Throughout his post-Black Sabbath career, Osbourne has courted publicity, most famously in 1982 when he had to undergo treatment for rabies following an onstage incident when he bit off the head of a bat.

A live album that included Black Sabbath material, Speak To The Devil, was released later in 1982.

Predictably, neither retirement nor atonement sat too comfortably with the man, and by late 1994 he was announcing the imminent release of a new solo album, recorded in conjunction with Steve Vai. He also teamed up with Therapy? to sing lead vocals on the track "Iron Man" for the Black Sabbath tribute album, Black Nativity. Far less likely was his pairing with Miss Piggy of The Muppet Show on "Born To Be Wild", for a bizarre Muppets compilation album.

Osbourne's 1995 release Ozzmosis was one of the strongest of his career, and was a major commercial success.

At the end of the 90s Osbourne also rejoined the original line-up of Black Sabbath for a series of highly successful live shows.

He became a household figure the following year when his dysfunctional family life was featured on the MTV reality TV show, The Osbournes. This endearing 10-part series garnered some of the channel's highest viewing figures.

Osbourne is one hard-rocker who has tried every excess known and has survived. Amazingly, his work continues to sound inspired and exciting.