Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath Vocalist and Heavy Metal Legend, Dies At 76
The heavy metal great passed away less than three weeks after his retirement concert.
Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne has died at the age of 76.
Osbourne, nicknamed the “Prince of Darkness,” passed away peacefully at home yesterday (Tuesday 22 July).
A statement from the Osbourne family reads: “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.”
No cause of death has been revealed, although Osbourne has battled a range of illnesses and ailments over the years.
Osbourne’s sad passing comes less than three weeks after he took to the stage for the final time as part of the massive Back to the Beginning concert in his hometown of Birmingham, UK. Osbourne performed with the original Black Sabbath lineup alongside some of the biggest acts in the world, including Slayer, Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Tool and many more.
Tributes have been flowing in from Osbourne’s contemporaries, with his former Sabbath band mates posting the simple message “Ozzy Forever” on social media.
Metallica, who performed at Osbourne’s final concert, posted an image of themselves with Ozzy alongside an emoji of a broken heart. At the same time, The Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood wrote, “I am 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.”
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Born John Michael Osbourne, in Birmingham, England, in 1948, Osbourne became a music fan at a young age, going on to form the band Black Sabbath with local lads Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi and Bill Ward in the late 1960s.
Pioneering the heavy metal sound that would dominate for years to come, Black Sabbath released their self-titled debut in 1970 and followed it up six months later with their UK chart-topping second long player, Paranoid, which included the monster hits ‘Paranoid’, ‘Iron Man’ and ‘War Pigs’.
Establishing themselves as leaders of the heavy metal genre, Sabbath dominated the ‘70s and went on to release a further six albums with Ozzy, including the doom metal classic Master of Reality, before the frontman was kicked out of the band due to his addiction issues.
After leaving Sabbath, Osbourne went solo and released his debut album, Blizzard of Oz, in 1980. The album went five times platinum in the States and kicked off a successful run of releases throughout the ‘90s for the Prince of Darkness.
Osbourne reunited with Black Sabbath in 1997, with the band releasing the live album Reunion. Sabbath’s final album, 13, arrived in 2013. Ozzy’s last solo record was 2022’s Patient Number 9.
Throughout his career, Osbourne was involved in several high-profile incidents, including famously biting the head off a bat at a 1982 concert in Iowa. He was also arrested in 1989 for the attempted murder of his wife, Sharon Osbourne, although the charges were eventually dropped.
Osbourne had a second wave of stardom in the early 00s as a reality star thanks to the MTV show The Osbournes. The show detailed the day-to-day life of Ozzy and his family and became a huge hit around the world.
Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame with Black Sabbath in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024, Osbourne suffered his fair share of hardships, particularly in the latter years of his life.
He broke his neck, collarbone and ribs in a quad biking accident in 2003, fell off the sober wagon in 2013 and was diagnosed with Parkinson’s in 2020.
Speaking with The Guardian earlier this year, he admitted to falling into a deep depression, with the Back to the Beginning farewell concert giving him something to live for.
Ozzy Osbourne is survived by his wife Sharon and six children, Kelly, Aimee, Jack, Jessica, Elliot and Louis.
