‘Tremendous blow': Winnipeg music fans mourn Ozzy Osbourne
Music fans around the world, including in Winnipeg, are in mourning following the death of Ozzy Osbourne on Tuesday.
Osbourne, one of the founding members of Black Sabbath and a successful solo artist who helped popularize heavy metal music, died Tuesday at the age of 76, weeks after his final concert. Osbourne had been dealing with health problems, including Parkinson's disease and emphysema, in recent years.
David MacLean has been a fan of Osbourne since he was a teenager and was saddened to learn of his death.
'It was just a tremendous blow, and I'm still feeling kind of down about it, to tell you the truth,' he said.
Mike Holmes also got into Osbourne as a teenager through his father, who was a fan of Black Sabbath.
'I think it was mainly because I was really into Metallica, and I know he was a big influence on them, and then also just because of how popular he was and well-known he was through his reality show,' he said.
MacLean managed to get tickets for Osbourne's 2003 performance at the Winnipeg Arena. However, the morning of the show, his mother died from cancer.
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Tony Iommi and Ozzy Osbourne perform live onstage as 'Earth' (later renamed as Black Sabbath) on Aug. 1, 1969. (Photo by Ellen Poppinga - K & K/Redferns)
Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne plays a keyboard in 1970. (Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)
Black Sabbath's Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, Ozzy Osbourne, and Geezer Butler in 1970: , (Photo by Chris Walter/WireImage)
Warner Bros. Records publicity still photo of Black Sabbath. Left to right: Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne, circa 1970. (Photo by Michael)
Ozzy Osbourne performs onstage circa 1970. (Photo by Michael)
Ozzy Osbourne performs with the other members of Black Sabbath circa 1972. (Photo by Michael)
Black Sabbath pose for a group portrait with gold discs in London, U.K., in 1973. Left to right: Bill Ward, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler. (Photo by)
Black Sabbath (Bill Ward, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Ozzy Osbourne) pose for a portrait in 1975 in London, U.K.. (Photo by Roger Morton/)
Ozzy Osbourne with his children Jessica and Louis at their home in in Birmingham, U.K., on Aug. 19, 1978, (Photo by Staff/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
Ozzy Osbourne with his guitarist Randy Rhoads, performing live onstage at Gaumont Theatre on Oct. 20, 1980. (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns)
Ozzy Osbourne records the 'Blizzard of Ozz' album with guitarist Randy Rhoads at Ridge Farm Studio in West Sussex, England, in May 1980. (Photo by Fin Costello/Redferns)
Left to right: Bob Daisley, Rudy Sarzo, Ozzy Osbourne, Tommy Aldridge and Bernie Torme perform at Madison Square Garden on the Diary of a mad man tour, on April 5, 1982 in New York City. (Photo by)
Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne pictured outside his new house in Birmingham, U.K., beside his Volvo car, on Nov. 18, 1982. (Photo by Birmingham Post and Mail Archive/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
Ozzy Osbourne signs autographs in New St.,, Birmingham, U.K., on Nov. 22, 1982. (Photo by Birmingham Post and Mail Archive/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
Ozzy Osbourne performs in Copenhagen, Denmark, on Jan. 16, 1983. (Photo by Jorgen Angel/Redferns)
Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne in Brazil, 1985. (Photo by Dave Hogan)
Ozzy Osbourne with his mother, Lilian, in Birmingham, U.K., on Feb. 23, 1986. (Photo by Birmingham Post and Mail Archive/Mirrorpix/Getty Images)
Ozzy Osbourne and his wife Sharon and their children Aimee, Kelly and Jack, post for a photo in the U.S. in 1987. (Photo by Dave Hogan/)
Ozzy Osbourne at home with his collection of gold discs in 1991. (Photo by Mick Hutson/Redferns)
Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath are inducted into the RockWalk on Nov. 18, 1992 in Hollywood, Calif. (Photo by Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images)
Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath arrives for the 42nd Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2000. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
Ozzy Osbourne performs with Black Sabbath in Wisconsin on May 26, 2001. (Photo by Hayley Madden/Redferns)
Ozzy Osbourne at 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno' at the NBC Studios in Los Angeles, Calif., on October 12, 2001. (Photo by)
Ozzy Osbourne, centre, poses with his family, from left, daughter Aimee, wife Sharon, daughter Kelly, son Jack and his son Louis, after he was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles on April 12, 2002. (AP Photo/Nick Ut)
Ozzy Osbourne poses with his wife Sharon, daughter Kelly and son Jack during the ceremony honoring him with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on April 12, 2002. (Photo by)
