Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne dead aged 76
The hell-raising singer, who had been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2019, passed away just over two weeks after playing a final gig before a sold-out crowd in his home city of Birmingham, England.
"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," read the family's statement.
"He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time."
Nicknamed the "Prince of Darkness", Osbourne was a notorious figure who once bit off the head of a bat while on stage.
He was instrumental in pioneering heavy metal -- an offshoot of hard rock -- as Black Sabbath enjoyed huge commercial success in the 1970s.
Osbourne brought the curtain down on a wild career on July 5, when Black Sabbath rattled through their most iconic songs in front of an adoring crowd at Villa Park, home of Premier League football club Aston Villa.
"It's the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle... Thank you from the bottom of our hearts," Osbourne told the crowd after finishing the set with "Paranoid" -- the band's most famous song.
He was joined by original bandmates Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward for the concert, dubbed "Back to the Beginning". The heavy metal giants formed in Birmingham in 1968.
Osbourne -- stylish to the very end -- held court from a giant leather throne, topped with a bat.
Black Sabbath's eponymous debut album in 1970 made the UK top 10 and paved the way for a string of hit records.
They went on to sell more than 75 million albums worldwide.
The band were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006, and Osbourne was added for a second time last year as a solo artist.
- Rabies shots -
Osbourne's 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 wife Sharon, whom he married in 1982, and their three children.
Born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948 in Birmingham, he left school at 15 and did odd jobs including factory work before teaming up with school friend Butler in several bands before finding success with Black Sabbath.
He paused touring in 2023 after extensive spinal surgery.
Osbourne had suffered a fall at home in 2019, which aggravated injuries from a near-fatal quad bike crash in 2003.
His live performances at the height of his hedonism have gone down in rock folklore, particularly a 1982 gig in Des Moines, Iowa, when he bit the head off a bat on stage.
Osbourne said he thought a fan had thrown a fake rubber bat onstage, 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.
He released his 12th studio album, "Ordinary Man", in 2020, followed by "Patient Number 9" in 2022, which went to number three and two in the UK charts, respectively.
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Perth Now
an hour ago
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'I'm worried about Sharon...' Carmen Electra shares tearful reaction to Ozzy Osbourne's death
Carmen Electra burst into tears when she heard the news that Ozzy Osbourne had died and her "heart goes out" to his widow Sharon Osbourne. The former Baywatch actress remembers Ozzy - who passed away at the age of 76 on Tuesday (22.07.25) - as the "sweetest, most fun person ever" and she admits she is worried about how Sharon, 72, will cope without the man she was married to for 43 years. Speaking to Extra's Terri Seymour at the Freakier Friday premiere, Carmen - who is a friend of the Osbourne family - said: "I heard in the car and I just started bawling my eyes out because Ozzy, I mean, when you know Ozzy, he's so funny. He's such a flirt. Like, he's just Ozzy, you know? ... Outside of being, like, the scary legendary rock god he is, he truly is like just the sweetest, most fun person ever. "And I'm worried about [his wife] Sharon to be honest because they've been bonded together for so long and I'm really close with the family. My heart goes out to Sharon and the family and at least they were all there. They could all be there in London.' Carmen, 53, is yet to reach out personally to her friend Sharon but has sent a message of condolence through makeup artist Jude Alcalá. She added: "I haven't spoken to anyone yet. Yeah. It felt weird calling right now. I just decided to step back.' 'So, Jude's been he's been doing Sharon and Ozzy for over 25 years. So, we were on the phone and I was just like, 'Please send them my love.'' Since the news of Ozzy's death, musicians from the heavy metal fraternity, celebrities, media and fans have shown an outpouring of love and respect for the Bark At The Moon singer. Ozzy died just 17 days after he performed the Back To The Beginning farewell concert in his home city of Birmingham, England, with his Black Sabbath bandmates. The concert featured a bill that included metal legends such as Guns N' Roses, Metallica, Tool, Pantera and Slayer. Ozzy had been living with Parkinson's disease for many years and had other health issues and Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi believes his long-time friend held on so he could perform one final time for his fans. Tony, 77, told ITV News: "I think he really just held out to do that show. I really feel – and me and Geezer (Butler) were talking about it – that we think he held out to do it, and just after that, he's done it and said goodbye to the fans. And that was the end of it, really. "I think he must have had something in his head that said, 'Well, this is gonna be it, the last thing I'm ever gonna do.' Whether he thought he was gonna die or what, I don't know. But he really wanted to do it, and he was determined to do it. And fair dues, he's done it." Despite Ozzy's fragile health, Tony admits that the death of his bandmate still came as a "shock for us". He added: "When I heard, it couldn't sink in. I thought, 'It can't be.' I only had a text from him the day before. It just seemed unreal, surreal. And in the night, I started thinking about it, 'God, am I dreaming all this?' But as I said before, he's not looked well through the rehearsals." Tony also reflected on a conversation he and Ozzy had in the dressing room following the Back To The Beginning show at Villa Park. He said: "He came around before he was leaving on a wheelchair that brought him in to say goodbye and have a little chat for a bit, and he seemed alright. He enjoyed it. And he said, 'Oh, it went all right, didn't it?' I said, 'Yeah, it did.'"
News.com.au
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Final video of Ozzy Osbourne emerges, taken just 2 days before his death at 76
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Tony Iommi is convinced that Ozzy Osbourne 'held out' for final Black Sabbath show
Tony Iommi thinks Ozzy Osbourne "held out" to play one last show with Black Sabbath. The heavy metal legend passed away at the age of 76 on Tuesday (22.07.25) – just two weeks after he returned to the stage for the Back To The Beginning concert in his home city of Birmingham – and Tony is convinced that his bandmate knew he would be bowing out with the epic farewell gig. The guitarist told ITV News: "I think he really just held out to do that show. I really feel – and me and Geezer (Butler) were talking about it last night – that we think he held out to do it, and just after that, he's done it and said goodbye to the fans. And that was the end of it, really. "I think he must have had something in his head that said, 'Well, this is gonna be it, the last thing I'm ever gonna do.' Whether he thought he was gonna die or what, I don't know. But he really wanted to do it, and he was determined to do it. And fair dues, he's done it." Despite Ozzy's fragile health, Tony admits that the death of his bandmate still came as a "shock for us". The 77-year-old musician said: "When I heard, it couldn't sink in. I thought, 'It can't be.' I only had a text from him the day before. It just seemed unreal, surreal. And in the night, I started thinking about it: 'God, am I dreaming all this?' But as I said before, he's not looked well through the rehearsals." Tony also reflected on a conversation he and Ozzy, who had been suffering from Parkinson's disease for many years, had in the dressing room following the Back To The Beginning gig at Villa Park. The rocker said: "He came around before he was leaving on a wheelchair that brought him in to say goodbye and have a little chat for a bit, and he seemed alright. He enjoyed it. And he said, 'Oh, it went all right, didn't it?' I said, 'Yeah, it did.'" Iommi revealed that he and Black Sabbath bandmates Terence 'Geezer' Butler and Bill Ward didn't want Ozzy to be at rehearsals every day for the gig as it would have been "too much" for him. He said: "We didn't want him there every day at rehearsal, because it's too much. He just wouldn't be able to stand it. "So they'd bring him in and he'd sit down and sing a few songs, and then we'd talk some rubbish about old times or whatever, have a laugh, and then he'd go. And that's sort of what we did, really."
