By Jillian Locke

“People ask me how come I’m still alive, and I don’t know what to say. When I was growing up, if you’d have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one of us was gonna make it to the age of 60, which one of us would end up with five kids and four grandkids and houses in Buckinghamshire and Beverly Hills, I wouldn’t have put money on me, no f*cking way. But here I am: ready to tell my story, in my own words, for the first time.”

And thus begins the ultimate trip down memory lane, a trip that may or may not include the most definite and specific details, as the tale has come from the mind of a man who has used and abused every drug in the dictionary. That being said, John Michael Osbourne, aka Ozzy, provides distinct emotional clarity, wit, and recollections that paint a story of the raw, ruthless beginnings of one of rock’s most beloved icons.

Ozzy recounts his roots in Aston, England, a poor factory town where he and his family of six lived in a small house with no bathroom. It was here that the seeds of his determination to get the hell outta the barren wasteland of Aston were planted, to get out of a place he still refers back to whenever he can’t believe the house he lives in, the family he has, and the amount of money he continues to make.  “I grew up having to piss in a bucket ‘cos there was no indoor sh*tter, and now I have these computerized Japanese super-loo things that have heated seats that wash and blow-dry your arse at the touch of a button…It ain’t a bad life, put it that way.”

But it wasn’t all rock ‘n’ roll glitz and glamour that got him there. There were the overdoses. There were the deaths, like the tragic death of Randy Rhoads. There were the blackouts and the attempted murder of his wife, the [in]famous Sharon Osbourne. There were all these things, and yet, Ozzy still stands…sometimes not without assistance, but still…

You’ll laugh. You’ll cringe in disgust and disbelief. You’ll tear up and feel a one-on-one connection with Ozzy, his death-defying exploits, his survival, and his trip down the same addictive road over and over again. It’s a miracle he’s even alive to recount his tumultuous, glorious path to the top, and he doesn’t ever forget that. Not for a second. “As for me, I just want to spend the rest of my days being a rock ‘n’ roller….I’m so grateful that I’m me, that I’m here, that I can still enjoy the life I have.”

As for how the Prince of Darkness will be remembered, well, according to the man himself:

“As for what they’ll put on my headstone, I ain’t under any illusions.

Ozzy Osbourne
Died, whenever.
He bit the head off a bat.”

I Am Ozzy is available everywhere, but if you want to purchase your copy from the Prince of Darkness himself (well, kind of), head to ozzyosbourne.fanfire.com/cgi-bin/WebObjects/Store.woa/wa/artist?sourceCode=SNYOOS&categoryName=Books&artistName=Ozzy+Osbourne