1979–1982

Ozzy Osbourne was fired from Black Sabbath on 27 April 1979, primarily due to his problems with alcohol and drug abuse. The vocalist subsequently rehearsed with a range of musicians in an attempt to form his own band, including guitarists Gary Moore of Thin Lizzy and George Lynch of Dokken, bassist Dana Strum, and drummers Dixie Lee of Lone Star and Dave Potts of Praying Mantis. By November 1979, he had settled on a supergroup lineup including former Quiet Riot guitarist Randy Rhoads, former Rainbow bassist and backing vocalist Bob Daisley, and former Uriah Heep drummer Lee Kerslake.The new band released their debut album Blizzard of Ozz in September 1980, which also featured keyboard contributions from Don Airey. For the album's promotional tour, this role was handled by Lindsay Bridgwater. After the recording of Diary of a Madman, on which Johnny Cook performed uncredited keyboards, both Daisley and Kerslake were fired; Osbourne has blamed the pair's dismissal on creative differences, while his wife Sharon has cited financial disputes.They were replaced by Rudy Sarzo (a former member of Quiet Riot with Rhoads) and Tommy Aldridge, respectively, who were both credited on the Diary of a Madman album sleeve, despite having not performed on it. After the end of the Blizzard of Ozz touring cycle, Diary of a Madman was released in November 1981.

1982–1992

For the first leg of the Speak of the Devil Tour in December 1982, Osbourne and his band performed with UFO bassist Pete Way. After Gillis left to return to Night Ranger, the position of guitarist was filled at the end of the year by Jake E. Lee, formerly of Ratt and Rough Cutt. George Lynch, who had previously auditioned for the band in 1979, was initially given the role by Osbourne, but was then immediately fired when Lee was brought in. Don Costa took over from Way for the remainder of the tour, before Bob Daisley returned in time to perform at the US Festival in May. After the recording of Bark at the Moon, Tommy Aldridge was replaced by Carmine Appice, although by early 1984 he had returned due to personal differences and tensions between Osbourne and the new drummer. By the time the Bark at the Moon Tour had finished in January 1985, Aldridge had decided to leave the band again, having not fully enjoyed the role since Rhoads's death.

Lee and Daisley commenced work on the next Ozzy Osbourne album The Ultimate Sin without the eponymous vocalist, who had been admitted to a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre. Drums were handled initially by Fred Coury and later Jimmy DeGrasso, however the sessions were later scrapped and both Daisley and DeGrasso left the group. By the time recording restarted in the summer, the group consisted of Osbourne, Lee, bassist Phil Soussan and former Lita Forddrummer Randy Castillo. Keyboards on the album were performed by Mike Moran. For the subsequent promotional tour, John Sinclair took over as the band's backup keyboardist.

1994–2003

Despite describing his retirement as "absolutely for real", Osbourne returned to his music career just two years later, claiming that "Retirement sucked. It wasn't too long before I started getting antsy and writing songs again." In the meantime, Inez had joined Alice in Chains and Wylde had formed Pride & Glory, meaning the singer had to recruit a new band – in 1994, he began rehearsing with Bob Daisley, former David Lee Roth and Whitesnake guitarist Steve Vai, and former Hardline drummer Deen Castronovo. This lineup fell apart early the next year, with Zakk Wylde and Geezer Butler brought in to replace Vai and Daisley on the Ozzmosis album.

Osbourne's first show after returning took place in Nottingham, England in June 1995 and featured former Testament guitarist Alex Skolnick as part of the lineup. However, a few weeks later, he was informed that he would not be joining the band. The role was instead given to Joe Holmes, another former David Lee Roth band member, who began rehearsing with the group in July. The Retirement Sucks Tour commenced in August with a string of South American shows as part of Monsters of Rock, after which Castronovo was fired due to differences with Osbourne, and replaced by the returning Randy Castillo. Another change in personnel came in January 1996, when Butler left the tour due to homesickness, with Osbourne enlisting former bassist Mike Inez to take his place for the rest of the shows.

2003–2019

Days after the announcement of Nicholson's addition to his band, Osbourne was injured in a quad bike crash and forced to cancel many of his 2004 tour dates. He returned for the Ozzfest tour in the summer. The shows also featured the debut of new keyboardist and rhythm guitarist Adam Wakeman, who had initially been asked to join the previous year before Osbourne's accident. Around the same time, the vocalist recorded Under Cover, an album of cover versions, with Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell, former Cult bassist Chris Wyse and regular drummer Mike Bordin. The regular lineup remained for Black Rain, which was released in 2007. In July 2009, Osbourne parted ways with long-term guitarist Zakk Wylde, joking that his music was "beginning to sound like [Wylde's other band] Black Label Society". Wylde was replaced by Firewind guitarist Gus G, who was hired immediately after auditioning.

2020–2025, Death of Osbourne

After 2020's Ordinary Man Osbourne no longer used his touring band for recording sessions instead opting for an array of session and guest musicians. Ordinary Man featured 0 contributions from his touring band while Patient Number 9 featured minimal contributions from Zakk Wylde on some tracks and none from Nicholson, Wakeman and Clufetos.

Osbourne played two shows, one at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, alongside Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, Adam Wakeman (on bass) and Tommy Clufetos (on drums), and again at the 2022 NFL Halftime Performance, alongside Wylde, Clufetos, bassist Chris Chaney and producer Andrew Watt. In July 2025, Osbourne played a solo set at the Back to the Beginning concert, backed by Wylde, Wakeman, Clufetos and former bassist Mike Inez.

Osbourne played what ultimately became his final show, billed as "Back to the Beginning", alongside the original line-up of Black Sabbath, at Villa Park in Birmingham on 5 July 2025. Also performing a set of his solo work with his touring band. Having been rendered unable to stand from Parkinson's disease, Osbourne performed seated on a black throne.

Osbourne died at his home in Buckinghamshire on the morning of 22 July 2025, aged 76, concluding his solo career.