OZZY OSBOURNE: U.K., Ireland Book-Signing Events Announced

Ozzy Osbourne's long-awaited memoir will be published in the U.K. on October 1. The book, titled "I Am Ozzy", was originally slated to arrive almost two years ago but was delayed twice.

Ozzy will do a week-long publicity tour in England and Ireland upon the book's publication which will include the following book-signing events:

*** Oct. 02 - HMV 150 Oxford Street, London, U.K. (6:00 - 8:00 p.m.)

*** Oct. 03 - Waterstone's Bluewater, West Village, Greenhithe, Kent, U.K. (1:00 -3.00 p.m.)

*** Oct. 08 - WHS, 29 Union Street, Birmingham, U.K. (4:30 - 6.30 p.m.)

*** Oct. 10 - Eason, 40 Lower O'Connell Street, Dublin, IRE (11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.)

*** Oct. 10 - Hughes & Hughes, St. Stephen's Green Shopping Centre, St. Stephen's Green, Dublin, IRE (3:00 - 5:00 p.m.)

Due to time constraints, access to the London event is limited. 300 wristbands will be available from the store on the day of the event from 9:00 a.m. on a first-come-first-served basis; one per customer only, no reservations.

"I Am Ozzy, The Autobiography" chronicles the star's humble beginnings in the U.K. to his current position as international music and TV celebrity.

In a statement, he revealed what fans can expect from the bio, explaining: "They've said some crazy things about me over the years. I mean, okay: 'He bit the head off a bat.' Yes. 'He bit the head off a dove.' Yes. But then you hear things like, 'Ozzy went to the show last night, but he wouldn't perform until he'd killed fifteen puppies…' Now me, kill fifteen puppies? I love puppies. I've got eighteen of the fucking things at home. I've killed a few cows in my time, mind you. And the chickens. I shot the chickens in my house that night.

"It haunts me, all this crazy stuff. Every day of my life has been an event. I took lethal combinations of booze and drugs for thirty fucking years. I survived a direct hit by a plane, suicidal overdoses, STDs. I've been accused of attempted murder. Then I almost died while riding over a bump on a quad bike at fucking two miles per hour.

"People ask me how come I'm still alive, and I don't know what to say. When I was growing up, if you'd have put me up against a wall with the other kids from my street and asked me which one of us was gonna make it to the age of 60, which one of us would end up with five kids and four grandkids and houses in Buckinghamshire and Beverly Hills, I wouldn't have put money on me, no fucking way. But here I am: ready to tell my story, in my own words, for the first time.

"A lot of it ain't gonna be pretty. I've done some bad things in my time. I've always been drawn to the dark side, me. But I ain't the devil. I'm just John Osbourne: a working class kid from Aston, who quit his job in the factory and went looking for a good time."

Publisher Antonia Hodgson called the book "fantastic," adding that it was "very much in the tone of his voice, very funny and a very full story."

Ozzy did a cover shoot for the book on June 17.

A U.S. publication date has yet to be announced.

Ozzy's wife and manager, Sharon Osbourne, published her own best-selling memoir in 2005, called "Extreme: My Autobiography". A second volume was rushed out in 2008 after Ozzy's book was delayed.

A documentary about Ozzy's life and career, called "Wreckage Of My Past", is due out in early 2010.

Newly sober, Ozzy has finally reached a point of clarity as he looks back on a lifetime of unresolved issues, unparalleled success, misdiagnosed diseases, severed ties, and a recurring dependency on drugs and alcohol. Due in theaters early 2010, this is a film about reconciling the past and looking toward the future.

Directed by Mike Piscitelli and written and produced by Jordan Tappis, "Wreckage Of My Past" will be the first release from Jacko Productions, a company started by Ozzy's son Jack.
Jack Osbourne is executive-producing "Wreckage Of My Past" along with his mother, Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy's longtime manager.

Jack and Sharon are financing the film themselves.

"Wreckage Of My Past" features interviews with all the principal members of BLACK SABBATH, the various incarnations of Ozzy's solo band, family and friends. But the trick, Jack says, is getting them to be truthful. "The hard thing is getting people to be honest and not have it be a fluff piece, because that's not what we're trying to do," he told RollingStone.com. "I'm trying to paint a realistic picture of who my father is. I think 'The Osbournes', to a degree, tarnished the public's perception of my dad as a bit of a senile, funny, bumbling guy. Yeah, my dad can be that guy, but it's not him. I think that almost discredited who he is as an artist. My dad's not an idiot — he's nothing short of a genius, in my opinion. He does have huge flaws, and we're trying to really paint an honest picture of that."

According to Variety, Jack Osbourne has filmed several of his father's concerts, is compiling early archive footage, and working on an interview with Ozzy's first wife. He'll put the footage together with Piscitelli and Tappis before talking to distributors.

"I want people to see John Osbourne as the guy I grew up with, the tormented, complex musician whose personal demons manifest themselves in so many crazy, unique ways," Osbourne said. "He's agreed to it but is putting up his guard, massively afraid of putting his true self out there on display for people to see."

A trailer for "Wreckage Of My Past" can be viewed below.

Ozzy is working on a new album that he expects to release next year.