OZZY OSBOURNE On Track To Land Highest-Charting Solo Album In U.K. With ‘Ordinary Man’

BLABBERMOUTH.NET

Ozzy Osbourne is on track to land his highest-charting solo album in the United Kingdom ever with his latest effort, "Ordinary Man". Released on Friday (February 21), the LP is currently at No. 2 on the the U.K.'s midweek Official Albums Chart Update. Ozzy's previous highest-charting solo album in the U.K. was 1980's "Blizzard Of Ozz", which entered the survey at No. 7. Two other Osbourne LPs cracked the the Top 10: 2007's "Black Rain" and 1986's "The Ultimate Sin", both of which reached No. 8. Ozzy had topped the U.K. album chart twice with BLACK SABBATH: with 1970's "Paranoid" and the band's 2013 reunion LP, "13". The release of "Ordinary Man" was preceded by a trio of new Ozzy classics. Epic rocker and first single "Under The Graveyard" tallied over 15 million streams and 5.3 million YouTube views on the music video. Premiered just last month, the title track and cinematic ballad "Ordinary Man" (featuring Elton John) eclipsed seven million streams. Meanwhile, the metallic burner "Straight To Hell" (featuring Slash) scored 6.9 million streams and 4.2 million YouTube views on the music video. "Ordinary Man" marks Osbourne's first new solo music in almost 10 years. Recorded in Los Angeles, the album features producer Andrew Watt on guitars, Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES) on bass and Chad Smith (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS) on drums. Beyond the core band, "Ordinary Man" features a who's-who of Ozzy friends and collaborators, including Elton John, Slash, Post Malone and Tom Morello. "It was a lot of fun to do though it's a lot different from my other albums," Ozzy said. "We recorded it quickly, which I haven't done since the first BLACK SABBATH album. This made it a different process, which I actually enjoyed. "It all just came together," Ozzy explained of the guest stars. "Slash is a dear friend of mine, as is Elton. When I was writing 'Ordinary Man', it reminded me of an old Elton song and I said to Sharon, 'I wonder if he would sing on it?' We asked, and lo and behold, he agreed and sings and play piano on the song."