Ozzy Osbourne, "The Prince of Darkness", is dead.
He passed away with his family at his side on July 22, 2025, just two weeks after his final stage performance.
The heavy metal legend and reality TV star said a poignant farewell at Villa Park in Aston, Birmingham, seated on a throne, together with other legends of the genre.
[Photo courtesy of Wikipedia]
The Heavy Metal Period
Black Sabbath hit the world of music with a blast of loud uncompromising music in 1974. This was heavy metal!
I was in my early 20s and suffering from post-Beatles blues, as well as the abandonment of traditional "blues" music by the likes of Fleetwood Mac, Eric Clapton and others.
Black Sabbath in the 1970s [Rolling Stone]
As a result, I was seeking a new kind of music to latch onto. Alas, heavy metal was not it!
Alcohol and Substance Abuse
Heavy Metal didn't seem to do it for Ozzy Osbourne either. He abused drugs and alcohol and after a drunken attempt to strangle Sharon he went into rehab in Los Angeles where the Osbourne family were living.
TV Reality Star
Then, out of the blue, Ozzy re-appeared in our lives as the star of a warts-and-all TV reality series called "The Osbournes".
Largely driven by Ozzy's wife Sharon, she became a star in her own right, as did two of their kids, Jack and Kelly.
[Photo courtesy of Xataca]
Ozzy cut a sad figure, clearly still an addict. He became increasingly bumbling and incoherent. It was revealed that he was suffering from Parkinson's disease.
Farewell Concert
Two weeks ago a one-off farewell concert was arranged at the Aston Villa Football stadium, a stone's throw from where John Michael Osbourne was born and brought up.
Black Sabbath were the lead act, but also present were other heavy metal bands and guests, including Metallica, Guns 'n Roses, Slayer, Pantera and Steve Tyler from Aerosmith.
Osbourne's farewell performance [Telemundo]
Osbourne performed seated on a kind of throne, as he was unable to stand for long.
Farewell
Two weeks later it really was farewell. Ozzy Osbourne was dead.
He was clearly in worse health than we had been led to believe .....
RIP Ozzy Osbourne!
© Pablo de Ronda
Links:
Así fue el último concierto de OZZY OSBOURNE con BLACK SABBATH hace dos semanas | EL PAÍS
Photos:
Fox News, Telemundo, The Objective, Wikipedia, Xataca
Tags:
Aerosmith, Aston Villa, Black Sabbath, Fox News, Guns 'n Roses, heavy metal, HOLA, Jack, John Michael Osbourne, Kelly, Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Pablo de Ronda, Pantera, Paul Whitelock, Ruta 66, Sharon Osbourne, Slayer, Steve Tyler, Telemundo, The Objective, "The Osbournes", Wikipedia, Xataca