Sharon fulfils Ozzy Osbourne's final wish in heartbreaking move
The announcement revealed that the Black Sabbath icon's loved ones, including his devoted wife Sharon of more than four decades, had assembled around him one last time as he peacefully passed away on Tuesday morning aged 76.
The tragic news comes mere weeks after the frontman took to the stage for his final performance during his Back to the Beginning concert at Aston Villa's home ground, Villa Park.
The family's statement confirming his passing read: "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," reports the Mirror.
The family's message included a location marker reading: "Birmingham, England July 22, 2025" - confirming that Ozzy had returned to his homeland one final time. Ozzy Osbourne. Sharon, Kelly, Ozzy, Aimee and Jack Osbourne arrive at the 2000 Grammy Awards. (Image: Corbis via Getty Images)
Ozzy and Sharon, 72, had previously discussed their desire to relocate back to the UK from Los Angeles amid the rocker's declining health. Ozzy had expressed he was "desperate to come home".
Although they had hoped to make the move earlier, Ozzy's ongoing health struggles delayed their plans as he fought Parkinson's disease and endured multiple operations for a spinal injury. "It's time for me to spend some time with my grandkids," he told the Guardian in May as he prepared for his final show.
"I don't want to die in a hotel room somewhere. I want to spend the rest of my life with my family."
The rock legend and wife Sharon were set to return to their Buckinghamshire residence to mark the farewell performance.
Ozzy had been open about his longing to relocate back to England, discussing his ambition as far back as August 2022 following more than two decades in Los Angeles. He slammed "everything's f***ing ridiculous (in America)."
He also pointed to gun violence in the nation as another factor behind his wish to depart. "Everything's f***ing ridiculous [in America]. I'm fed up with people getting killed every day," he told The Observer.
"God knows how many people have been shot in school shootings. And there was that mass shooting in Vegas at that concert. ... it's f***ing crazy."
Nevertheless, the relocation was postponed for years owing to Ozzy's deteriorating health.
Chatting to Planet Rock's Loz Guest regarding Black Sabbath's star-studded Back to the Beginning concert on July 5, Sharon confirmed that the performance had provided Ozzy with the opportunity to return home finally.
She said: "He's coming over in March. His brothers (in Black Sabbath), he's excited to be here with them."
When asked if they were still permanently relocating back to the UK following the gig, Sharon replied: "Yeah, we are."
Born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948 in Aston, Birmingham, Ozzy departed school at 15 and took on various jobs including factory work before joining forces with school mate Geezer Butler in several bands.
The duo then connected with the other founding members of Black Sabbath, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward, to establish what was initially called Earth Blues Company – later abbreviated to Earth – in 1968.
Originally a Mod who adored soul music, Osbourne developed a more sinister persona after penning lyrics for a track titled Black Sabbath after the 1963 Boris Karloff film of the same name.
The moniker remained – after they were compelled to alter it from Earth – and the group proceeded to shift millions of albums over the following decade thanks to genre-defining numbers including Paranoid and War Pigs.
The band became extensively recognised for establishing the blueprint of heavy metal.
However, substance abuse started to impact Osbourne and his rapport with his bandmates, and he was ultimately dismissed in 1979.
He embarked on a solo venture, achieving acclaim during the 1980s, before reuniting with Sabbath on multiple occasions – including in 2016 for a farewell world tour.
In 2022, Ozzy proclaimed "Birmingham forever," during a shock appearance at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony in his hometown.
The Black Sabbath legend was among numerous Brummie performers to take the stage, including Dexy's Midnight Runners, UB40, and Musical Youth.
