Ozzy Osbourne's failed Maple Leaf Gardens recording session is just one of the wild Toronto stories about the late metal icon
Osbourne co-founded Black Sabbath in Birmingham, England in 1968; the band made its first Canadian appearance at the Beggars' Banquet Festival in Toronto three years later. Toronto Star reviewer Wilder Penfield may not have been impressed — he sniffed that the group's off-key singing was 'like a hangover from cheap wine' — but within a decade, Sabbath was one of the biggest bands in the world, buoyed by the success of albums like 'Black Sabbath,' 'Paranoid' and 'Masters Of Reality.'
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How ‘The Osbournes' changed reality TV
Sharon, Kelly, Jack and Ozzy Osbourne, shown here in 2004, were the stars of MTV's "The Osbournes." (Getty Images via CNN Newsource) Ozzy Osbourne was an architect of heavy metal music, but that's not the only medium in which he blazed a trail. The rocker, who died Tuesday at the age of 76, also helped shape reality television. An argument might even be made, for better or for worse, that Osbourne and his family gave rise to the Kardashians. The idea of celebrities doing reality shows was far from common in 2002, when MTV first launched 'The Osbournes.' Ozzy Osbourne's music career was no longer at its height as he and his wife, Sharon, opened the doors of their home to share to share their private life with their then-teen children, Jack and Kelly, as well as their beloved pets. Audiences fell in love with the family members, as funny as they were fascinating. It was quite a different version of Osbourne, who was known as the 'Prince of Darkness' for his stage performances, including the now infamous story of him biting the head off a bat. The series featured the British rocker as a domesticated dad who loved to totter around the house, often loudly yelling, 'Sharon!' There was also some serious moments. The show documented Sharon Osbourne's colon cancer diagnosis in 2002 and her husband's quad bike accident in 2004. It marked one of the first times an already established celebrity pulled back the curtain on their lives for a more intimate look. The series was so successful that other networks scrambled to replicate it. Within months, E! had debuted 'The Anna Nicole Show,' while MTV launched 'Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica,' featuring then-married singers Nick Lachey and Jessica Simpson. The next few years brought even more reality shows, including UPN's 'Britney and Kevin: Chaotic;' Blink-182 drummer Travis Barker and his then wife Shanna Moakler's 'Meet the Barkers' on MTV; wrestler Hulk Hogan and his family in 'Hogan Knows Best' on VH1; MTV's 'Run's House,' featuring Rev. Run of the rap group Run-DMC and his family; and Bravo's 'Being Bobby Brown' about the lives of married singers Bobby Brown and Whitney Houston, all of which launched in 2005. Eventually both the ratings and the Osbourne family's interest in sharing their lives waned. 'The level of success that TV show got us was too much,' Osbourne told NME in 2020. 'I had to bow out. I said to Sharon: 'I don't like the way it makes me feel, and I can't stand f**king cameramen in my house.' I'm not upset that I did it, but I wouldn't do it again,' he said. 'People were going: 'Aren't you worried about losing your fans?' I said: 'I'm not worried about losing my fans – I'm worried about losing my f**king mind.'' Following Osbourne's death, former MTV executive Van Toffler reflected on the musician's role as reality TV pioneer. 'The language! We had to bleep so much of the dialogue,' Toffler told Variety. 'That became such an integral part of it, the way we bleeped it, how often we bleeped it, and we weren't making it up.' 'It was so wrong, but unlike anything else that was on TV.'
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Remembering Ozzy Osbourne
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In his own words: Ozzy Osbourne on his legacy
Yesterday, Ozzy Osbourne passed away at age 76. The Black Sabbath frontman will be remembered for his music, his antics on stage and his family's reality television show, The Osbournes. In 2022, Tom Power sat down with the Prince of Darkness to discuss his new album at the time, Patient Number 9. They also spoke about his love for his wife, Sharon, how he survived his addictions to drugs and alcohol, and his legacy. Just three years before Osbourne's death, Power asked the rockstar: 100 years from now, which of his many songs does he want people to remember him by? "Ask me in about five albums from now," Osbourne replied. "You think you haven't made it yet?" Power asked. "No." "That's good. You're telling me that you still have a lot in the tank." "I still do." Sadly, we will never get those five more albums from Osbourne, whose last album was the one he spoke with Power about. Rest in peace, Ozzy. WATCH | Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train (Live) The full interview with Ozzy Osbourne is available on our podcast, Q with Tom Power. Listen and follow wherever you get your podcasts. Interview with Ozzy Osbourne produced by Mitch Pollock.
