Tributes pour in for Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne

Straits Times

24-07-2025

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A memorial plaque sits amid flowers in front of a mural of Ozzy Osbourne on Navigation Street.
LONDON – Tributes poured in on July 23 for heavy metal hell-raiser Ozzy Osbourne. His Black Sabbath bandmates mourned the death of their legendary frontman and tearful fans laid flowers in his home town Birmingham, just weeks after he played an epic reunion concert there.
Osbourne, nicknamed the 'Prince of Darkness' who once bit a bat while on stage,
died on July 22 at the age of 76, his family said.
The heavy metal star, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, passed away just over two weeks after playing the final gig before a sold-out crowd in Birmingham, central England.
Fans there laid flowers in memory of the singer at a mural honouring the band.
'There are no words, truly. Thank you for everything, for all the music,' read one.
'Even recently at your last gig you brought us so much happiness, it's unreal,' said another.
Nigel O'Connell, 63, visiting the mural with his grandson, told AFP he was saddened to hear of his death but not surprised 'because he lived his life in rock and roll'.
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'Ozzy was just a bit of an icon of the city – he was a bit of a fool, but everybody loved him,' he said, adding that he had 'done the city proud'.
Original bandmates guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler and drummer Bill Ward led the tributes to one of the city's most famous sons.
A woman places flowers in front of a mural of Ozzy Osbourne on Navigation Street, following the death of Ozzy Osbourne.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Co-founder Iommi said his death so soon after the well-received musical reunion -– their first in 20 years – had been a 'terrible shock'.
The concert had been 'brilliant for Ozzy' because he felt at home in Birmingham, he told BBC radio.
'It was good for all of us... we didn't realise it was going to be this final,' he added.
Big names who paid tribute included Rod Stewart, Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood and Elton John, who called him a true legend.
US rocker Alice Cooper hailed 'an unmatched showman and cultural icon'.
Osbourne was instrumental in pioneering heavy metal – an offshoot of hard rock – as Black Sabbath enjoyed huge commercial success in the 1970s and 80s after forming in Birmingham in 1968.
Black Sabbath's eponymous 1970 debut album made the UK top 10 and paved the way for a string of hit records, including their most famous song Paranoid.
The group went on to sell more than 75 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Osbourne was added for a second time in 2024 as a solo artiste.
Rock musician Rick Wakeman said Osbourne was 'a lot cleverer musically' than he was given credit for.
'There was so much more to him musically than just being the front man in a heavy metal band,' he said.
Black Sabbath's first manager Jim Simpson said Osbourne had been in declining health for some time.
'He even said beforehand that he expected to die on the stage at the July 5 show,' he said, speaking at Black Sabbath Bridge in Birmingham.
'The world's lost an inordinately nice, balanced, human being.'
Fans gather at the Black Sabbath mural to pay tribute to Ozzy Osbourne in Birmingham, England, on July 23.
PHOTO: ELLIE SMITH/NYTIMES
Osbourne gained notoriety for his outlandish stunts, many of them fuelled by his lavish use of drugs and alcohol.
In 1989, he was arrested for drunkenly trying to strangle his wife Sharon, which he once mentioned in a 2007 interview.
His live performances at the height of his hedonism have gone down in rock folklore, particularly the 1982 gig in the US city of Des Moines when he bit a bat onstage.
Osbourne said he thought a fan had thrown a fake rubber bat, and it was not until he took a bite that he realised it was real.
'I can assure you the rabies shots I went through afterwards aren't fun,' he told US TV host David Letterman in 1982.
His public persona took a new turn with the reality television series The Osbournes in the 2000s, which followed the ups and downs of his family life alongside Sharon, whom he married in 1982, and two of their three children. He had three other children with his first wife.
Osbourne, who reportedly died at his mansion near London, went public with his Parkinson's diagnosis in 2020.
Caroline Rassell of the charity Parkinson's UK said the family's openness about the diagnosis had helped many in the same situation.
'They normalised tough conversations and made others feel less alone,' she said.
Osbourne brought the curtain down on a wild career on July 5 when Black Sabbath rattled through their most iconic songs in front of 40,000 adoring fans at Birmingham's Villa Park football stadium.
Stylish to the end, he held court from a giant leather throne, topped with a bat. AFP