Ozzy osbourne - 1948//2025

The prolific singer, songwriter, and artist Ozzy Osbourne has sadly passed away at the age of 76. Known for his crazy onstage and offstage antics in both his band Black Sabbath and during his esteemed solo career, he is among very few in the heavy metal pantheon who blazed the very path so many people only dream to follow. The last time I wrote an article like this, it was back in 2021 after the passing of Joey Jordison - and the time has come to once again mourn a legend who has forever changed the landscape of music;

Born in 1948, John 'Ozzy' Osbourne never really fit in. Living in Aston, he never wanted the life that his parents and so many in the local community ended up living, spending all day working in factories, making hardly any money, and doing it all again the next day. Although he tried, working in both a factory tuning car horns and even a slaughterhouse, working a 9-5 just wasn't for him. He decided that he might as well give music a good try instead, after realising he'd make a terrible criminal (robbing a clothes store in fingerless gloves) and spending time in jail for it. His first band was with future Black Sabbath member Geezer Butler, called Rare Breed - which broke up after two shows. They then created a band called Earth with Tony Iommi on guitar and Bill Ward on drums, which was later renamed to Black Sabbath. They realised people loved being scared after watching members of the public lining up to enter the cinema for horror flicks, and so began writing blues infused heavy rock music, and created the very DNA of modern heavy metal. They released their first self titled album in 1970, to generally negative reviews from critics - but it laid the groundwork for the next eight records with the band and it's original line up.

In 1978 however, due to conflict within Black Sabbath, Ozzy was fired. The band cited his substance abuse issues were the root cause, as at this time in his life he was both a drink and drug addict. He went on to create his own solo project, with the first record Blizzard of Ozz releasing in late 1979, which later went on to achieve multi platinum status. The second solo record Diary of a Madman released in 1981 - after biting the head off of a dove in a meeting with CBS of course, and both records included hefty touring schedules comprised of amazing onstage theatrics and effects. In 1981, the biting came back to well... you get the gist, as Osbourne bit the head off of a live bat onstage, mistaking it for a rubber prop thrown by a fan - he was later rushed to hospital to get a rabies shot. In 1982, he also famously urinated on the Alamo and got arrested for defiling it. On the tour supporting the latter, a plane crash involving his lead guitarist Randy Rhoades and his costumer derailed two weeks of performances, and killed both of Ozzy's team members in the process, causing him to fall into a deep depression. In their memory however, he carried on with his solo career after contemplating packing it in. The next record Bark at the Moon went gold in the UK within weeks, and went on to record No Rest for the Wicked in 1988 - his fourth record in ten years.

In 1991, No More Tears was released, featuring killer tracks such as Mamma I'm Coming Home and the titular No More Tears - however due to touring fatigue and an increasing chemical dependency, Osbourne announced the supporting tour would be his last, dubbing it the 'No More Tours Tour'. However, this was to be short lived, as the next year he released yet another record Ozzmosis and resumed touring in 1994. During this time, he and wife Sharon Osbourne launched Ozzfest, a touring festival made for more underground bands to earn their place in the music scene, as well as some rock and metal behemoths. Notable bands include Slipknot, Tool, Metallica and System of a Down.

In the early 2000's, the Osbourne family became one of the first reality TV families on MTV, debuting their show 'The Osbournes'. Allowing an intimate view into their lives, the show revolved around their day to day lives, and ran until 2005. During this time, Ozzy was still in active addiction for both alcohol and drugs, especially during his wifes cancer diagnosis and subsequent treatment. His issues with substance abuse continued for a while, until a doctor treating him for a Parkinsons related tremor in the mid 2000's told him to stop in order to help resolve the issue, so he did his best to detox from both to help support his health. He went on to release yet more records through the 2000's, most notably Black Rain in 2007, Scream in 2010, Ordinary Man in 2020 and Patient Number Nine in 2022, but retired from touring in 2023 due to ill health, and was expected to not return to stage again. However, in 2025 he triumphantly returned to his home town of Birmingham to hold the Back to the Beginning event, celebrating the music of Black Sabbath, and reuniting the original line up, as well as countless other musicians in an over ten hour long ceremony, which culminated in live sets from Sabbath and Ozzy.

Seventeen days later, he sadly passed in his home, surrounded by his family. His funeral procession led through Birmingham, and past the Black Sabbath Bridge, where the family paid tribute to Ozzy and his fans who lined the streets and left flowers and other tributes on the roadside before he was laid to rest in the grounds of his home Weilders House. In his lifetime he toured over 30 times, released thirteen solo albums, and sold millions of records - the word prolific feels almost myopic in comparison to the sheer scale of his career and impact on the world. Thousands of people, hundreds of bands, owe their passion, their energy, and their entire genre to Ozzy and the early works of Black Sabbath.

It took me a while to really write this one out. For someone so chimerical in the landscape of the heavy metal genre, I really wanted to make sure this paid tribute to the insanity of his life and times. More personally too, his passing truly effected me. Heartbroken is an understatement. A legend of the industry has left our world, someone who laid the foundations for the music that I love and enjoy to this day. That's not to say I don't enjoy his music now - Black Sabbath were part of my awakening to the wider world of metal, with their self titled record being a benchmark in my listening for a while. Moreover, their fourth record Vol. 4 also contained Sweet Leaf, Snowblind and the iconic Changes. I also found myself really resonating with Patient Number 9, it's a record I consistently revisit to this day.

Although problematic earlier in his life due to his substance abuse and impulsive actions (mainly against animals, let's be honest) in the last twenty or so years, Ozzy has done so much to repair his image with his fans, face his sobriety head on, and truly continue performing for his love of music and his fans. From the insane rock n roller who had to out crazy everyone in the room by more than a long shot, Osbourne's polarising character and willingness to be outspoken, outgoing and completely batshit mental (pun intended) allowed him to bore out his own niche within the music industry and has left an irreplaceable fingerprint. He will be sorely missed, by not only me, but also millions across the world. My heart goes out to his family at this trying time.

R.I.P - John 'Ozzy' Osbourne - 1948 // 2025

Sleep well Prince of Darkness, have a beer with Lemmy for us, yeah?