Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary frontman of heavy metal group Black Sabbath, died on Tuesday, his family said, just weeks after he gave an epic farewell concert.
He was 76.
The hell-raising singer, who was 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 in the UK.
Photo: Reuters
“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,” the family said in a statement. “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
Tributes poured in for the notorious figure nicknamed the “Prince of Darkness.”
His original bandmates posted tributes on social media, with guitarist Tony Iommi saying: “There won’t be another like him,” and bassist Geezer Butler saying: “So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you.”
Photo: Reuters
Drummer Bill Ward said Osbourne would forever be in his heart and added: “Never goodbye. Thank you forever.”
Osbourne was instrumental in pioneering heavy metal as Black Sabbath enjoyed huge commercial success in the 1970s and 1980s 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.
“It was Ozzy’s voice that took me away to a dark universe. A great escape,” Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready wrote on X. “Thanks for the music, Ozzy it makes our journey in life better.”
He gained huge notoriety along the way for his outlandish stunts, many of them fuelled by a hedonistic lifestyle involving the lavish use of drugs and alcohol.
His 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 realized 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 his wife, Sharon, whom he married in 1982, and their three children.
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