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Irish Examiner
2 minutes ago
- Irish Examiner
Ozzy Osbourne obituary: A wild life of heavy metal, reality TV, and biting bats
If a single individual could be said to embody the attributes of heavy metal, it would be Ozzy Osbourne, who has died aged 76 after suffering from Parkinson's disease and other disorders. In a career stretching across six decades, Ozzy Osbourne became a star with Black Sabbath in the 1970s, launched a hugely successful solo career in the 1980s, turned himself into a heavy metal entrepreneur in the 1990s with his travelling Ozzfest rock festival, and in 2002 became an unlikely but wildly successful reality TV star, thanks to the MTV show The Osbournes. The Black Sabbath repertoire included songs with titles such as 'Paranoid', 'Evil Woman', 'Hand of Doom' and 'Children of the Grave'. The atmosphere was darkened further by the guitarist Tony Iommi's fondness for tuning his strings lower than usual, and lyrics (mostly written by the bass player Geezer Butler) that alluded to the occult and mental illness, sung in Ozzy Osbourne's urgent high-register whine. His voice was not pretty but it was impossible to ignore as it sliced through Sabbath's dense sludge of drums, bass and fuzz-toned guitar. 'Sabbath never set out to be legendary,' Ozzy Osbourne said in 2005. 'The only thing we set out to do was scare people.' Black Sabbath in 1970: Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward, and Ozzy Osbourne. Sabbath were a hit straight out of the blocks with their debut album, Black Sabbath (1970), which sailed into the UK Top 10 and reached 23 on the US Billboard chart, despite a hostile response from rock critics. Later that year they released the follow-up, Paranoid, which topped the British chart. Its tough and edgy title song gave them their only British Top 10 single (it went to No 4), while ''Iron Man' and the outspokenly political 'War Pigs' became staples of the Sabbath catalogue, each featuring a distinctive Iommi guitar riff. The band's hot streak continued through the albums Master of Reality (1971), Sabbath Bloody Sabbath (1973) and Sabotage (1975), but Never Say Die! (1978) signalled Ozzy Osbourne's departure and the end of Sabbath mark one. Following some chaotic touring and abortive recording sessions, he was fired in 1979. An alcohol-and-cocaine lifestyle coupled with legal squabbles with their management and record label had sapped the band's strength. 'I was drinking like a fish for two years,' he said. 'I would have been dead in two or three years if I'd carried on.' Black Sabbath were managed by the notably unsentimental music mogul Don Arden, who assigned his daughter, Sharon, to keep Ozzy sufficiently acquainted with the straight and narrow to be able to write songs and perform. She became his manager and, in 1982, his wife. She launched him as a solo artist, leading his own band, The Blizzard of Ozz, which featured the gifted guitarist and songwriter Randy Rhoads. When Warner Bros and EMI turned Ozzy down as a solo artist, Sharon signed him to her father's label, Jet. Ozzy's solo career was immediately successful, his debut album, Blizzard of Ozz (1980), producing a couple of hit singles with 'Crazy Train' and 'Mr Crowley', the latter inspired by the occultist Aleister Crowley. The follow-up, Diary of a Madman (1981), was another bestseller – in his autobiography, I Am Ozzy (2010), Osbourne cited this as his favourite album — and contained the drug-inspired hit single 'Flying High Again'. Ozzy Osbourne in his open air hot tub in the garden of his luxury home in Goldwater Canyon, Beverly Hills, California biting the head of a rubber chicken. Picture: Getty Images However, Osbourne's progress was rarely incident-free, and, marriage aside, 1982 was a particular annus horribilis. In January that year, when he was perfoming in Des Moines, Iowa, an audience member threw what Osbourne took to be a rubber bat onstage, whereupon he bit its head off only to discover that the creature was real flesh and blood. He was forced to seek precautionary treatment for rabies. The following month, he was arrested in San Antonio, Texas, after urinating on the Alamo cenotaph. As a police officer remarked, 'Son, when you piss on the Alamo, you piss on the state of Texas.' Osbourne was banned from performing in the city until 1992, when he made a public apology and donated $10,000 to maintaining the monument. In March 1982, Rhoads was killed in Florida while joyriding in a Beechcraft Bonanza aircraft, which crashed. The albums Bark at the Moon (1983), The Ultimate Sin (1986) and No Rest for the Wicked (1988) carried Osbourne through the 1980s on a surging tide of sales, but controversy was never far away. In 1986 he was sued by the parents of Daniel McCollom, who had killed himself while listening to Blizzard of Ozz; the parents contended that the song 'Suicide Solution' was a 'proximate cause' of his death. The case was dismissed in 1988, but Osbourne was then sued by the parents of another young man, Michael Waller, who alleged that their son too was driven to kill himself by hidden messages in the song. Again, the suit was dismissed. Attempted murder In 1989 Osbourne was arrested for attempted murder after trying to strangle Sharon while under the influence of drugs and alcohol. Rock