[2.2] When and how did Randy Rhoads die?
[2.3] What is this about a dove?
[2.4] Wife as Manager/Speak of the Devil
[2.5] Suicide Solution
[2.6] Bark at the Moon
[2.7] The Ultimate Disaster
[2.8] No Rest for the Wicked
[2.9] No More Beers

2.2 When and how did Randy Rhoads die?

In 1981, Ozzy divorced his first wife, Thelma. They were separated soon after the day he came home (drunk) to find a bailiff at the door, and all of his belongings outside. He was told that if he stepped inside the house he would be arrested. Ozzy was not exactly what you would call a father figure. He would leave home for days, weeks, at a time and stay at friends places until they kicked him out. Rather than go through the divorce proceedings, Ozzy told her to just keep everything. By now Ozzy and Sharon had gotten to the point where they decided to get married. Sharon had been hoping this would also get Ozzy a better deal since her father was the one managing the recording and managerial contracts. On March 19th, 1982 Ozzy and his band were on their way to Orlando, FL from Knoxville, TN. The show was to feature Foreigner and UFO. Ozzy and Randy had been talking about their recent success. Randy mentioned wanting to leave to pursue a degree in classical guitar at UCLA. Ozzy has said that if Randy were still alive, it is doubtful that Randy would still be playing with him.] During the trip, they stopped to do some repairs on the tour bus at its base near Leesburg, Florida. The bus driver, Andrew Aycock invited some of the people for a ride in his Beechcraft Bonanza airplane (9-10 am). The bus driver took Don Airey and Jake Duncan (the tour manager) for a spin. Aycock had been involved in a previous accident in which a young boy was killed. When the plane landed, the driver went for another ride, this time with Randy and Ozzy's seamstress, Rachael Youngblood, 58. The pilot of the plane was presumably under the influence of cocaine (it was later found in drug tests). The pilot's ex-wife was standing outside the bus and it is assumed the pilot dove the plane into the bus in an attempt to kill her. Aycock circled the bus three times, and on the fourth pass, the plane clipped the tour bus and careened into a nearby house where it exploded. Ozzy ran into the house and pulled out a deaf man, who was unaware of the fire. Rachel and Randy were both killed in the crash. The fire destroyed the home, and adjacent garage. Ozzy's new solo career had come to a screeching halt. He would continue the tour in April with a quick shoe in of Bernie Torme. Bernie used to play guitar for Gillan (Ian Gillan, who would join Sabbath). Bernie would not stay with Ozzy long however. Bernie left Ozzy's band. The reason is not known for sure. Some people say he was not used to playing big gigs. What is known is that Bernie had a UK tour lined up for his 'Electric Gypsies' album. His departure from Ozzy was bound to happen. Brad Gillis left 'Night Ranger' to replace Torme for the remainder of the tour. Brad Gillis also appeared on the 'Speak of the Devil' LP. After the tour Ozzy would hire Jakey Lou Williams (Jake E. Lee) with whom he recorded 1984's 'Bark At The Moon' album. Gillis would later rejoin Night Ranger. Brad may have wanted to stay on with Ozzy but Oz didn't really think the two of them were compatible. On Feb. 19, 1982, while visiting San Antonio, Texas, Ozzy was again drunk after drinking a bottle of Courvoisier. Sharon decided to lock his clothes in the hotel room so that Ozzy would not go outside and cause trouble. To solve this problem, Ozzy dressed up in one of Sharon's evening gowns. While taking some photos of himself in drag, he had to urinate and did so on the historical Alamo building. The Alamo is the 1836 site of the legendary battle between the Texans and the Mexican army. Ozzy was arrested and charged with defiling a national monument and banned from playing in San Antonio any further. This would be another blow to his image that would haunt him to this day. The ban was eventually lifted. I received a piece of email from one of the officers who arrested Ozzy at the Alamo. Contrary to the dress we was supposed to be wearing, he says Ozzy was not in one. This is just one of the many contradictions in this FAQ. Until they can be proven, they will remain. Here is the e-mail I received (Thanks Sam): "I am one of the officers who arrested Ozzy at the Alamo and to set the record straight he was not wearing a womans clothes. He had on athletic shoes with no socks, a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants with no underwear. He also had a pack of cigarrettes rolled up in one sleeve. He was wasted and he never spoke. Billy actually arrested him and I was driving the "wagon" that day. The wagon is a van outfitted for prisoner transport. I was called to transport him from the Alamo to jail. The jail was then directly across from the S.A.P.D. and it now is the Wackenhut federal parole violator jail. I've kicked myself several times since then for not having kept copies of the reports. I know what he was wearing because I searched him for weapons and had very close contact with him. Half way to the jail, which was only about a mile away the dispatchers were already calling wanting to know who had him in custody. By the time I dropped him off there was a long black stretch limo waiting for him. You might note for your records he was actually given a big break. He was arrested and booked for public intoxication a class "C" misdemeanor which carries a max $200.00 fine. The law that more appropriately applied was "Desecration of a venerated Object" which covers among other things "Shrines." The Alamo is considered a shrine. You can post my info on your web page if you like. I think it would be cool to hear from fans to answer their questions. Check back later on the report. Send me the exact date again as I really do not remember and I'll try to get it for you. " Ozzy married his long time friend Sharon, on a Honolulu-Hawaii beach on July 4, 1982.

