Though many bands have succeeded in earning the hatred of parents and media worldwide throughout the past few decades, arguably only such acts as Alice Cooper, Judas Priest, and Marilyn Manson have tied the controversial record of Ozzy Osbourne. The former Black Sabbath frontman has been ridiculed over his career, mostly due to rumors denouncing him as a psychopath and Satanist. Despite his outlandish reputation, however, one cannot deny that Osbourne has had an immeasurable effect on heavy metal.

While he doesn't possess a great voice (it's thin and doesn't have much range), he makes up for it with his good ear and dramatic flair. As a showman, his instincts are nearly as impeccable; his live shows have been overwrought spectacles of gore and glitz that have endeared him to adolescents around the world. Indeed, Osbourne has managed to establish himself as an international superstar, capable of selling millions of records with each album and packing arenas across the globe, capturing new fans with each record.

John Michael Osbourne began his professional career in the late '60s, when he teamed up with guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward to form Black Sabbath. The band, made unique by their slow, gloomy melodies and themes, released their self-titled album in 1970 and went on to release classic platinum records such as Paranoid and Master of Reality throughout the rest of the decade. After the 1978 album Never Say Die, Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath, which led him to form his own solo project. With his new manager and wife, Sharon, Osbourne formed his own band, the Blizzard of Ozz, with guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Bob Daisley, and drummer Lee Kerslake. The group's self-titled first album was released in September 1980 in the U.K. and early 1981 in the U.S. Blizzard of Ozz had some of the same ingredients of Black Sabbath: the lyrics focused on the occult and the guitars were loud and heavy, yet the band was more technically proficient and capable of pulling off variations on standard metal formulas. Featuring the hit singles "Crazy Train" and "Mr. Crowley," Blizzard of Ozz reached number seven on the U.K. charts; it peaked at number 21 in the U.S., continuing to sell for over two years and becoming a huge success. Kerslake and Daisley were replaced with Tommy Aldridge and Rudy Sarzo shortly before the subsequent November release of Diary of a Madman. This album, which included the drug ode "Flying High Again," charted at number 16 in the U.S. and became another huge seller. As the Diary tour went underway, sales for the album continued to improve as those of Black Sabbath waned.

Osbourne had no trouble in attaining mass audiences, and his career seemed to have peaked. However, controversy soon erupted when he was accused of animal cruelty: during one performance, a bat was thrown on-stage by a fan and Osbourne bit its head off while supposedly thinking that it was fake. The show was canceled when he had to be rushed to the hospital for a rabies vaccination. Not long afterward, Rhoads was killed in a bizarre plane accident, bringing the band's success to a screeching halt. Osbourne fell into a massive depression shortly after losing his best friend, and plans for his upcoming live album were soon changed. Instead of material recorded with Rhoads, 1982's Speak of the Devil featured live recordings of classic Black Sabbath material and was recorded with guitarist Brad Gillis. Osbourne was freed from his contract with Jet Records and showed up drunk at an Epic Records meeting with two doves, one of which he freed and the other of which he killed in the same manner as the bat; Osbourne was signed to the label. Jake E. Lee became Osbourne's new guitarist for the 1984 studio effort Bark at the Moon. While it didn't match the consistency of Blizzard of Ozz or Diary of a Madman, the record was equally successful, pushing the singer to embark on a tour with glam metal stalwarts Mötley Crüe. Although Bark at the Moon opened up to rave reviews, 1986's Ultimate Sin received rather harsh criticism. The album, although containing the hit single "Shot in the Dark," was regarded as Osbourne's worst studio effort by numerous critics, who claimed it was redundant and uninteresting; nonetheless, the album was another smash hit.

Also in 1986, Osbourne was accused of encouraging suicide among listeners via use of subliminal messages in his Blizzard of Ozz song "Suicide Solution," a song that he claimed was written in relation to the effects of alcohol abuse. Although the case was eventually dismissed, Osbourne once again earned a feared reputation. He pulled up his profile in 1987 with Tribute, a live album recorded in 1981 that was dedicated to the memory of Randy Rhoads. Lee soon left the band and was replaced with Zakk Wylde for No Rest for the Wicked, which would be released in 1988. The record proved to be one of his strongest yet, highlighted by "Miracle Man," in which Osbourne ridiculed evangelist (and longtime foe) Jimmy Swaggart. Just Say Ozzy, a live EP taken from the subsequent tour, was released in 1990. After recording a new studio album in 1991, Osbourne found himself without the usual enthusiasm to perform, due to his increasing age and his desire to spend more time with his family. When No More Tears was released in the fall, it was confirmed that the following tour would be Osbourne's last before retirement. Following the tour, a live double album, Live & Loud, was released in 1993 to commemorate Osbourne's career, and it was now assumed that the singer's glory days were over.

