Heavy Metal legend, Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne has died
Heavy metal star and Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne has died. Just a few weeks earlier, Osbourne had reunited with the band and held a huge farewell concert for his fans.
Heavy metal star Ozzy Osbourne, known for his "Prince of Darkness" image and becoming one of the most iconic rock vocalists of all time, has died at the age of 76.
Osbourne's family announced the artist's death as follows:
"It is with immense sadness beyond words that we must announce the passing of our beloved Ozzy Osbourne this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask that everyone respect our family's privacy during this time."
Although Osbourne had suffered from various health problems in recent years, the cause of death was not disclosed.
Ozzy Osbourne, also known as the “Prince of Darkness,” played his final concert with Black Sabbath on July 5 after 20 years.
The band's final concert took place at Villa Park in Aston, Birmingham, Osbourne's hometown.
The band performed a selection of their hits to 40,000 people in the stadium and millions more on live television.
They were joined on stage by prominent names in the rock world such as Billy Corgan, Steven Tyler, Tom Morello, Ronnie Wood and Yungblud.
The band's latest performance raised £140 million for charity, according to the event's musical director, Tom Morello.
A concert film celebrating the legacy of Osbourne and Black Sabbath is scheduled for release in 2026.
Born in 1948 to a working-class family in Birmingham, England, John Michael “Ozzy” Osbourne became known as one of the founding figures of heavy metal music and one of the most controversial figures in music history.
Osbourne, who had a difficult childhood, shared with the public years later that she struggled with both poverty and the sexual abuse she suffered as a child.
He went to prison for theft in his youth, but this dark beginning formed the basis for his later stage character.
He made his musical debut with the band Black Sabbath, which he founded with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, and Bill Ward in 1970. The band's self-titled debut album, and especially their 1970 album Paranoid, laid the foundations of the genre with songs like "Iron Man" and "War Pigs."
The 1971 album "Master of Reality" influenced the development of doom metal, a slower, more serious subgenre of heavy metal. However, Osbourne's increasing alcohol and drug addiction disrupted the band's balance and led to his dismissal from the group in 1979.
After leaving Black Sabbath, Osbourne pursued a solo career, releasing "Blizzard of Ozz" in 1980. The album, which went five times platinum in the US, demonstrated Osbourne's continued influence on the metal scene as a solo act.
Throughout his career, he collaborated with artists like Elton John, Post Malone, and Travis Scott. However, his personal life has always been as much a topic of discussion as his stage performances. One of his most memorable moments is biting the head off a bat on stage at a concert in Iowa in 1982, without realizing it was real. That same year, he is also known for biting the heads off pigeons at a record company meeting.
He married his manager, Sharon, in 1982. The Ozzfest festival, founded by Sharon in 1996, helped spread metal music worldwide. However, the couple's relationship was occasionally plagued by violence and betrayal.
Osbourne was arrested for attempting to strangle Sharon in 1989. He recounted the incident in a 2007 interview:
“I woke up in this tiny solitary cell with human excrement on the walls and I thought, ‘What the hell have I done now?’ A police officer read me a piece of paper and said, ‘You are being charged with the attempted murder of Miss Sharon Osbourne.’ I can’t describe how I felt. I just went numb.”
Sharon and Ozzy reconciled, but briefly split in 2016 due to Osbourne's affair with a hairdresser. They later reconciled.
Osbourne broke into television in the 2000s with the reality show "The Osbournes," which aired on MTV. It chronicled the daily lives of his wife, Sharon, and their children, Kelly and Jack. Filled with profanity, chaotic home life, and absurd details, the show garnered significant attention and won an Emmy Award. This established Ozzy Osbourne not only as a musician but also as a pop culture figure.
Health problems marked the final years of his life. In 2003, he was involved in an ATV accident, breaking his neck and ribs. He was diagnosed with Parkin syndrome in 2005 and Parkinson's disease in 2020. Although he announced his retirement from the stage after his world tour in 2019, he performed one last time with members of Black Sabbath for their farewell concert, "Back to the Beginning," at Villa Park in Birmingham in 2025.
Performing while sitting on a throne decorated with bat figures, Osbourne bid farewell to his fans with the words, "I am Iron Man! Go crazy!"
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