2.3What is this about a dove?

While the bat incident which still haunts Oz's reputation to this day can be called an accident, the incident with the dove can be called stupidity. Here is the story: After leaving Black Sabbath, Ozzy was rejected by many record labels. Tony Martell, CBS records executive, signed Ozzy to a contract. Ozzy and wife Sharon were being introduced to the head executives of CBS records in Los Angeles (Guitar Magazine claims it was New York). CBS was not too interested in Ozzy because they had just signed Adam Ant. Ozzy was just another album to them, and they were not interested in the person behind the music. Sharon decided it would be a good publicity stunt for Ozzy to walk into the office and throw two doves up into the air. The stunt worked, and made CBS pay attention to Ozzy. It also made the nation pay attention to Ozzy as well: After throwing one dove up in the air, Ozzy bit the head off of the other one. It is not known whether Sharon intended for Ozzy to actually bite the dove's head off or not. Ozzy has already admitted he (not surprisingly) had drunk a bottle of booze beforehand. Make no mistake about it, Sharon Osbourne is a shrewd marketer and I wouldn't put any dirty trick past her. What follows is an interview with an eyewitness (from Epic) who saw the event: Q: What happened? A: It was a normal Thursday morning marketing meeting down in the conference room. It was just prior to the release of Ozzy's first solo album. His management and Jet Records, which is the associated label that puts out his albums, had arranged for him to pay a little surprise visit to us, to say "Hi, my name is Ozzy Osbourne, and let's make this record a hit". Q: Is it unusual for the artist to come to a marketing meeting? A: No, they seldom do. We've had people from time to time just come in. Their manager arranges for them to drop by and say, "Surprise!" just to push the album. Q: Then what happened? A: He walked in with Sharon, who later became his wife, and [withheld] from Jet Records. They introduced Ozzy all around, and there was a photographer with them. They sat him down on the arm of a chair, and he pulled a dove out of his pocket. I looked at it and thought, "Gee how cute!" Q: It was a live dove? A: I'm ninety-nine and nine-tenths sure it was alive, but now I can't say for sure. I remember I was leaning forward and thinking, "How cute," and suddenly he bites its head off. There was blood on the floor. I think he ate the head; he started spitting some feathers out. I was in shock. It's hard to remember too much after that, to tell you the truth. It was horrible. Q: What was the reaction of the people in the room? A: There was a stunned silence, and they got him out of there, fast. It was just very quiet-not a good reaction, I would say. People were going, "Yucch!". Some looked as though they thought it was a fake bird, that it was all just a publicity stunt. And others said "No, it's a real bird and what a horrible thing to do." Personally, I thought it was an awful thing to do even if it was a fake bird. Sharon called up afterward and sort of apologized. Q: Do you think it was her idea all along? A: Oh, I know it was. I said to her, "He's not mad, just desperate for publicity." Q: Did it work? Did he get the publicity? A: I don't think it worked in getting Epic Records to take notice, but I think it did work as far as getting the kids to take notice. When the story leaked out, with photos and all, it got around everywhere. I'm sure Sharon was calling columns all over the country. That sort of became the Ozzy legend, that and all the other things he did afterwards. Q: Sharon said that Epic wasn't taking any notice of Ozzy before this happened. A: I feel that people were already aware of Ozzy, prior to the meeting. My impression was certainly that he was a major artist we were going to be working with. I doubt if it changed our impression one way or the other, although I could be wrong. Obviously, he went on to great success, and maybe that was part of the reason, but who am I to say? Q: So it was all definitely planned in advance? A: Definitely. It was not a spontaneous act. He just didn't walk in and happen to find a dove hanging out in the CBS reception area and say, "Gee, I'll take this in with me in case I get hungry and they don't have coffee and doughnuts." It was right in his jacket pocket. Come to think of it, he had two of them. That was it: he had two of them, one in each pocket. He let the other one go afterwards. Everyone made him do it. He took the other one out of his pocket and everyone screamed, "No, don't do it again!" Q: Did the second one fly away? That would indicate the first one was alive, wouldn't it? A: Not necessarily. He might have had one live one and one fake one. It's just all so hazy; I was so shocked.

