Black Sabbath singer Ozzy Osbourne dies at age 76
Source: X
Ozzy Osbourne, the British heavy metal star and frontman for legendary 70s band Black Sabbath, has died, aged 76.
The former lead singer passed away “surrounded by love” during his final moments, just weeks after his final performance in his home town.
“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,” his family said.
“He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.”
Osbourne was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019 and had other health problems in recent years.
Just over two weeks ago, he reunited with Black Sabbath to perform for the first time in 20 years on July 5 in Birmingham, Britain.
Osbourne remained seated throughout the farewell performance, which included him singing solo hits and joining with Black Sabbath band mates for some of their classics.
“Are you ready? Let the madness begin,” he called, as the crowd chanted his name.
“It’s so good to be on this stage. You have no idea.”
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Ozzy Osbourne performing at Melbourne’s Rod Laver in 2008. Photo: AAP
Tributes poured in as the news of Osbourne’s death made headlines around the world.
Sir Elton John called him a “true legend”.
Metal band Metallica shared an early photo of themselves with Osbourne, posting a heart emoji.
Metallica posted a photo with Ozzy Osbourne after the news of his death. Photo: X
Ronnie Wood, from The Rolling Stones, said he was “so very sad to hear of the death of Ozzy Osbourne”.
“What a lovely goodbye concert he had at Back to the Beginning in Birmingham.”
Also known as the Prince of Darkness and the ‘godfather of heavy metal’, he was born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948, in Aston, Birmingham.
He left school at 15 and did odd jobs, including factory work, before teaming up with school friend Geezer Butler in several bands.
As a founder and lead singer of Black Sabbath in 1968, Osbourne was at the forefront of the heavy metal scene — a deeper, darker offshoot of hard rock.
Their hits included Paranoid, War Pigs and Sabbath Bloody Sabbath, and the band sold more than 100 million records globally.
His theatrical stage presence, including once accidentally biting off the head of a bat he thought was rubber, marked him out as a controversial figure.
In 1979 the band fired the notorious hell-raiser over his drug and alcohol problems and he went on to a solo career, releasing more than a dozen albums.
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Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne with their children Kelly and Jack. Photo: AAP
Later in life, the retired rocker let cameras into his home for the reality TV show The Osbournes, showcasing the family’s unconventional life in Los Angeles.
Osbourne and his wife Sharon had three children together: Jack, Kelly and Aimee.
Metal star is born
Black Sabbath’s 1969 self-titled debut LP has been likened to the Big Bang of heavy metal.
It came at the height of the Vietnam War and crashed the hippie party, dripping menace and foreboding.
The cover of the record was of a spooky figure against a stark landscape. The music was loud, dense and angry, and marked a shift in rock’n’roll.
The band’s second album, Paranoid, included such classic metal tunes as War Pigs, Iron Man and Fairies Wear Boots.
The song Paranoid became in many ways the band’s signature song.
Both albums were voted among the top 10 greatest heavy metal albums of all time by readers of Rolling Stone magazine.
“Black Sabbath are the Beatles of heavy metal. Anybody who’s serious about metal will tell you it all comes down to Sabbath,” Dave Navarro of the band Jane’s Addiction wrote in a 2010 tribute in Rolling Stone.
“There’s a direct line you can draw back from today’s metal, through Eighties bands like Iron Maiden, back to Sabbath.”
Sabbath fired Osbourne in 1979 for his legendary excesses, like showing up late for rehearsals and missing gigs.
“We knew we didn’t really have a choice but to sack him because he was just so out of control. But we were all very down about the situation,” wrote bassist Terry “Geezer” Butler in his memoir Into the Void.
Osbourne re-emerged the next year as a solo artist with Blizzard of Ozz and the following year’s Diary of a Madman, both hard rock classics that went multiplatinum and spawned enduring favourites such as Crazy Train, Goodbye to Romance, Flying High Again and You Can’t Kill Rock and Roll.
Osbourne was twice inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame — once with Sabbath in 2006 and again in 2024 as a solo artist.
Audiences at Osbourne shows could be mooned or spit on by the singer.
They would often be hectored to scream along with the song but Osbourne would usually send the crowds home with their ears ringing and a hearty “God bless!”.
-with AAP/Reuters
