Media365
Just days after his farewell concert in his home city of Birmingham, lead singer of heavy metal band, Black Sabbath, Ozzy Osbourne, has died in the UK at the age of 76.
Tributes and condolences poured in from across the globe for the legendary heavy metal singer, including from other members of Black Sabbath who posted a photo of Osbourne with the caption, “Ozzy forever”. Celebrities like Elton John, David Beckham and Rod Stewart also paid their respects to the singer.
Osbourne was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2019, and had been vocal about his struggle with the disease. He is survived by his wife, Sharon, and six children, three from each of his two marriages. He was surrounded by his family in his last moments, they said in a statement.
“It is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love,” they said.
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Osbourne had earned both fame – for his contribution to heavy metal – and infamy – for biting the head off a bat on stage, and his drug-induced lifestyle. Known to his fans as “The Prince of Darkness” and the “Godfather of Heavy Metal”, Osbourne later reintroduced himself as a more loveable reality TV star, albeit foul-mouthed.
He kicked off his career in the early 1970s as a singer with Black Sabbath, earning hits like “Paranoid”, “War Pigs”, and “Sabbath Bloody Sabbath”. Through the course of his career, he sold more than 100 million records worldwide from his songs with the band and as a solo singer.
Osbourne’s music reflected dark subjects – from depression to war to apocalypse, combined with a love for Halloween theatrics. His antics on stage included sprinkling his audience with raw meat and biting into a bat thrown on stage by a fan in 1982, after which he had to be rushed to hospital for a rabies shot.
When accused of being a ‘devil-worshipper’, he shut down critics and naysayers in his 2010 biography, saying, “I’ve done some bad things in my time. 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.”
His relationship with wife, Sharon, the daughter of Black Sabbath’s manager, Don Arden, was nothing short of tumultuous. Ozzy married her in 1982 after his first marriage to Thelma Riley ended, and after all the ups and downs, said famously to writer Bryan Appleyard: “If it wasn’t for Sharon, I’d be long dead.”
At his farewell concert earlier this month, Osbourne had received a video message from celebrity friend Dolly Parton, who told the metal singer: “I love you”.
“Are we supposed to be seeing farewell to you? Well, I don’t think that’s gonna happen. Why don’t we just say good luck, god bless you and we will see you somewhere down the road,” she said.
She added that she’s going to miss him on stage, but “I wouldn’t be surprised if you don’t show up somewhere else — and I’ll be there”.
American rock band Aerosmith, in his tribute, called Osbourne “our brother in rock”, and that he “changed music forever”.
Metallica also shared a post commemorating Osbourne, saying, “It’s impossible to put into words what Ozzy Osbourne has meant to Metallica.”
“Hero, icon, pioneer, inspiration, mentor, and, most of all, friend are a few that come to mind,” the band wrote on X. “Ozzy and Sharon believed in us and transformed our lives and careers.”
Nick Ruskell, an editor at rock magazine Kerrang!, said Osbourne seemed like “a figure who would live forever”.
Having attended Osbourne’s last concert this month, Ruskell said, “To think that this happened so close after that is just devastating”, and described the performance as “incredible” and “just magic”.
“He looked like he was really enjoying himself,” Ruskell added.
Asked what kind of legacy Osbourne will leave, Ruskell said, “it’s sort of on par almost with the Beatles in terms of popular music”.
“It’s that big, in terms of his influence and his legacy,” he says.