2.4 Wife as manager/Speak of the Devil

"I am something of a madman. I can do nothing in moderation. If it's booze, I drink the place dry. If it's drugs, I take everything and then scrape the carpet for little crumbs. I took LSD everyday for years - I was spending about $1000 a week on drugs... I OD'd about a dozen times." ...Ozzy on his addictions Once married, the better deal they had hoped for fell through. Sharon did not want her father controlling Ozzy's future any more. It was decided that the two of them would buy out Ozzy's contract from her father. Before they could buy out Ozzy's management and recording contracts, Ozzy still had to deliver an album under his old contract. Since he wanted out badly, the result was the purposely low-budget live album "Speak of the Devil". This album was a live concert recorded Sept. 26 and 27th at The Ritz in New York. After the album was done, Ozzy could then leave his contract with Sharon's father. Don would not give it up so easily though, even for his own daughter. The newly married couple, not having much money, had to buy Ozzy's contract for over $1.5 million dollars from her father. Sharon has not spoken with her father since. Speak of the devil was released in November of 1982. The runes on the border of the 'Speak of the Devil' album and inside cover actually translate into meaningful phrases. The translation is found in Ozzy's autobiography book: "Howdy! Dial-A-Demon productions in conjunction with graveyard graphics proudly presents the madman of rock dumping into El Satanos toiletto. " "A tribute to Randy Rhoads, the axeman. That kid was my lifeline, you know? He was such a dynamic player and I'd rather not talk about it anymore because it cuts me up every day of my life. Randy Rhoads rest in peace and love." One of the conditions for the transfer of Ozzy's contract from Don to Sharon was that she get him to enroll in the Betty Ford center for his drinking problems. She did this by telling him she was "going to teach him to drink like a gentleman". Ozzy took this to mean that he would learn how to drink properly, not at all what the Betty Ford center was for. When he showed up, he asked where he could find the bar. It didn't take long to find out that at Betty Ford there is no bar! Ozzy would also begin work on his next album, Bark at the Moon.