star Ozzy Osbourne in Amersham, Buckinghamshire, where he appeared before Amersham Magistrates Court accused of assaulting his wife Sharon Picture: PA This caused him to spend six months in rehab. After he recorded the album No More Tears (1991), he announced that the tour to promote it (he called it No More Tours) would be his last before he retired. The album contained Osbourne's only Top 40 solo hit single in the US, 'Mama, I'm Coming Home'. The song was addressed to Sharon, from whom he was temporarily estranged. Recordings from the tour were released as Live & Loud (1993), which included many of his best-known songs, with the other members of Black Sabbath joining Osbourne for the track 'Black Sabbath'. Live & Loud was intended to bring the curtain down on his career, and the track 'I Don't Want To Change The World' won him a Grammy for best metal performance in 1994. Upbringing Ozzy was born John Osbourne in Aston, Birmingham. His father, Jack, did night shifts at the industrial company GEC, while his mother, Lillian (nee Unitt), worked for the motor components firm Lucas. He had three older sisters, Jean, Iris, and Gillian, and two younger brothers, Paul and Tony. The family managed to squeeze into a two-bedroom home with an outside toilet in Lodge Rd, Aston. He acquired the nickname 'Ozzy' at primary school, after being initially dubbed 'Oz-brain', and while his school work was hampered by dyslexia, he showed interest in music and performing when he took roles in school productions of Gilbert and Sullivan operettas including The Pirates of Penzance, HMS Pinafore and The Mikado. Soon, the influence of the Beatles loomed large. Ozzy claimed he had originally wanted to be a plumber, then decided he wanted to be a Beatle instead. He left school at 15 and took a variety of jobs, including trainee plumber, slaughterhouse assistant and apprentice toolmaker, and for a time worked at the same Lucas factory as his mother, where he tuned car-horns. An amateurish attempt at petty crime led to him being arrested while trying to steal a television, and he spent six weeks in Winson Green prison. After a stint as vocalist with an R&B band called the Approach, in 1967 Osbourne was recruited by Geezer Butler to sing with his band, Rare Breed. The group imploded almost immediately, whereupon Osbourne and Butler joined Iommi and the drummer Bill Ward to form Earth. In 1969 they changed their name to Black Sabbath, after a 1963 horror film featuring Boris Karloff. With help from the Birmingham club owner Jim Simpson, who acted as their manager, the band secured a deal with Vertigo Records, which released their debut album, recorded and mixed in two days. Ozzfest Osbourne's early 1990s retirement lasted only until 1995, when he came roaring back with a new album, Ozzmosis. Though hardly a classic, this sold three million copies within 12 months, and, after his follow-up Retirement Sucks tour proved one of the biggest successes of the summer, Osbourne and Sharon created the heavy metal touring package that they dubbed Ozzfest. This became an annual event in the US, Europe and eventually Japan. Ozzfest presented a huge array of metal, thrash and hardcore bands, from Metallica and Judas Priest to Slipknot, Slayer, System of a Down and Linkin Park. In 2004 Ozzy and Sharon presented Battle for Ozzfest on MTV, in which bands competed to be included on the 2005 bill. In 1997 Ozzfest included a Black Sabbath reunion, after which the band recorded the live album Reunion (1998) and continued touring into 1999, appearing again at Ozzfest. A mooted new Black Sabbath studio album was put on hold while Osbourne completed a solo album, Down to Earth (2001). A photoshoot for MTV show The Osbournes, Ozzy is joined by Sharon, Jack, and Kelly. Picture: Getty Images It was now that his career took its surprising lurch into TV. Following an appearance on MTV's reality show Cribs, about celebrity homes, the Osbourne family were recruited for their own series, The Osbournes, which ran for three years from 2002. Featuring Ozzy and Sharon with their children Jack and Kelly — their elder daughter Aimee hated the idea and opted out — it resembled a surreal, outlandish sitcom liberally spattered with X-rated language, and became one of MTV's greatest successes. He was back on TV in 2016 with Ozzy & Jack's World Detour, which ran for three series, with Kelly joining her father and brother for the third in 2018. In 2003 Ozzy almost died after crashing his quad bike at his estate in Buckinghamshire. While he was in hospital he topped the UK singles charts for the first time with 'Changes', a Black Sabbath song he had re-recorded as a duet with Kelly. In 2005 he was inducted into the UK Music Hall of Fame as both solo artist and member of Black Sabbath, and the following year into the American Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with Black Sabbath. An album of cover versions, Under Cover (2005), was received unenthusiastically, but he was back to chartbusting ways with Black Rain (2007) and Scream (2010). The long-awaited Black Sabbath studio album, 13, finally appeared in 2013. Memoirs of a Madman (2014) was a compilation of the best of Osbourne's solo work. In 2015 he received the Ivor Novello award for lifetime achievement at a ceremony in London. In 2016, Black Sabbath, including Ozzy, embarked