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However, the retirement was not to be -- Osbourne resurfaced in 1995 with Ozzmosis, which, despite mixed reviews, sold three million copies within a year after its release. After the subsequent tour proved one of the best-selling of the summer, Osbourne created Ozzfest, a tour package that featured himself along with many other metal bands. While there were only two performances in 1996, a live album was nonetheless released, simply titled The Ozzfest. 1997's tour package included such metal acts as Pantera, Marilyn Manson, and a Black Sabbath reunion from which only Bill Ward was absent. With the exception of Sarah McLachlan's Lilith Fair, Ozzfest 1997 was the most successful tour of the year, and Osbourne released a compilation album, The Ozzman Cometh, in November. Shortly afterward, Osbourne united the entire original lineup of Black Sabbath to record the live album Reunion, which was released in 1998. He also found time to duet alongside rapper Busta Rhymes for a remake of the Sabbath classic "Iron Man," retitled "This Means War," which was included on Rhymes' 1998 release Extinction Level Event (The Final World Front).

Sabbath continued to tour well into 1999, as they again headlined the year's Ozzfest, which was billed as their supposed final tour. The same year, a grisly Ozzy action figure was shipped out to toy stores -- complete with tiny decapitated bats. Osbourne also finally began work on the follow-up to his lackluster 1995 solo release Ozzmosis, which saw him joined by returning guitarist Wylde, plus former Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin and former Suicidal Tendencies/Infectious Grooves bassist Robert Trujillo. 2001 was greeted with the news that not only was Black Sabbath reuniting once again for the summer's edition of Ozzfest, but that the quartet was going to enter the recording studio in the fall with producer Rick Rubin to work on the original lineup's first all-new album since 1978's Never Say Die. Unfortunately, Epic Records caught word of Osbourne's plans and stopped both a post-Ozzfest tour with Disturbed and the album itself until he finished his solo record. Ozzy fans were given the double-disc Ozzfest: Second Stage Live to tide them over in the meantime -- the collection included tracks from most of the bands that participated in the 2000 festival, as well as tracks from Ozzfest's inaugural 1996 lineup.

Finally, the new solo album Down to Earth appeared in the fall of 2001, followed by a few successful rock radio singles and a huge Christmas tour with co-headliner Rob Zombie. Meanwhile, inspired by an episode of MTV's Cribs starring his family, Osbourne and the network's producers took a chance on creating a reality show based around the infamous singer. Following his family around the house for several months at the end of 2001, the end result was The Osbournes, one of the most successful shows in the history of the network. The show, which was equal parts documentary and sitcom, reinvented Osbourne as a befuddled father with a razor-sharp wit and a loving family. It also proved to also be a critical success, and Osbourne found himself invited to a White House dinner to promote his animal protection activism, something that only came to light after an episode of the show dedicated to the family's numerous pets. A string of compilations followed Down to Earth, including 2005's Under Cover, a collection of cover songs. Ozzy returned to the studio the following year to begin work on a new studio album. The resulting Black Rain arrived in May 2007. ~ Barry Weber & Greg Prato, All Music Guide

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In the perfect world, Michael Monroe would have been one of the leading frontmen of the ‘80s glam metal movement -- leaving most of his unbearable contemporaries in the dust. Born Matti Fagerholm on June 17, 1960, in Helsinki, Finland, Monroe played saxophone with a variety of Finnish bands throughout the late ‘70s, before eventually switching to vocals, and helping co-form Hanoi Rocks in 1980. Preceding Motley Crue by several years, Hanoi Rocks was one of the first groups in several years to adopt the ‘glam' look (something that would become commonplace on L.A.'s Sunset Strip in only a few years) -- heavy on the make-up and hair spray, flashy outfits, etc. -- but unlike their future offspring, Hanoi Rocks' roots wasn't in heavy metal, but rather punk and garage rock (The Stooges, early Alice Cooper, New York Dolls, Dead Boys).

