Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary “Prince of Darkness” and frontman of Black Sabbath, has died at the age of 76, just two weeks after his long-anticipated farewell tour came to a close. His family confirmed the news 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. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.
Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.”
For many fans, Osbourne seemed immortal, a man who truly would never die. He seemed, at times, an unstoppable force who had somehow survived decades of excess, controversy, and chronic health issues. But his death marks the final curtain for one of the most outrageous, influential, and unpredictable figures in rock history, and behind the scenes, one of television’s greatest dads.
Born John Michael Osbourne in Birmingham, England, Ozzy’s rise from a troubled working-class kid to international rock royalty was a journey of mythic proportions. He dropped out of school at 15 and worked odd jobs—including at a car factory and slaughterhouse—before forming the band that would make him famous. Osbourne co-founded Earth with guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, and drummer Bill Ward. They were accidentally booked under the wrong name one night—and so Black Sabbath was born.
Their 1970 debut Black Sabbath was panned by critics but became a Top 10 UK hit and a defining text for the heavy metal genre. Paranoid, featuring classics like “Iron Man” and “War Pigs,” followed that same year and cemented Sabbath’s place in music history, but Ozzy’s public persona became inseparable from chaos. He bit the head off a bat on stage in 1982 (it was already dead, but still), spent time in rehab and even jail, and in one now-infamous episode, attempted to strangle his wife Sharon during a drug-induced psychotic break.
Together with their children Jack, Kelly, and (an often unseen and blurred-out) Aimee, they became unlikely reality stars in MTV’s The Osbournes (2002–2005), a chaotic, hilarious, and deeply human portrait of family life behind the rock ‘n’ roll curtain. While their lives seemed wild and eccentric, Ozzy was the show’s breakout as the loveable dad who, despite his foul mouth, had the world’s biggest heart.
Ozzy’s Final Years
Despite a 2003 quad-bike accident, a Parkinson’s diagnosis in 2019, and a serious fall later that year, Osbourne refused to quit. In 2022, he released his final solo album Patient Number 9, featuring collaborations with Tony Iommi, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck, and Taylor Hawkins. The record won the Grammy for Best Rock Album in 2023. He also reunited with Black Sabbath for a performance at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony. “Sharon said to me: ‘They’ve asked you to close the Commonwealth Games,’ and I said: ‘Sharon, I can’t even fing stand up!’” he told The Independent. “Then I thought: I’ve only got to stand there with a fing microphone… So I said: ‘F*** it, Sharon!’ And you know what? It was great.”
Just two and a half weeks ago, Ozzy took to the stage one final time at Villa Park in Birmingham, where “the greatest heavy metal show ever” was put on to say farewell to the singer, performing for the first time in 20 years with Black Sabbath.
via Collider