on a year-long world tour, billed as the group's swansong. However, it was overshadowed by further Osbourne family dramas. In May, news broke that Ozzy had moved out of the family home after 34 years of marriage. It emerged that he had been having a four-year relationship with Michelle Pugh, a hair stylist, and was being treated for sex addiction. Ozzy made a public apology, saying that he was undergoing 'intense therapy'. In 2019, he was forced to postpone his No More Tours 2 concerts in Europe after being hospitalised with a respiratory infection. He was also diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, though this was not made public until 2020 (in 2005 he had been diagnosed with Parkin syndrome, a genetic condition which causes symptoms similar to Parkinson's). In September 2019 he reached No 8 on the US singles charts with his performance on Post Malone's 'Take What You Want', his first entry into the Top 10 since 1989. He released a well-received new solo album, Ordinary Man (2020), but cancelled planned north American shows to enable him to undergo treatment for Parkinson's in Switzerland. In 2022 he released his 13th solo album, Patient Number 9. Floral tributes are left by the Sabbath Wall on Navigation St in Birmingham, following the death of Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne. Picture: PA Earlier this month he gave his concert farewell at Villa Park, Birmingham as the finale of a day of metal music. A short set of solo songs was followed by another with his original Black Sabbath bandmates Iommi, Butler and Ward, ending with 'Paranoid'. In 1971 he married Thelma Riley, and they had three children, Jessica, Louis and Elliot. Shortly after their divorce in 1982 he married Sharon. She survives him, along with the three children from each marriage. Ozzy (John Michael) Osbourne, singer and songwriter, born December 3, 1948; died July 22, 2025 The Guardian
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Sharon Osbourne ‘wants to bury Ozzy in the garden of their UK family home' where he died surrounded by family
PALS of Sharon Osbourne believe that she wants to bury her late husband Ozzy in the garden of their family home. The rock legend, 76, Advertisement 8 Sharon has reportedly said she wants to bury Ozzy in the garden of their family home Credit: Getty 8 The rock legend passed away on Tuesday at the mansion in Welders, Buckinghamshire Credit: Getty 8 Ozzy took to the stage for the final time on July 5 Credit: Ross Halfin Following a length battle with Parkinson's, the Black Sabbath star passed away with Now pals have told how Sharon might choose to bury her soul mate in the garden. A source told The Mirror: "In the end, he died peacefully at home with all the family with him. "It's a lovely house and Sharon wanted to bring him back from LA. Advertisement Read more on Ozzy "I don't know if she will feel strong enough to have a big memorial for all the people who want to say goodbye to him. "We think she may want to bury him privately at home, in the garden." "He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time." Advertisement Most read in Celebrity Thames Valley Air Ambulance said that a crew had been dispatched to provide "advanced critical care". Last night, Ozzy's daughter Kelly, 40, She shared the poignant lyrics to Black Sabbath's 'Changes' - a hit she and her dad released their own version of together in 2003. Advertisement Ozzy and Kelly Osbourne performing their version of Changes together The track soared to number one in the UK charts at the time, with the duo known for their close bond over the years. In a poignant nod to the song last night, Kelly wrote on Instagram: "I feel unhappy I am so sad. I lost the best friend I ever had." Just days earlier, Kelly at the veteran rocker's final concert earlier this month. She shared a video of the moment Sid popped the question backstage at her father's final ever Black Sabbath gig. Advertisement came just 17 days after a The concert raised £140million for charities including Birmingham's Acorns Children's Hospice, Birmingham Children's Hospital, and Cure Parkinson's. Tributes have since piled in from stars including Sir Rod Stewart , Noel Gallagher and Sir . Yesterday friends said many big names wanted to salute the bat-munching, self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness, who became a national treasure. Advertisement Such a service would be held ahead of a smaller private funeral. A source told The Sun: 'There are conversations about a celebration of his life in Birmingham, the city that meant so much to him. 'Artists like Yungblud, who was seen by Ozzy as a musician who could carry on the mantle of what he started all those years ago, is expected to have a role in it. 'There are hundreds of big names who will want to pay their respects and celebrate his life and legacy, as well as thousands of fans who would line the streets to say goodbye.' Advertisement 8 Kelly and Ozzy performing Black Sabbath's Changes together in 2003 8 Tributes placed at the Birmingham bridge and bench dedicated to Ozzy's band Black Sabbath Credit: EPA 8 Kelly paid a touching tribute to her father Credit: Splash Advertisement The legend cemented his place in rock history early in his career with controversial displays such as The stunt came in 1982, during a performance in Des Moines, Ozzy, believing it to be made of rubber, bit into the carcass, and later had to be plied with rabies shots. He also snorted a line of ants while on tour with the notorious Mötley Crüe band in the '80s. Advertisement Shortly prior to his passing, the Changes hitmaker told of his strict health monitoring and medical check-ins. More on Ozzy Osbourne... 