North American syndicated rock radio show and website, InTheStudio: The Stories Behind History’s Greatest Rock Bands, hosts Ozzy Osbourne on the 35th anniversary of his best-selling solo debut, Blizzard Of Ozz.

Having been fired by Britain’s heavy metal pioneers Black Sabbath, by 1980 Ozzy Osbourne was, for all practical purposes, washed up. Ozzy found himself with low self esteem and a raging drug and alcohol problem. If not for the heroic actions of his then-manager and future wife Sharon Arden, Ozzy would never have been offered the chance to clean up his act and hold auditions for a new band, where he discovered a diminutive 25-year old guitarist, Randy Rhoads, who inspired Osbourne.

After waiting nearly six months for Blizzard Of Ozz to be released in the US, Ozzy’s “Crazy Train” nearly derailed his solo career with two of the most notorious incidents ever in rock history, including a shocking stunt in a record company conference room involving a live dove. Ozzy explains to InTheStudio host Redbeard what happened.

“So Sharon (manager) says to me, ‘We’ve got to make an impression.’ She says, ‘I want you to go into the board room, take these two doves, and throw them up in the air as a peace offering.’ So, I drank a bottle of booze in the morning and said, ‘I’ll make an impression’.” - Ozzy Osbourne

Nevertheless Osbourne would end up selling over four million copies in the US alone while helping to define the ‘80s pop-metal movement with classics “Crazy Train”, “Mr. Crowley”, “I Don’t Know” , and “Suicide Solution”. Additionally in this interview, Ozzy makes a passionate plea for anyone struggling with substance abuse to seek free help.

Listen to the program here.