2.5 Suicide Solution

"I swear on my kid's life I never said 'get the f***ing gun'" ...Ozzy on his Suicide Solution song "They know what they are putting out. There are people who are out there trying to make money, and they have no hesitation to sell your kids down the drain. You see a perfectly normal kid there who doesn't show any signs of depression at all. Then six hours later, he's dead. Nobody can explain it. The only thing we know is that he was listening to this music." ...Father of suicide victim who listened to Ozzy A song on Ozzy's first solo album, "Blizzard of Ozz" would cause a lot of trouble. The song "Suicide Solution" from the start, would have a very misleading title and this was understandable. Ozzy wrote the song after the singer for AC/DC (Bon Scott) died after drinking heavily one winter's night and passing out in his car, dying of hypothermia as a result. Ozzy's intentions were to talk about alcohol as a DEADLY LIQUID ('solution' meaning mixture) but the word 'solution' was looked upon as "an answer" instead. If you are not familiar with Ozzy's lyrics and true intentions, I strongly suggest before you pass judgement, to read the meaning behind the song. Suicide Solution: ================ Wine is fine But whiskey's quicker Suicide is slow with liquor Take a bottle drain your sorrows Then it cuts away tomorrows Evil thoughts and evil doings Cold, alone you hang in ruins Thought that you'd escape the reaper You can't escape the master keeper 'Cause you feel life's unreal and you're living a lie Such a shame who's to blame and you're wondering why Then you ask from your cask is there life after birth What you saw can mean hell on this earth Now you live inside a bottle The reaper's traveling at full throttle It's catching you but you don't see The reaper is you and the reaper is me Breaking laws, knocking doors But there's no one at home Made your bed, rest your head But you lie there and moan Where to hide, suicide is the only way out Don't you know what it's really about The song is clearly about the dangers of alcohol, but the song title could be misinterpreted just as well. Try as I might, I just can't see anything which tells a person to commit suicide. The only misleading words are in the song title. In October 1984, a nineteen-year-old teenager named John M. shot himself in the head, while listening to Ozzy Osbourne's "Suicide Solution". When the coroner entered the room, he found the headphones still on John's head. In 1986, Ozzy had just gotten off a plane at LAX airport when people began asking him about the "lawsuits". Ozzy knew nothing about any lawsuit but the details quickly emerged. Three lawsuits had been launched against Ozzy, claiming that his lyrics had caused youths to commit suicide. The family of John hired attorney Thomas Anderson in a lawsuit against Ozzy. Mr. Anderson claimed on the "Don't Blame Me" Ozzy video, that the song contained tones known as 'hemisync' and would cause a person to be unable to resist what was being said in the song. On Jan. 13, 1986 the parents of John, sued Ozzy. The lawsuit was thrown out on Dec. 19, 1986 by a California Superior Court judge. On July 18, 1988 an appeals court uphold the decision to dismiss the lawsuit. The Institute for Bio-Acoustics Research, Inc. (IBAR) was hired to evaluate the song. They found subliminal lyrics that weren't included in the lyrics sheet. These subliminal lyrics were sung at one and one-half times the normal rate of speech and are not recognized by a first time listener. The IBAR institute claimed the subliminal lyrics, "are audible enough that their meaning and true intent becomes clear after being listened to over and over again." The subliminal lyrics in question were "Why try, why try? Get the gun and try it! Shoot, Shoot, Shoot", followed by a hideous laughter. Further analysis by IBAR revealed the hemisync tones, which result from a patented process that uses sound waves to influence an individual's mental state. The tones have been found to increase the rate at which the human brain assimilates and processes information. IBAR claimed these tones made John vulnerable to the suggestive lyrics which Ozzy sang. Ozzy's lawyer claimed that this was nonsense and relied upon the First Amendment of the Constitution to argue that Ozzy could write about anything he wanted. Three people had now taken their lives, and in each case it was Ozzy's 'Suicide Solution' song which was the focus as the cause of the deaths. Mr. Anderson claimed that the words, "shoot shoot, get the gun, get the gun" were audible in the song. There is an effect which can be heard on the song, that could be interpreted as that. The sounds were just Ozzy dicking around with the soundboard. There is the very real possibility which we must consider, that the record company wanted to promote publicity and placed these tones in purposely, but this is not for me to prove or disprove. Throughout the world, this problem would occur only in America. People were forced to now take a look at the family life instead of the actual music. Rather than blaming