After some line up tweaking, the ‘classic' Hanoi Rocks line up was put in place, consisting of Monroe, guitarists Andy McCoy and Nasty Suicide, bassist Sam Yaffa, and drummer Nicholas ‘Razzle' Dingley. On the strength of several Euro-only, indie releases (1981's Bangkok Shocks, 1982's Self Destruction Blues and Oriental Beat, plus 1983's Back to Mystery City), and European tours (as well as visits to such exotic locales as Israel and Japan), a buzz began to build. Hanoi Rocks was signed to Columbia Records soon after, as U.S. success appeared to be just around the corner - especially after the release of 1984's Two Steps from the Move. Then came a much-publicized car accident that killed Dingley (behind the wheel was an inebriated Vince Neil) in December of 1984. Despite Monroe and company attempting to carry on with replacements, the promising Hanoi was laid to rest later the next year.

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Relocating to New York City, Monroe began to pick up the pieces and embarked on a solo career. Monroe's first solo release was 1987's Nights Are So Long (a Scandinavia/Japan only release), which was quite Dead Boys-influenced (Monroe had befriended Stiv Bators and covered one of his solo songs, while guitarist Jimmy Zero contributed a pair of songs). An appearance in the star-studded Sun City video followed, as did a worldwide solo deal with Polygram Records. An initial plan of reissuing Nights failed to pan out, resulting in 1989's Not Fakin' It being the first domestically issued solo Monroe release. The album would go on to become Monroe's most successful stateside release (the only one to appear on the Billboard charts), while all of Hanoi Rocks' albums were reissued on Guns N' Roses' short-lived Uzi Suicide label (Monroe also appeared on G n' R's Use Your Illusion releases and The Spaghetti Incident).

Many assumed that Monroe would obtain ever-elusive breakthrough success this second time around, but once more, it was not to be. A planned collaboration with ex-Billy Idol guitarist Steve Stevens failed to pan out, as it appeared that Monroe completely disappeared. This proved not to be the case, as he continued to issue lower-profile solo releases (1992's Jerusalem Slim, 1996's Peace of Mind, 1999's Life Gets You Dirty, 2002's Take Them and Break Them, and 2003's Whatcha Want. Monroe has also sporadically reunited with his ex-Hanoi bandmates, including Yaffa under the name Demolition 23 (1995's Demolition 23), and with McCoy as Hanoi Rocks, resulting in the 2002 release, Twelve Shots on the Rocks.

artistdirect.con

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Alice Cooper, born Vincent Damon Furnier on 4th February 1948, is an American rock singer and composer. With a career that has spanned more than 40 years, Alice Cooper’s shock rock has brought both infamy and success, with 50 million records sold worldwide and a reputation for Vaudeville-like horror stage shows.

"We brought theatrics to rock 'n' roll. We did it before Bowie, we did it before Kiss and before anybody,” Cooper has said in an interview. This shock factor even seems to extend to Alice Cooper’s personal life.  As one of the progenitors of heavy metal, and the first to introduce horror imagery to rock music, it’s something of a surprise to learn that Rolling Stone’s “World’s Most Beloved Entertainer” is a Christian golfer, actor, restaurateur and DJ.

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Alice Cooper was originally the name of Furnier’s band, with Furnier singing and playing the harmonica, supported by guitarists Glen Buxton and Michael Bruce, bassist Dennis Dunaway and drummer Neal Smith. The band was signed to Frank Zappa’s Straight Records in 1969, but commercial success took some time. Their first release, ‘Pretties For You’, floundered low in the charts, and ‘Easy Action’ didn’t do much better the year after. Having been signed to Straight for three albums, the next chance for Alice Cooper to make a successful record may well have been their last. Fortunately, success came.  Teaming up with producer Bob Ezrin, ‘Love It To Death’, as the album was called, was released in 1971 and reached #35 in the US charts after their earlier single, ‘I’m Eighteen’ had reached #21 in the Billboard Hot 100. In the summer of 1972, the single ‘School’s Out’ reached new heights, reaching top spot in the UK and a place in the top 10 of the US charts. ‘Billion Dollar Babies’, the band’s most commercially successful album, was released a year later, reaching the top spot in both the UK and US charts.

