The show covered the aftermath of Osbourne’s quad bike crash at his UK home in 2003. His heart stopped beating and he also broke his collar bone, eight ribs and neck vertebra
Ozzy Osbourne riding a quad bike on his estate in Buckinghamshire in the 1980s. The hellraiser pushed his thrill seeking to the limits
The Daily Mail’s original reporting of Osbourne’s quad bike crash, which was witnessed by his children, noted how he nearly lost his arm
The infamous biting off the head of a bat came at the beginning of 1982, during a performance in Des Moines, Iowa.
A fan had thrown the dead creature on stage and Osbourne, believing it was fake, bit into it. He had to be treated with a series of painful rabies shots.
His troubles with alcohol and drugs reached crisis point in 1989, when Osbourne attempted to strangle Sharon.
He later said that Sharon would not just ‘sit down and take’ his physical abuse, but would ‘return it knock for knock’.
She agreed not to press charges after the strangling episode and the singer was released on the understanding that he entered rehabilitation for his addiction problems.
But it was from this dark episode that a turning point came in Osbourne’s chaotic life.
Sharon forgave her husband’s violent episodes and helped transform him from a pariah to a music legend.
This was despite his admissions to having cheated on her with Black Sabbath groupies.
One testament to her efforts was the creation of the annual Ozzfest festival in the 1990s, which proved hugely lucrative.
Sharon too came up with the idea for the fly-on-the-wall documentary about her family that was filmed at their Beverly Hills home.
It proved a major hit for US network MTV, running between 2002 and 2005. Aimee however refused to take part and criticised her parents for their antics, despite the fact that the show won an Emmy for Outstanding Reality Programme.
It covered major events including Sharon’s 2002 colon cancer diagnosis and Osbourne’s quad bike crash in 2003. Sharon survived the cancer battle despite a poor prognosis.
Osbourne admitted that he ‘fell apart’ during his wife’s treatment, whilst Jack tried to take his own life due to the impact of his mother’s condition on his mental health.
The quad bike crash happened at his UK home in Buckinghamshire. The star’s heart stopped beating and he also broke his collar bone, eight ribs and neck vertebra.
The sign of Sharon’s crucial influence came when Osbourne said later: ‘If it wasn’t for Sharon I’d be dead by now, without a doubt.
‘Career-wise, I would definitely be dead – and I would almost certainly have been physically dead as well.
‘She was the first person in my life who ever came along and gave me any encouragement.’
He added: ‘She made me grow up, and I just fell in love with her because she’s great. She sorted out all the business because, with business, I like to do as little as possible.’
Along with Iommi, Osbourne performed Paranoid – Black Sabbath’s most famous song – at the Queen’s Golden Jubilee concert at Buckingham Palace in 2002. Osbourne was shocked by the invitation to appear. ‘I hardly think of myself as royal material,’ he said. ‘My wife told me, and I thought ‘You’re pulling my leg.” Above: The star meeting The Queen during the event
Ozzy and Sharon are seen putting their love for each other on display at the Pride of Britain awards in 2017. The singer repeatedly said how his lifestyle would have killed him if it wasn’t for his wife’s help
Osbourne and Sharon turned themselves and their children into TV stars with their documentary The Osbournes. Above: The singer with Sharon and Kelly in 2020
Sharon has forged her own career as a TV star, most famously as a judge on hit talent show the X Factor. She now hosts chat show The Talk on Talk TV.
Osbourne rejoined Black Sabbath in 1997 after he and the band’s other members had performed together at Ozzfest that year.
Along with Iommi, Osbourne performed Paranoid – Black Sabbath’s most famous song – at the Queen’s Golden Jubliee concert at Buckingham Palace in 2002.
Osbourne was shocked by the invitation to appear. ‘I hardly think of myself as royal material,’ he said. ‘My wife told me, and I thought ‘You’re pulling my leg.”
In 2013, he helped to record the group’s final studio album, 13, which was released in 2013, after the band’s original line-up had gotten back together in 2011.
Their farewell tour – titled The End – was brought to a close with a performance in Birmingham in 2017.
Afterwards, Osbourne continued performing as a solo act, with his most recent album release, Ordinary Man, coming in February 2020.
However, his health problems continued to haunt him. He had to cancel shows in 2019 after a fall left him needing surgery on his neck.
Sharon is seen with her husband and daughter Kelly in Los Angeles in 2020. The singer was by then suffering from Parkinson’s disease
Black Sabbath’s solo tour – The End – saw them perform in locations across the world. Above: Osbourne with Butler, Iommi and Tommy Clufetos, who filled in for original drummer Ward
The band’s farewell tour – titled The End – was brought to a close with a performance in Birmingham in 2017. Above: The cover of the band’s last album, 13
After Black Sabbath carried out their final tour, Osbourne continued performing as a solo act, with his most recent album release, Ordinary Man, coming in February 2020. Above: The singer on stage at the American Music Awards in 2019
Osbourne is pictured eating an ice cream in hospital after his June 2022 operation, which his wife Sharon would ‘determine the rest of his life’
The frail star is pictured in May 2022 shortly before he went into hospital for his major back operation
He began to experience numbness which he thought was connected to his accident but in January 2020 Osbourne was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.
His son Jack, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2012, was one of the first to realise something was wrong.
The star underwent major spinal surgery in June 2022, which Sharon later said had been a success.
In an update on Instagram, she said: ‘Our family would like to express so much gratitude for the overwhelming amount of love and support leading up to Ozzy ‘s surgery!’
‘Ozzy is doing well and on the road to recovery! Your love means the world to him.’
To help him recover, the family lodged plans for a rehab wing at their Buckinghamshire mansion.
The extension was to feature a self-contained nurse’s flat as well as ‘discreet grab rails and aids’ and ‘an abundance of stopping and sitting spaces’.
The plans also included a ‘health and exercise studio’ as well as a ‘pool house orangery’ and ‘garden room’.
In September 2023, he had yet another operation, this time on his neck once again. He said afterwards that it was his ‘last procedure’.
Speaking on Piers Morgan Uncensored, he added: ‘I can’t believe I’ve come to the end of it. The main thing is over now, I’m done with the surgery.’
The conversation reflected an enduring interest in one of Britain’s most famous music stars.
Speaking in 1996 about what his epitaph might be, Osbourne summed up his life in just a few words.
‘The thing is, whatever else I do, my epitaph will be ‘Ozzy Osbourne, born December 3, 1948. Died, whenever. And he bit the head off a bat’.