the music, families should have realized it was up to the parents to be strong role models and have good communication with their children. In all cases, Ozzy was found not at fault and has sworn that this was never the true meaning behind the song. Heavy metal seems to be a scape goat in which to blame teenagers problems such as drug abuse on. Yet teenagers who may listen to punk, jazz, or blues music may also suffer from substance abuse or commit suicide. As a parent, you should be keeping not only a close eye on the type of music your child is listening to, but get involved in their lives. Talk to them, ask them how are they doing, try to forge some kind of a relationship. When kids turn to heavy metal, sometimes though not always, it is a form of rebelling against a society or education system they dislike. What follows is an article written by a group calling themselves "Truth About Rock": '' One teenager who unfortunately succeeded in committing suicide was 14 year old Eric A. of St. Louis Park, Minnesota. His favorite groups were Van Halen, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, AC/DC, Quiet Riot, and Motley Crue. Eric's mother said, "He watched it (MTV) day and night. He... watched intil(sic) six o'clock in the morning." Eric and his friends were so obsessed with the rock scene that, the very night before he died, they held a seance and attempted to contack(sic) the spirits of dead rock stars. At 2:30 the next afternoon, with his eyes filled with tears, he said to his father, "Dad, I just can't cope with the pressure." He then went into his room, took his .22 rifle off the wall rack, and killed himself. '' [Right here we have some problems. If a kid is spending all his time in front of the television, it might be a wise idea for the parents to intervene. If you just let him soak up videos all day, there may be a problem. Hosting a seance is also not a normal social activity for a teenager. Why did the father not talk to his son?] '' Apparently, he had followed the deranged advice of one of his favorite rock singers, Ozzy Osbourne, who preaches in "Suicide Solution", "Suicide is the only way out/...Why don't you kill yourself 'cause you can't escape the Master Reaper..." {3} '' [This is bullshit. Ozzy never says "Why don't you kill yourself". This is a prime example of a religious group portraying Ozzy as a menace to society. If you read the lyrics of his song you would see otherwise.] '' Though Ozzy preaches such deadly lyrics, he defends himself saying, "Parents have called me and said, 'When my son died of a drug over-dose, your record was on the turntable.' I can't help that. These people are freaking out anyway, and they need a vehicle for the freakouts." {4} '' [I am not a long hair rock freak. I live a conservative life and am neutral in my views towards the church and Ozzy. I am not under the devil's influence, though some religious person could easily claim so for my negative views, but from my perspective this religious group is trying to blame the actions of this 14 year old on Ozzy. Drug abuse may be higher among the 'headbanger' heavy metal crowd, but to shift the blame to the music itself seems to suggest the person is all too easily influenced by music. Shouldn't television and newspapers also be censored then?] I will leave the closing words to the remainder of the groups article: '' Pathetically, Rock Stars themselves are being caught in the devastating grasp of suicide. Peter Townshend, formerly of The Who, acknowledged, "Rock is going to kill me somehow. Mentally or physically or some thing, it's going to get me in the end." {5} I myself spent 6 months contemplating suicide every day. The influence of Drugs and Rock 'n' Roll had almost destroyed my life. Until, with a knife in my hand, after trying to cut my wrists, I cried out "God help me!" From that moment on He began to change my life, and a short while later I became a 'born again' Christian. Whether you like it or not, you are in a battle for your life. The Devil wants to destroy you and he is using Rock music as a primary agent. But God has not given you life, only to have it choked out by the demented obsessions of Rock musicians. There is only one solution to your problems. Begin to live for God and not for yourself. Because Jesus loves you, He came to Earth to give His life in your place, so that you wouldn't have to die for your own sins. If you give your life back to Him, He will give you the peace you're looking for. '' For more information on Rock n'Roll, write to: Truth About Rock, Box 9222, North St. Paul, MN. 55109 Note: Since there is a constant turnover of new Rock groups some of those mentioned above may not currently be "hot". However, be assured that other groups have taken their place and continue to present a similar message. FOOTNOTES: {1} National Center For Health Statistics {2} Aurora Mackey, "The Frightening Facts About Teen Suicide"< Teen, 10/83 {3} Truth About Rock Report, June/July '85, p. 6 {4} "Heavy Metal Mania", Anne Fadiman, Life magazine, 12/84, p.112 {5} Time magazine Dec. 17, 1979, pg. 94

