Ozzy Osbourne, heavy metal legend and frontman of iconic British band Black Sabbath, has died at the age of 76.
His family confirmed the news on Tuesday (July 22), writing: “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.”
Their statement added: “He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time. Sharon, Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.”
News of Osbourne’s death comes just weeks after his farewell concert with the original members of Black Sabbath in their hometown of Birmingham, UK.
The charity event, dubbed Back To The Beginning, was organized by Sharon Osbourne, Ozzy’s wife and manager for more than four decades.
The sold-out concert at Villa Park Stadium saw the original members of the band, including Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward, play for the first time together in 20 years.
Back To The Beginning featured a superstar lineup, with performances from Metallica, Slayer, Pantera, Gojira, Alice In Chains and other stars.
Writing on Instagram today, Iommi said: “I just can’t believe it! My dear dear friend Ozzy has passed away only weeks after our show at Villa Park.
“It’s just such heartbreaking news that I can’t really find the words, there won’t ever be another like him. Geezer, Bill and myself have lost our brother. My thoughts go out to Sharon and all the Osbourne family. Rest in peace Oz. Tony”
Speaking with Music Business Worldwide ahead of the Back To The Beginning event earlier this year, Sharon explained that, “Since Ozzy’s illness, which has been six years (Osbourne was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2019), he’s said his one regret is that he never got the chance to say goodbye to his fans and everybody that he’s ever worked with.”
She added: “So then I thought of having all the bands he’s ever had relationships with perform and maybe do Sabbath songs and Ozzy songs. I started to ask really close friends, and they were like, ‘Sure, yeah.’
“It became a celebration of the music. All the generations are going to be there that Sabbath and Ozzy have passed the torch down to. The only place that we could do it would have been Aston, because that’s where Ozzy was born and grew up, which is right where the Villa ground is.”
Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath invented heavy metal in Birmingham, England, in the late 1960s.
The band formed in 1968 with Ozzy on vocals, Tony Iommi on guitar, Geezer Butler on bass, and Bill Ward on drums.
Originally called Earth, they changed their name to Black Sabbath in 1969, and their breakthrough arrived via the band’s 1970 self-titled debut album.
The record’s opening track, Black Sabbath, featured Tony Iommi’s ominous tritone riff, created after accidentally severing his fingertips in a factory accident.
The band pioneered a darker, heavier sound that was sonically and thematically unique compared to the popular blues and psychedelic rock of the era.
With Ozzy’s distinct vocals and lyrics inspired by themes ranging from the supernatural to horror films and social commentary, Black Sabbath produced classic albums like Paranoid (1970), Master of Reality (1971), and Vol. 4 (1972).
Songs like Iron Man, War Pigs, and Sweet Leaf became metal anthems.
Ozzy went on to become a solo superstar after his split from Black Sabbath in 1979.
His first solo album Blizzard Of Ozz was released in 1980 and featured the classically trained late great Randy Rhoads on guitar and co-songwriting duties.
It has sold over six million copies worldwide, hit No.21 on the US album chart and included iconic tracks like Crazy Train and Mr. Crowley.
Ozzy has since sold over 100 million albums worldwide across his work with Black Sabbath and his 13 solo studio albums.
His most recent LP, the Andrew Watt-produced Patient Number 9 (Epic), hit No.3 on the US album chart and won the Grammy for Best Rock Album in 2023.
He also won Best Metal Performance that year for Degradation Rules (feat. Tony Iommi).
In an interview for Music Business Worldwide’s World’s Greatest Managers’ series earlier this year, Sharon Osbourne explained why she originally believed in Ozzy as an artist: “I just saw something in Ozzy,” she said.
“I saw that spark that he had. It was electric. Ozzy would walk into a room, and everybody would look at him.
“In two minutes, he had everybody laughing on the floor. He was a very charismatic young man. I just believed in it.”
In a statement issued today, Kevin Gore, President, Global Catalog at Warner Music Group, said: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of the one and only Ozzy Osbourne, one of rock’s greatest singers, songwriters, and showmen.
“As a founding member of Black Sabbath, Ozzy was an irrepressible frontman who created in his own brilliant, unpredictable way the very language of heavy metal – occult imagery, sardonic humor, violent daydreaming, surprising romanticism, and at its heart, a body of work that has moved and inspired generations of fans and artists for the past seven decades.
“Ozzy served as vocalist and lyricist on the band’s groundbreaking first eight albums, all of which were released in America by Warner Records, and Rhino has long had the privilege of curating the band’s enormously influential catalogue. We offer our most heartfelt condolences to his family, friends, fellow musicians, and millions of fans around the world.”Music Business Worldwide
