "nothing less than a complete suc.... Discover the Ozzy Osbourne Chris Ayres popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Ozzy Osbourne Chris Ayres books.
Best Seller Ozzy Osbourne Chris Ayres Books of 2024
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How to Choose a Guy in 10 Days
Lila MonroeThe only thing more hilarious than the movies is… real life?! Fall in love with the sizzling grumpysunshine romantic comedy perfect for fans of Sophie Kinsella and Ali Hazlewood! ...
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The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan DoyleAn Apple Books Classic You get not one, not two, but 25 gripping mysteries in Arthur Conan Doyle’s first of five collections of Sherlock Holmes short stories. Follow the brilliant ...
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Always Yours
Claire RayeSome things are just meant to be... Ellen Somerville and Will McIntyre met by accident and under unusual circumstances. Getting sprayed by a skunk in a parking lot wouldn’t normall...
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The Holy Bible - King James Version
King JamesHoly Bible King James Version Few Sample Paragraphs from The Holy Bible eBook, Genesis (OT) 1 Gen. 1 IN the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 2 And the earth was with...
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Coffee Girl
Sophie SinclairMackenzie "Kiki" Forbes finds herself in a pickle. Either become her snarky sister's nanny, or move halfway across the country to work as assistanttothestylist of a ...
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The Art of War
Sun TzuAn Apple Books Classic edition. It’s believed that Sun Tzu wrote this Chinese military primer during the 5th century BChundreds of years before the Bible. The book’s 13 chapters ex...
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The Three Little Pigs
Mark LeskyClassic fairy tales, legends and folk stories in short version without violence retold with lovely illustrations in simple language. Perfect for reading aloud to small chi...
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Dark Psychology and Manipulation
Margaret MorrisonTHE MENTAL MANIPULATOR WILL NO LONGER KEEP SECRETS FROM YOU! Are you fed up with the wool being pulled over your eyes?Are you prepared to stand up to those who believe they can man...
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Assisting the Bosshole
Kristin MacQueenNo hot water? Check Missed the train? Check Broke my heel? Check Dropped my coffee? Check My first day of my new job can’t possibly go worse, right? Wrong. When I meet Parker Scott...
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A Green Kind of Witch
Sierra CrossCinderella crossed with Mean Girls.   That's what Hazel's daily existence feels like. Born to a family of elegant yet shallow Beige Witches, seventeen y...
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Hot Off the Press
Lexy Timms"This is what really happened… reported by a free press, for a free people…" Wes Shaw leads a secret double life. As the secret owner of a billion dollar newspap...
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The Scarlet Letter
Nathaniel HawthorneAn Apple Books Classic edition. Hester Prynne lives in infamy. After committing adultery and bearing a child with a man whose name she refuses to divulge, the heroine of Nathaniel ...
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The Icing on the Cake
Linda SeedShe’s a baker without a kitchen. He’s got a double oven to spare. It’s a recipe for success, until his mother starts stirring up trouble … Cassie Jordan has a sweet dream to open a...
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Awaken Me
Jenna JacobHe was more than a ghost haunting my dreams…he was real. By day, I’m Julianna Garrett …a prim, proper accountant. By night, I’m tormented by dreams of an alpha, ambereyed Adonis wh...
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The Cupcake Cottage
Jean OramNHL player Maverick Blades could fall in love with anyone... But he had to fall for a woman who falls under the Bro Code as untouchablehis best friend’s beautiful ex, DaisyMae Ray....
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Bewitching a Highlander
Roma CordonDefying all for the love of a bewitching lass. Breena MacRae, a healer from Skye with a touch of witchery in her blood, embarks on a dangerous search for her missing father. She ar...
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His Girl Next Door
Khardine GrayFrom USA Today Bestselling author Khardine Gray comes a sizzling hot single dad romance you won't want to miss. No strings attached fun with the ubergorgeous single d...
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Christmas in Sweetbriar Cove
Melody GraceCelebrate the holidays in Sweetbriar Cove with this festive romance collection, containing two sizzling smalltown holiday stories perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Sophie Kinsella...
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The Next Girl
Carla KovachIF YOU ONLY READ ONE BOOK THIS YEAR, MAKE IT THE NEXT GIRL... You thought he’d come to save you. You were wrong. ‘ Absolutely the best thriller I’ve read this year! ’ Goodreads Rev...
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Escape, A New Life
David J AntocciTo save herself, she had to lose everything. Trapped in a tropical paradise with no memory of how she got there, Abby is thrust into a fight for her life. Hunted by a madman, and c...
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You Are Kind
Michael GordonA little kindness goes a long way. How can you help encourage your kids to be kind from a young age? Teach kindness to preschoolers Acts of kindness can be fun, easy, and make a ...
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Dracula
Bram StokerAn Apple Books Classic edition. Few characters have seized readers’ imaginations quite like Count Dracula of Transylvania, the hero of Bram Stoker’s classic. The 1897 novel put vam...
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Get Lucky
Lila MonroeFall for the hot and hilarious romcom spin on 'The Hangover', perfect for fans of Tessa Bailey, Ali Hazelwood, and Emily Henry! What happens when you wake up in a hotel s...
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Teach Me
Cassandra DeanFrom awardwinning author Cassandra Dean comes a tale where lessons of pleasure between a curious, sunshine widow and a dissolute, grumpy earl leads to passion and allconsuming love...