2.6 Bark at the Moon

Ozzy's next album would be "Bark at the Moon". The title track is a song about a creature (werewolf) who has come back to seek revenge on those who scorned and buried him. The video portrays Ozzy being confined to an asylum because he was a mad scientist. In the asylum he sees this werewolf running around chasing him. This song, like his earlier songs would supposedly affect his listeners in negative ways, read on: "Rock Sparks Stabbing", Canadian Press Association: Halifax, Canada, 9/26/84 "...according to the Canadian Press Wire Service, the effect of heavy metal rock music so influenced a young Canadian named James Jollimore, that '...on New Year's Eve -1983, he went out and stabbed someone. A friend of the defendant testified that Jollimore, 20, who is charged with the first-degree murder of a 44 year old woman and her two sons, felt like stabbing people when he heard music such as Ozzy Osbourne's 'Bark at the Moon'. 'Jimmy said that every time he listened to the song he felt strange inside,' the friend told the court. 'He said when he heard it on New Year's Eve he went out and stabbed someone.'" [Once again the blame would be shifted from the individual to the musician.] Ozzy's band now consisted of Jake E. Lee on guitar, Tommy Aldridge, Don Airey on keyboard and Bob Daisley on bass. One of the videos they filmed for the album was the lovely ballad, "So Tired". This ballad made use of a full orchestra. An interesting note: Ozzy also plays the parts of all the main characters in the video. A good use of makeup art is evident. One scene shows Ozzy in front of a mirror clenching his fists, and the mirror shatters. While filming the video, the charge which would shatter the mirror was too strong and the mirror exploded sending glass into Ozzy's face.

2.7 The Ultimate Disaster

After the release of the 1984 Bark at the Moon album and subsequent tour, Ozzy began work on the long awaited Ultimate Sin album. The Ultimate Sin would come out in 1986, ending the long wait by his fans. It would also be one of the poorest amongst the opinions of Ozzy and his fans as well. The album's sound was cheesy and according to Ozzy, most of songs ended up sounding alike (which they do). On March 19/1987, due to overwhelming demand by his fans, Ozzy also released the Randy Rhoad's Tribute album. Randy's mother, Dolores had dozens of letters from fans wanting to know if there were any more Randy concerts out there. She then contacted Ozzy who searched through his house and came up with some old archive material. The material was sent to Max Norman who had produced Ozzy's first three albums, to see if the material was suitable. The result was the Randy Rhoad's Tribute album. Ozzy also played only one show that year, at the Wormwood Scrubs prison.

2.8 No Rest for the Wicked

The following year, in 1988, Ozzy released his 'No Rest for the Wicked' album. This featured Zakk Wylde (who had his own band 'Pride and Glory') on guitar, Randy Castillo on drums and Bob Daisley on bass guitar. The album title again was a bit eerie and the cover showed an Osbourne sitting in a chair with two girls (looking possessed) and one screaming at him. Zakk, who had heard Ozzy on Howard Stern mention that he was looking for a new guitar player, didn't think he had a chance. It was not until later when a rock photographer mentioned he would be happy to pass along a tape of Zakk's music, did he then get the audition and the subsequent part. On August 12 and 13th of 1989, Ozzy played the Moscow Music Peace Festival. This show featured acts like Bon Jovi, Scorpions and Motley Crue. The other bands were basically small club bands but of course Ozzy was a world-wide name and the crowd just went crazy when it was his turn to play. In March of 1990, Geezer would join Ozzy in releasing a live album titled "Just Say Ozzy". This would contain some of the No Rest for the Wicked and Black Sabbath material combined. Nothing to write home about.

