Ozzy Osbourne, the legendary frontman of heavy metal group Black Sabbath, died on Tuesday at the age of 76, his family said, just weeks after he gave an epic farewell concert.
The hell-raising singer, who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019, passed away just over a fortnight after playing a final gig before a sold-out crowd in his home city of Birmingham, England.
“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,” said a family 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”, who once bit off the head of a bat while on stage.
Music icon Elton John praised Osbourne as “a huge trailblazer who secured his place in the pantheon of rock gods -– a true legend”.
“He was also one of the funniest people I’ve ever met. I will miss him dearly,” John wrote on Instagram. Rolling Stone Ronnie Wood said he was “very sad” to learn of Osbourne’s death.
Osbourne was instrumental in pioneering heavy metal — an offshoot of hard rock — as Black Sabbath enjoyed huge commercial success in the 1970s and 80s 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”.
They went on to sell more than 75 million albums worldwide and were inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2006. Osbourne was added for a second time last year as a solo artist.
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 live 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 realised 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.
Osbourne is also rumoured to have snorted a line of ants up his nose and once urinated on a cenotaph commemorating war dead.
Rabies shots
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 wife Sharon, whom he married in 1982, and their three children.
Born John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948 in Birmingham, he left school at 15 and did odd jobs including factory work before teaming up with school friend Geezer Butler in several bands before finding success with Black Sabbath.
He paused touring in 2023 after extensive spinal surgery.
Osbourne suffered a fall at home in 2019, which aggravated injuries from a near-fatal quad bike crash in 2003.
He released his 12th studio album, “Ordinary Man”, in 2020, followed by “Patient Number 9” in 2022, which went to number three and two in the UK charts, respectively.
Osbourne brought the curtain down on a wild career on July 5, when Black Sabbath rattled through their most iconic songs in front of 40,000 adoring fans at Villa Park, home of Premier League football club Aston Villa.
He was joined by original bandmates Butler, Tony Iommi, and Bill Ward for the concert, dubbed “Back to the Beginning” — their first gig together in 20 years.
Osbourne — stylish to the very end — held court from a giant leather throne, topped with a bat.
“It’s the last song ever. Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle… Thank you from the bottom of our hearts,” Osbourne told the crowd after finishing the set with “Paranoid.”
AFP