'If it's end of the road, I can't complain' How Ozzy Osbourne Emotional moment Ozzy Osbourne's The rocker's Osbourne From bat-biting antics & drug battles to rollercoaster reality show – how Ozzy truly earned title of Who is Who is How On his "I have got this guy who's virtually living with me and I am in bed by seven. Advertisement "I used to have to take a handful of f***ing sleeping pills. "Now I don't take anything. I am having my blood pressure taken 15 times a day. "I've got this f***ing device on my finger. It's a monitor to say how my heart rate is.' He then said of his life approach: "I'm just taking it one day at a time. Advertisement "Ask him upstairs. In my case, the one below." This month's gig was touted as "the greatest heavy metal show ever," with Ozzy grinning to chanting fans as he thanked them for all they had done for him. The icon vowed, however, that it would be due to his deteriorating health . Addressing dozens of fans on Black Sabbath Bridge on Broad Street in Birmingham, the band's first manager Jim Simpson said Ozzy was a "really nice kid". Advertisement He added: "The fact is, there are people here who are 80 years of age or eight years of age and all stages in between and it shows he had a remarkable way of contacting people. "It has been 55 years and still (Black Sabbath) are more popular than ever. "It is remarkable and they have all done a great job and they should be proud of themselves." "He even said beforehand that he expected to die on the stage at the July the 5th show at Villa Park. Advertisement "The world's lost an inordinately nice, balanced, human being." 8 Kelly, Ozzy, Sharon and Jack Osbourne at the GRAMMY Awards in 2014 Credit: Getty - Contributor 8 Ozzy's star on the Walk of Fame Credit: AFP
Irish Daily Mirror
4 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Kelly Osbourne breaks silence after dad Ozzy's death with heartbreaking tribute
Kelly Osbourne has spoken out following the heartbreaking death of her father Ozzy Osbourne earlier this week. The Black Sabbath icon, recognised worldwide as The Prince of Darkness, had been struggling with poor health in recent years, performing his final concert just weeks before passing away. Ozzy passed away on Tuesday, July 22, aged 76, leaving his wife Sharon completely devastated by his loss and grief-stricken over losing her closest companion. Meanwhile, Ozzy's sisters have expressed their anguish over their brother's passing, describing him as "loving and funny". In a statement, the Osbourne family, including Sharon, with whom he shared children Kelly, Aimee and Jack, announced: "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." Ozzy with youngest daughter Kelly (Image: AFP via Getty Images) Two days after Ozzy's death, Kelly posted lyrics to her Instagram Stories from the Black Sabbath track "Changes," in a poignant tribute that references a treasured father-daughter memory, reports the Mirror. "Changes," which Ozzy co-wrote with his bandmates, was first released by Black Sabbath in 1972. In 2003, he and Kelly recorded a version as a duet with revised lyrics that reflected on their bond. The song was a No. 1 hit in the U.K., and they became just the second father-daughter pair to top the charts, after Frank and Nancy Sinatra in 1967. Kelly has now taken to Instagram to share a heartbreaking update, writing: "I feel unhappy I am so sad," Kelly, 40, wrote on Thursday, July 24. "I lost the best friend I ever had." Kelly Osbourne has broken her silence following her dad's death (Image: Kelly Osbourne/X) Devastated admirers have been placing tributes outside his Buckinghamshire residence, with bouquets and touching messages positioned at the entrance. Half-finished pints and beer bottles have also been placed alongside candles as supporters honour the rock legend on Birmingham's Black Sabbath bridge. An insider revealed to People regarding Ozzy's final moments, saying: "Ozzy's final days were spent in England, surrounded by family, music and in the place he called home. He was in peace." Ozzy revealed that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2020 and said that his daughter Kelly had helped amid the diagnosis and other health issues. After the announcement of his diagnosis, Kelly said: "We just kept going everyday and the magic that happens, I think, when you're in pain ..." Ozzy, pointing at his youngest daughter, interrupted her to say: "She's the one! If it wasn't for her I'd be still lying up on the couch." Kelly stated: "The only thing I know when it comes to my dad is what can I do to make him smile and I know that going to the studio makes him happy. So I got him up and got him to the studio, and that's all I did. Everything else was him." This week, two charities have commended Ozzy for his openness about his condition and his efforts to raise awareness over the years. Subscribe to our newsletter for the latest news from the Irish Mirror direct to your inbox: Sign up here.