2.9 No More Beers

"A lot of my drinking friends died in their 40's-heart attacks, one guy's liver exploded. There but for the grace of God go I. Their must be a guiding star over me" [Ozzy 1996] The year 1991 would mark the beginning of big changes in Ozzy's life. Ozzy gave sobriety another try, and came out victorious. It was a combination of domestic situations, hangovers, and many personal reasons which made him want to try again. He had wanted to quit drinking every day but was unable to because he'd be feeling too bad from the day before. He had been to many treatment centers (including multiple stays at Betty Ford) before. This time he just woke up one day and decided that enough was enough. Since successfully quitting, he has not had a drink to this day! Now that he wasn't drinking, Ozzy took his health one step further. He bought a Lifecycle (which he uses at least 90 minutes a day), starting dieting (he now avoids eating red meat) and working out. The result was a better looking Ozzy, both in physical aspects and his on stage performance. He would also begin to see life in a different light, enjoying life's moments that he had previously ignored because of being constantly drunk. There would be another change, this time in his musical direction. Ozzy has said he used to write songs based on what he thought his fans would like to hear. The album titles were dark. He had never written or recorded an album sober before. During this alcohol free period he recorded his next album, "No More Tears", which would be a change from his previous dark album titles. Heaven" which would be an accurate portrayal of the cover. The cover showed a tame looking Ozzy with wings, in a cloudy serene background. The music itself was a pleasant mix of soft ballads like "Mama I'm Coming Home" (one even your mother would enjoy), to hard rocking songs like "Hellraiser". It is of interest to note that Lemmy of Motorhead helped Ozzy write the lyrics to some of the songs (or in the case of Mama, he wrote all the lyrics). The song "Road to Nowhere" would describe his life in general, while "Mr. Tinkertrain" would talk about child molestation issues. Being written in the first person, critics now claimed Ozzy was promoting child molestation. He would also win a Grammy award for the song, "I Don't Want to Change the World". This would also be a first in that it was the first album they made demos of, thus deciding on which songs to keep and which ones to make changes to. Samples of the untouched, original songs are available on bootlegs as well. Ozzy surprised everyone by calling the tour, "No More Tours". In interviews he said that he was tired of touring and he wanted to spend more time with his family. He was also suffering bouts of illnesses, canceling shows, and other injuries. The pressures of touring got to him and he embarked on what was to be his "final tour". The band now consisted of Zakk on guitar, Randy Castillo on drums and Mike Inez on bass. During these final tours, some shows were taped and used in an upcoming commercial video and audio compilation, "Live and Loud" which was a double album. The CD package also included two stick-on tattoos. There was much speculation about whether or not this would be the final tour, or perhaps it was a ploy to get more money. On November 15 of 1992, Ozzy played at Costa Mesa, California. This was one of the two nightly shows that would be the last in his tour. Sharon and Ozzy decided it would be cool to invite the other members of Black Sabbath for a reunion since this would be the end of it all. All of the members of Black Sabbath agreed, but Ronnie Dio did not. After playing his songs, the members of Black Sabbath came out and joined Ozzy in playing four songs: Black Sabbath, Fairies Wear Boots, Iron Man and of course, Paranoid. The video release of this final show only contains the Black Sabbath song though. How did the audience react at seeing the original Sabbath members back together since 1978? They went totally crazy of course. At the end of the show a fireworks sparkler display went off which proclaimed, "I'll Be Back". The purpose of having a final show and then saying you'll be back is beyond me. Being his final tour, sales were high and other artists turned out to see the madman before he retired, including Vince Neil, Rod Stewart and Nicholas Cage. When it was all over, so was Ozzy's lifetime of performing.

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