BBC iPLAYER & ALL 4 THE NINE LIVES OF OZZY OSBOURNE

Rock’s ultimate survivor

Described by his own daughter as an ‘irresistible bad man’, John ‘Ozzy’ Osbourne (right) has a permanent place alongside Keith Richards in rock’s How Is He Still Alive? file. First shown at Christmas, this documentary tells how a cripplingly shy Brummie boy used drugs, alcohol and ultimately heavy metal to invent his batchomping rock persona. Now 72, Ozzy looks back on his colourful life, with contributions from former Black Sabbath bandmates and, of course, his wife Sharon – or as she was known to fans of TV’s The Osbournes, Shaaarrrooon! BBC iPlayer, available now

Viking £16.99 Nostalgic for the days of red-blooded political idealism? Then you’ll relish this rollicking historical novel, set in the American West in 1909. A colourful cast includes the radical socialist Elizabeth Gurley Flynn, two adventure-seeking brothers, a ruthless mining magnate and a vaudeville singer who performs with a cougar. Walter is a class act and, if the narrative structure is rickety in places, the fierce struggle for free speech and workers’ rights is genuinely stirring.