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Noxious
Lexy TimmsStop setting yourself on fire to keep someone else warm. Brady and Levi have been together since high school, since before he became famous and started thinking only about himself....
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Pretty Little Lies
Ivy ThornFour years ago, Nicolo Marchetti took my innocence. But he left me with something else Nicolo almost took everything from me. My virginity, my reputation, and very nearly my future...
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The Stoic Mind
Addy Osmani & GoLimitlesssDiscover the timeless wisdom of Stoicism in a modern context with "The Stoic Mind," an enlightening visual guide by Addy Osmani and GoLimitlesss. This rich exploration co...
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Tempting the King
Jessa YorkAn escaped Mafia Queen, hiding from her past. A Mafia King who wants to claim her… Giselle They think I'm lostbut I know better. I can never be found. The path I've creat...
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Just Me
Lexy TimmsWe all need somewhere where we feel safe… After leaving her abusive husband, Katherine Marshall is out on her own for the first time. She's hopped from city to city to avoid t...
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Enemies With Benefits
Roxie NoirI don’t love him. I don’t even like him. I just want him. Eli Loveless was my nemesis from the first day of kindergarten until we graduated high school. Everything I did, he had to...
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The Great Gatsby
F. Scott FitzgeraldAn Apple Books Classics edition. The Roaring Twenties are in full effect in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s riveting classic. Manabouttown Jay Gatsby seems to have it all, including loads of...
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The Honeymoon Homicide
J. R. Mathis & Susan MathisEnjoy this SmallTown Murder Mystery Featuring A Unique Sleuthing Couple I'm Father Tom Greer, a Catholic Priest in a smalltown parish who never expected this . . . When I came...
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Hard Love
Peyton BanksHe was football royalty. Legendary quarterback. A champion.  Reiner Strickland had led his team to three national championships and playing a knight in shining armor was a...
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The Seduction Series Boxset
Roxy Sloane“Sensual, thrilling and wild!”   Discover the bestselling series in one collection: THE SEDUCTION, THE BARGAIN, and THE INVITATION. Perfect for fans of Ana Huang, Sierra S...
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Masters of Restraint
Ines JohnsonMy new boss is good at giving orders. But his latest demand is NSFW. Especially when his two business partners want in on our deal. My new boss My boss’s boss Their investor &#...
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Man In The Water
Jon HillAn attempted murder. A missing spouse. And an international conspiracy that could change the world. Jack Green has always been skeptical of socalled facts. Though he's forced ...
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Saltwater Cove
Amelia AddlerSecond chances...and the secrets that sabotage them. At 48 years old, Margie Clifton never expected to be starting her life all over again. But when her brother gifts her a propert...
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Nothing to Hide
Scarlett FinnPrize of a lifetime: travel the world with a celebrity billionaire. Come to LA with us, Roxie… It will be so much fun! We have tickets for a latenight talk show! What could possibl...
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Think and Grow Rich
Greg Habstritt & Napoleon HillThink and Grow Rich is one of the most popular success book of alltime, having sold more than 60 million copies since it was first published more than 70...
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The Four Loves
C. S. LewisThe Four Loves summarizes four kinds of human loveaffection, friendship, erotic love, and the love of God. Masterful without being magisterial, this book's wise, gentle, candi...
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Little Women
Louisa May AlcottAn Apple Books Classic edition. Meet the Marches! Louisa May Alcott’s classic introduces us to four unforgettable sisters: beautiful Meg, tomboyish Jo, delicate Beth, and Amy, the ...
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Law of Attraction
Jordan HollisHow to Finally Overcome the Hurdles of Manifesting Proven, effective and enjoyable ways to help you manifest faster… Right now, think of something that makes you successful. If you...
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The Odyssey
HomerAn Apple Books Classic edition. Homer’s eighthcentury epic poem is a companion to The Iliad . It tells the story of Odysseus, who journeys by ship for 10 years after the Trojan War...
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Eternal
W.J. MayShe will fight for what is hers. When the king is murdered, Katerina, his only daughter, must flee for her life. She finds herself on a strange and dangerous path. Alone for the fi...
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Salvation
Meghan O'FlynnIf you like mouthy detectives, serial killers, and suspenseful mysteries that don't quit, this chilling and actionpacked hardboiled detective series has you covered! Try this ...
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The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
L. Frank BaumAn Apple Books Classic edition. You’ve seen the iconic 1939 movie, but do you know about the talking field mice, the Winkies, and the Witch of the North that appear in the original...
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Silver Santa
Lacey SilksTrapped together on Christmas, their unintended onenight stand becomes a lifechanging encounter amidst the snow. Laura Young's professional role as a security guard at the Sil...
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Wuthering Heights
Emily BrontëAn Apple Books Classic edition. If you’ve only ever seen Wuthering Heights on screen, you may have an image of Catherine and Heathcliff as the ultimate starcrossed lovers. But that...
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Finding Cinderella
Colleen Hoover#1 New York Times bestselling author of It Starts with Us and It Ends With Us writes a free novella about the search for happily ever after. A chance encounter in the dark leads ei...
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Pride and Prejudice
Jane AustenAn Apple Books Classic edition. Jane Austen’s beloved classic opens with this witty and very memorable line: “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possessio...