Prince Harry chats to Ozzy Osbourne at the Party of the Park Concert at Buckingham Palace on June 3, 2002. (Photo by Stefan Rousseau - PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
Queen Elizabeth II is introduced to Ozzy Osbourne and Kermit the Frog on stage during 'Party at the Palace' in London, U.K., on June 3, 2002. (Photo by ADRIAN DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Sir Elton John and Ozzy Osbourne attend the 'Sharon Osbourne and Sir Elton John Join Forces to Raise Funds for Colon Cancer and HIV/AIDS' at Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne's Home in Beverly Hills, Calif., on March 19, 2003. (Photo by KMazur/WireImage)
Fans shout to rock star Ozzy Osbourne, as he walks down the red carpet, on arrival to become the first artist to be honoured on the city's Hollywood style 'Walk of Fame' in Birmingham, England, Friday, July 6, 2007. (AP Photo/Simon Dawson)
Ozzy Osbourne performs during the VH1 Rock Honors concert at the Mandalay Bay hotel-casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, May 12, 2007. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Metallica's James Hetfield, left, performs with Ozzy Osbourne at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concert at Madison Square Garden, Friday, Oct. 30, 2009 in New York. (AP Photo/Henny Ray Abrams)
Musician Ozzy Osbourne performs at his Ozzy Scream Tour 2011 concert in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Saturday March 26, 2011. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
From left, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler of Black Sabbath with their Inspiration Award at the Kerrang Awards 2012, at a central London venue. Thursday, June 7, 2012. (AP Photo/Jonathan Short)
Ozzy Osbourne, left, and Sharon Osbourne, right, pose with Bonny the dog at the premiere of 'Seven Psychopaths' at the Bruin Theatre on Monday, Oct. 1, 2012 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)
Singer Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Slash perform on stage at the 10th annual MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert at Club Nokia on Monday, May 12, 2014 in Los Angeles. (Photo by Paul A. Hebert/Invision/AP)
Ozzy Osbourne walks by victory lane at Texas Motor Speedway before a NASCAR Cup Series auto race in Fort Worth, Texas, Sunday, April 9, 2017. (AP Photo/Larry Papke)
Ozzy Osbourne performs during the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony at the Alexander stadium in Birmingham, England, Monday, Aug. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)
Ozzy Osbourne performs during halftime of an NFL football game between the Los Angeles Rams and the Buffalo Bills in Inglewood, Calif., on Sept. 8, 2022. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)
Jack Black, left, and Ozzy Osbourne appear during the 39th Annual Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony on Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello)
'I wasn't going to go, but I had an uncle tell me to go to the concert, and I went to the concert. And I swear to God, 'Mama, I'm Coming Home' hit a little differently than it usually does, you know. And it was incredible.'
Osbourne would typically end his concerts by telling the audience he loved them before walking off the stage, a moment that hit harder for MacLean.
'He had no idea that there was a 14-year-old kid who had lost his mom, and he was saving his life that night. But that's the essence of rock and roll.'
Holmes saw Osbourne and Black Sabbath several times when they rolled through Winnipeg and said he put on a great show. He recalled one concert in 2010 that stayed with him.
'He had a big fire hose up on stage, and during the solo of 'Crazy Train,' he picked it up and started blasting everybody in the first couple rows with foam and throwing buckets of water at them,' he said. 'I was just always blown away by how much energy he could bring to a show, even though, from outward appearances, sometimes he didn't look like he had the most energy in the world.'
Osbourne's death comes as other influential musicians from the 1960s and 1970s, most recently Connie Francis and Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, have passed away in recent years.
'The rock stars and the idols and the icons have really been dying off, and no one has really been stepping into their place,' MacLean said. 'That's kind of a scary thing, being a musician myself. Who is going to take the reins?'
Ozzy Osbourne in Winnipeg
The earliest known instance of Osbourne playing in Winnipeg was when Black Sabbath played Winnipeg in 1971 at the Centennial Concert Hall.
Osbourne first played Winnipeg as a solo artist in 1981 and played in the city several times through the years, both as a solo artist and with Black Sabbath.
His last appearance in Winnipeg was in 2016 with Black Sabbath on their reunion tour.
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