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In 1975, Furnier broke away from the rest of the band and used the pseudonym Alice Cooper to start his solo career. The concept album ‘Welcome to My Nightmare’ was his first solo release, reaching the top 10 in the US charts, and it was accompanied by a TV special, ‘The Nightmare’, which represents the first music video album ever made. However, Furnier’s alcoholism began to take its toll, and he booked himself into a sanitarium in 1977. In 1983, Furnier was hospitalized for his alcohol abuse, and he took a year-long career break. Between then and Furnier’s most recent release, 2008’s ‘Along Came A Spider’, Alice Cooper has enjoyed consistently good commercial successes and high acclaim for his musical innovation and often groundbreaking cross-media work, not to mention being commonly credited with the inspiration for more than one generation’s musical talents. 

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Born Vincent Damián Fumier, December 25, 1945 (one source says February 4, 1948), in Detroit, MI; son of a protestant minister; married, two children.

Began career during high school as member of the Earwigs; group relocated to Los Angeles, 1968, and changed name to the Spiders, then the Nazz, then Alice Cooper; released first two records on Frank Zappa's Straight Records label; signed to Warner Bros., 1971; launched solo career and released first solo album, Welcome to My Nightmare, 1975; moved to MCA records; moved to Epic Records, and released Trash, 1989. Appeared in films Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, 1978, Sextette, 1979, Roadie, 1980, Monster Dog, 1982, Decline of Western Civilization Part II, 1988, Wayne's World, 1992, and Nightmare on Elm Street Part VI, 1992.

Addresses: Home—Scottsdale, AZ. Record company—Epic Records, 51 West 52nd St., New York, NY 10019.

The release of Cooper's first solo album, 1975's Welcome To My Nightmare, was accompanied by a successful prime-time television special. The album contained an unlikely hit, the ballad "Only Women Bleed." Other cuts demonstrated Cooper's still-sharp penchant for theatrics, including the sinister "Black Widow"—which in concert featured human-sized spiders crawling across a giant web suspended across the stage—and the surreal "Escape," where in live performance Cooper was chased by a ten-foot-tall one-eyed monster.

In keeping with the punk/new-wave era of the late 1970s and early 1980s, Cooper in 1980 released Flush the Fashion. Flush is best remembered for the single "Clones (We Are All)"; its liberal use of the Moog synthesizer and monotone vocal style were both indicative of the popular "cold wave" style of the day. David Fricke of Rolling Stone reported that Flush the Fashion "wisely scrapped the flatulent vaudeville trappings and tragicomic pretensions of [Cooper's] late seventies work and reassumed the punk mantle he wore when the original Alice band was cutting a [Civil War Union] General Sherman-like swath."

Trash, Cooper's first release for Epic Records, started a tradition of extensive collaboration with other prominent artists. Steven Tyler of Aerosmith accompanied Cooper on "Hell Is Living Without You," a ballad co-written by Jon Bon Jovi and guitarist Richie Sambora, and "Poison," the smash single from the album, the video of which was broadcast regularly on MTV, featured the backing vocals of Bon Jovi. 1991 's Hey Stoopid! boasted a stellar studio lineup that included metal elder statesman Ozzy Osbourne, who sang, and Slash from Guns and Roses, who played guitar on the title track. Guitar aces Joe Satriani and Steve Vai lent dueling guitars to "Feed My Frankenstein," and Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars contributed licks to "Die For You." Hard Force magazine called Hey Stoopid! "the best since Welcome to My Nightmare, a vicious guitar record."

Promotion for Hey Stoopid! was characteristically spectacular. Cooper took to the streets, turning up in various public places to perform songs from the album and generally wreak havoc. Dubbing the September, 1991, tour the "Nightmare on Your Street," he performed at 8:45 in the morning in the parking lot of Los Angeles radio station KLOS, causing a standstill in rush-hour traffic. In New York City, Cooper tempted fate by playing in Times Square on Friday the 13th. Confused onlookers in Detroit were treated to a concert on the roof of the local Sound Warehouse record store, and in Towson, Maryland, Cooper held forth on the steps of the country courthouse.

Further promotion for Hey Stoopid! came in the form of a cameo role in director Penelope Spheeris's block-buster Wayne's World. In the film, Cooper performed the song "Feed My Frankenstein" and offered the star-struck protagonists an impromptu backstage lesson on the history of Milwaukee worthy of the best high school geography teacher. Commenting in Rolling Stone on the head-banging community-access television hosts portrayed in the film, Cooper said, "I like Wayne and Garth, I meet people like them all the time, they are my audience."

