Later Years

Bark at the Moon would be Ozzy's next release. The title track is about a creature who has come back to seek revenge on those who scorned and buried him... In the video Ozzy is being confined to an asylum because he was a mad scientist. In the asylum he sees this werewolf running around chasing him. This song would later cause controversy, along with several others earlier released by 'The Mad Man'.

Ozzy's band now consisted of Jake E. Lee on guitar, Tommy Aldridge, Don Airey on keyboard, and Bob Daisley on bass.

When filming the video "So Tired" from Bark at the Moon, an error was made in the size of an explosive charge being used to shatter a mirror as Ozzy looks into it, and Ozzy had glass exploding into his face. Luckily, only minor injuries were incurred. He played the parts of all the main characters in the video, and used a full orchestra.

After the release of Bark at the Moon and it's tour, Ozzy began working on The Ultimate Sin album, which came out in 1986, being long awaited by Ozzy fans. Ozzy felt this album was one of the poorest he had put out, saying that most of the songs sounded alike, and many fans agreed with him.

On March 19th, 1987, Ozzy released the Randy Rhoad's Tribute album. Dolores, Rhoad's mother, had received dozens of letters from fans looking for more material from Rhoads. She contacted Ozzy, who came up with the material that ended up on the Tribute album.

Ozzy played only one show that year - at the Wormwood Scrubs Prison.

In 1988 Ozzy released 'No Rest for the Wicked'. It featured Zakk Wylde on guitar, who had his own band at the time, 'Pride and Glory'. Randy Castillo was on drums, and Bob Daisley on bass guitar. Wylde come to be with the band after he heard Ozzy on Howard Stern mention that he was looking for a new guitarist. Wylde didn't think he would have a chance of getting the position, but a rock photographer told him that he would be happy to pass along a tape of Wylde's music - and this resulted in the audition and of course, getting the job.

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.

The year 1991 was a year of major changes in Ozzy's life. He began a fresh battle with sobriety, and this time seemed to have a grip on his addictions. He admits that 'No More Tears' was the first album he had ever done sober, and the album has a totally different feel than anything he released previously. It is a combination of soft ballads, such as "Momma I'm Coming Home" to upbeat, hard rocking songs like "hellraiser". Many of the songs were co-written with Lemmy of Motorhead, "Mama I'm Coming Home" being entirely written by Lemmy. "Road to Nowhere" was an overview of Ozzy's life, while "Mr. Tinkertrain" discusses child molestation issues. Ozzy won a Grammy for the song "I Don't Want to Change the World", a testament to the higher quality of work that could be produced when the drugs and alcohol were taken out the the picture.

Ozzy worked had to become a healthier man, dieting and exercising. Once free of the bondage of drugs, he began to look at life differently, and this became apparent in his lifestyle and his music.

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.