Wild, unfiltered, and utterly unforgettable, Ozzy Osbourne was a metal icon who turned madness into music and carved his name into the soul of rock history. Jenny LeComte pays tribute to the Prince of Darkness.
HE WAS WILD, he was crazy and he punished his body without pity for most of his life, relying on his sturdy Birmingham constitution to pull him through. Nevertheless, heavy metal icon Ozzy Osbourne, who passed away at the age of 76, produced music that got stadiums ripped apart and still sounds fresh and exciting today.
Osbourne sold more than 100 million albums, including solo releases and his earlier work with the seminal heavy metal band Black Sabbath. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice as a member of Black Sabbath in 2006 and as a solo artist in 2024.
He was born John Michael Osbourne on 3 December 1948 and grew up in the Aston area of Birmingham, England. By all accounts, he was a poor student, struggling with dyslexia and bullying from schoolmates who did not understand the rebellious spirit that consumed him. At 14, epiphany arrived. Osbourne fell madly in love with The Beatles and credited their 1963 hit ‘She Loves You’ for making him realise that he was going to be a rock star for the rest of his life.
He left school at 15 and worked at a series of low-level jobs, including a stint at a slaughterhouse.
In the late '60s, Osbourne hooked up with bassist Geezer Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward to form Black Sabbath, a name that Butler came up with after reading an occult book and apparently waking up from a nightmare to see a dark figure by his bed. The music the band produced was heavily blues-laden and somewhat Satanic. It resulted in Osbourne receiving the nickname of “The Prince of Darkness”.
Osbourne got totally on board with the occult theme and, with a backing band that was as tight as a tourniquet, produced legendary songs such as ‘Paranoid’ (1970).
Black Sabbath got a record deal with Warner Bros, whose very modest investment paid off when the band started charting with amazing songs like ‘War Pigs’, a great ballsy hunk of rock ‘n’ roll that also had a political message.
In the meantime, Osbourne was embracing the rock star lifestyle, including the drugs and alcohol that went with it. In his later years, he never drew a sober breath. He was generally as pissed as a newt and engaged in all manner of stunts.
Exhibit A – 1981. The dove incident. Osbourne apparently bit the head off a dove during a meeting with his record company.
Exhibit B – 1982. The bat incident. Osbourne apparently bit the head off a bat that he thought was made of rubber and had to get treated for rabies afterwards.
Exhibit C — 1982. A very inebriated Osbourne apparently cocked his leg on the cenotaph at the Alamo, a tribute to war veterans in Texas.
Osbourne married the love of his life, Sharon Arden, in 1982 and she deftly managed his career afterwards.
In the early 2000s, Osbourne became a reality TV star when his eccentric and amusing personality was highlighted in the unexpected MTV hit, The Osbournes. He co-starred alongside his wife Sharon and his children, Kelly and Jack.
On 5 July 2025, Osbourne performed his last show, which was called ‘Back to the Beginning’ and took place in his hometown of Aston, Birmingham. He died 17 days later.
Tributes for Osbourne flooded in from former bandmates, younger stars that he supported and mentored and people as obscure as Elton John. While you wouldn’t generally think that the pair would have anything in common, Osbourne wrote a song called ‘Ordinary Man’ in 2020 that celebrated their unlikely friendship.
Elton John wrote:
‘He was a dear friend and 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.’
Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi wrote:
‘I just can’t believe it! My dear, dear friend Ozzy Osbourne has passed away only weeks after our show in 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.’
Black Sabbath bass player Geezer Butler said:
‘Goodbye, dear friend. Thanks for all those years — we had some great fun. Four kids from Aston — who’d have thought, eh? So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you.’
Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward wrote:
‘Where will I find you now? In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you’re forever in my heart.’
Fledgling British singer and songwriter Yungblud admitted that he was ‘truly heartbroken’ by the news of the passing of his friend and mentor.
Yungblud wrote:
I didn’t think you would leave so soon the last time we met you were so full of life and your laugh filled up the room. But as it is written with legends, they seem to know the things that we don’t. I will never forget you — you will be in every single note I sing and with me every single time I walk on stage. Your cross around my neck is the most precious thing I own. You asked me once if there was anything you could do for me and as I said then and as I will say now for all of us the music was enough. You took us on your adventure — an adventure that started it all.
Jenny LeComte is a Canberra-based journalist and freelance writer.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License
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