And because—or in spite—of his over-the-top image, Cooper's fans seem to be able to relate to Alice as well. Cooper has endured because he consistently plays the type of villain or monster that audiences can't help but cheer. By innovating a diabolic, yet charismatic, character back in the seventies, he has become a legendary figure in rock music. Melody Maker commented aptly on the universal appeal of Cooper's persona, allowing, "There has to be an Alice Cooper just like there has to be a Father Christmas.

Discography:

With the Alice Cooper band

Pretties for You, Straight, 1969.

Easy Action, Straight, 1970.

Love It to Death, Warner Bros., 1971.

Killer, Warner Bros., 1971.

School's Out, Warner Bros., 1972. 

Billion Dollar Babies, Warner Bros., 1973.

Muscle of Love, Warner Bros., 1974.

Alice Cooper's Greatest Hits, Warner Bros., 1974.

Solo Career

Welcome to My Nightmare, Atlantic, Anchor, ABC, 1975.

Alice Cooper Goes to Hell, Warner Bros., 1976.

Lace and Whiskey, Warner Bros., 1977.

From the Inside, Warner Bros., 1978.

Flush the Fashion, Warner Bros., 1980.

Special Forces, Warner Bros., 1981.

Zipper Catches Skin, Warner Bros., 1982.

DaDa, Warner Bros., 1983.

Constrictor, MCA, 1986.

Raise Your Fist and Yell, MCA, 1987.

Trash, Epic, 1989.

Hey Stoopid, Epic, 1991.

The Last Temptation, Epic, 1994.

Brutal Planet, Spitfire, 2000.

Dragontown, Spitfire, 2001.

The Eyes of Alice Cooper, Eagle, 2003.

Dirty Diamonds, Eagle Rock/Spitfire (UK), New West Records/RED/Sony BMG (US), Riot Distributors/Aztec Music (Australia), 2005.

Along Came a Spider, Streamhammer/SPV, 2008.

Welcome 2 My Nightmare, Bigger Picture, 2011.

Sources: Artistdirect.com; Barry C. Henssler

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The outrageous US heavy-rock band was formed in 1980 by Nikki Sixx (bass), Tommy Lee (drums) and Vince Neil (vocals). Mick Mars (guitar) was later added to the line-up. Their first single, ‘Stick To Your Guns’/’Toast Of The Town,’ was issued in 1981 on their own Leathur label, followed by their self-produced debut, ‘Too Fast For Love.’ The band signed to Elektra Records in 1982, and the album, was remixed and reissued that August.

The following year they recorded a new set, “Shout At The Devil’, with producer Tom Werman. He stayed at the helm for the two albums, which broke them to a much wider audience in the USA, ‘Theatre Of Pain’ (which sold more than two million copies) and 1987’s ‘Girls Girls Girls’.

The band topped the US charts in 1989 with ‘Dr. Feelgood’, which yielded two Top 10 singles with the title track and ‘Without You. The band has often been noted for their hard-living lifestyles; all members have had numerous brushes with the law, spent time in jail, suffered long addictions to alcohol and drugs, had countless escapades with women, and are heavily tattooed.

Vince Neil was sacked in 1992. His replacement for 1994’s self-titled album was John Corabi, although the band’s problems continued with a record label/management split and disastrous North America tour. Neil was working with the band again in autumn 1996, after Corabi was also sacked. Lee became the focus of much press attention as a result of his explosive marriage to actress Pamela Anderson, helping boost interest in ‘Generation Swine’. Lee eventually left the band in 1999 to concentrate on his new outfit, ‘Methods Of Mayhem’. Randy Castillo who debuted on the following year’s ‘New Tattoo’ replaced him.

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Acts such as Papa Roach, Linkin Park, Marilyn Mason, Nine Inch Nails, Moby, Slipknot, Belladonna, and Vains of Jenna have all cited them as an influence in recent years, most notably for “Too Fast For Love”and “Shout At The Devil”. Disturbed drummer Mike Wergner has also cited Tommy Lee as an influence to his drumming. They've also been parodied for their early look in music videos by a variety of artists such as Bowling for Soup, Beck, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Aerosmith and the Backstreet Boys. In 2005, Motley Crue involved in an animation-comedy spoof 'Disaster!' written by Paul Benson and Matt Sullivan and was used as the introduction film to concerts on their Carnival of Sins tour.

Mathew Jones

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