RIP Ozzy Osbourne.

[Curt McGirt]

I was about to say, I remember renting that video when I was a kid. 

[NikoBaltimore]

2 hours ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

To keep it wrestling related, here's Ozzy performing "I Don't Wanna Stop" on Smackdown. The song was also Brent Albright's theme in ROH.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=7NMCk-VNnAs&pp=ygUXaSBkb24ndCB3YW5uYSBzdG9wIG96enk%3D

I have a lot to say about Ozzy but can't at this time.  I will however say I was there live in the corner of the nosebleeds and had no idea he was doing a song.  But he did, I was delighted and I can officially say I saw Ozzy Osborne live.

[Brandon Bones]

https://youtu.be/p7JD2CqTKS4?si=QOEC2XbR7yD88V4G

”Ozzy” - Beck

 

”Ozzy… you’re THE MAN!  How can I… vast your power?”

[odessasteps]

 

[The Natural]

Music stars, fans and former bandmates have paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne, the frontman of pioneering heavy metal band Black Sabbath, who has died at the age of 76.

Black Sabbath have "lost our brother", said the band's co-founder Tony Iommi, while bassist Geezer Butler remembered their final gig and drummer Bill Ward shared an old photo of them together.

The music icon's death on Tuesday came less than three weeks after his band played their farewell gig in his home city of Birmingham.

"He loved what he did, he loved music, he loved playing together, and I'm so glad we had the opportunity of getting together again to do the [farewell] show," Iommi told BBC Radio 4's Today programme on Wednesday.

"It was brilliant being with all the guys again, and the atmosphere, and it was brilliant for Ozzy because he really wanted to do that, he felt at home there and it was good for all of us."

Osbourne, known for energetic and controversial live shows, inspired a generation of musicians.

"It's impossible to put into words what Ozzy Osbourne has meant to Metallica," the band said in a statement on X. "Hero, icon, pioneer, inspiration, mentor, and, most of all, friend are a few that come to mind."

Henry Rollins, former frontman of hardcore band Black Flag, said it was "rare that somebody can be so synonymous" with a specific musical genre.

"But if you want to talk about heavy metal, first up it's Ozzy Osbourne and Black Sabbath. Everyone else comes after."

US rock band Aerosmith , externalcalled him "our brother in rock", sending their love to "the millions around the world who felt his fire".

Osbourne's bandmates in Black Sabbath all shared separate tributes on social media.

Drummer Bill Ward, external looked back at their time together and said: "Where will I find you now? In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls? No, you're forever in my heart."

Bassist and lyricist Geezer Butler, external wrote: "Goodbye dear friend. Thanks for all those years - we had some great fun. Four kids from Aston - who'd have thought, eh?"

On 5 July, the self-styled "prince of darkness" performed in Birmingham supported by many of the musicians he had inspired, including Metallica and Guns N' Roses.

Billy Corgan, lead singer of The Smashing Pumpkins - one of the many bands that performed alongside them - said: "Some of the biggest musical artists in the world travelled from all over the world to be there literally to celebrate the legacy of this band.

"It's one of the greatest musical moments of my life," added Corgan, who spoke to BBC Radio 4's The World Tonight.

"For him to have been that close to death on July 5 and still get up there and perform like he promised... Wow! That puts him in a category of his own," Sammy Hagar, external, former vocalist of Van Halen, who also played at the farewell concert, wrote on Instagram.

AC/DC, external posted that Osbourne's death was a "great loss to all that loved him", while Sir Elton John, external posted on Instagram: "So sad to hear the news of Ozzy Osbourne passing away.

"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. To Sharon and the family, I send my condolences and love."

Foo Fighters, external wrote that "Rock and Roll would not be as loud or as fun" without Osbourne; while Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant, external said he had "truly changed the planet of rock".

US rock singer Alice Cooper dedicated his show in Cardiff on Tuesday to Osbourne, and said in a statement: "The whole world is mourning Ozzy tonight. Over his long career, he earned immense respect among his peers and from fans around the world as an unmatched showman and cultural icon."

Billy Idol, external said Osbourne "opened musical doorways for people like me at a time when we were very young and looking for inspiration", while Green Day singer Billie Joe Armstrong posted a photo of the singer on Instagram and wrote: "No words. We love you Ozzy."

Kiss frontman Gene Simmons told BBC Breakfast: "I know that, right now, millions of fans around the world are crying and shocked, and my heart goes out to Sharon and the family and the fans.

"There were no airs about him - he's met kings queens, political leaders, I think it's fair to say there was never an Ozzy Osbourne before Ozzy, and there will be another Ozzy. He was a unique, loveable person."

Yungblud, external, who performed a cover of Changes at the farewell concert with Black Sabbath in Birmingham just weeks ago, hailed Osbourne as a "legend" and said "I didn't think you would leave so soon".

Announcing the star's death on Tuesday, his family said in a statement: "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. He was with his family and surrounded by love."

Others shared fond memories of Osbourne's larger-than-life character.

Variety magazine's senior entertainment editor Jem Aswad recalled the first time he met Osbourne, he was "nervous" to meet the prince of darkness.

"It was just this sort of really bizarre scene," Aswad told the BBC.

Osbourne entered the room near noon in a bathrobe, having "just woken up", wearing loads of jewellery and accessories and "a lot of gold", Aswad said, though adding that Osbourne was "perfectly nice, perfectly friendly".

Meanwhile, fans laid flowers at a mural for the band in Birmingham, and gathered at the Hollywood Walk of Fame in Los Angeles.

"Osbourne was more than a rock legend - he was a cultural icon who reshaped music and defied expectations," said Ana Martinez, the venue's producer.

Black Sabbath were pioneers in the heavy metal genre of music, writing classic tracks like Paranoid, War Pigs and Iron Man.

After leaving the band in 1979 over rising tensions with its other members, Osbourne had a lengthy solo music career releasing more than a dozen albums. His debut single released the next year, Crazy Train, is arguably one of his most famous songs.

In the 2000s, his wild image was transformed thanks to the MTV reality show The Osbournes - which portrayed the star as the well-meaning, frequently befuddled patriarch of an unruly household.

Osbourne is survived by his wife Sharon and six children, three from each of his two marriages.

Bbc.co.uk.

[zendragon]

[zendragon]

WWE Hall of Famer Ozzy Osbourne passes away | WWE

[The Natural]

BBC 5 Live broke away from England vs. Italy in the Women's Euros quarter-final yesterday to inform the listeners about Ozzy Osbourne's passing and pay tribute. Too right.

[NikoBaltimore]

I feel no matter what tributes come in for Ozzy it just isn't nearly enough to properly encapsulate what he means to not just metal but music as a whole.  I know for sure I won't come anywhere close to it and that's okay.

But goddamnit Ozzy is one helluva motherfucker.  I don't even want to use past tense as while I know his body passed Ozzy is forever in damn near everything you hear and will hear.  So in turn Ozzy Osborne will live forever.

RIP, Ozzy.

Edited July 23 by NikoBaltimore

[Curt McGirt]

Ozzy topped the NBC Nightly News. Political thievery had to settle for second. 

Edited July 23 by Curt McGirt

[The Natural]

8 hours ago, NikoBaltimore said:

I feel no matter what tributes come in for Ozzy it just isn't nearly enough to properly encapsulate what he means to not just metal but music as a whole.  I know for sure I won't come anywhere close to it and that's okay.

But goddamnit Ozzy is one helluva motherfucker.  I don't even want to use past tense as while I know his body passed Ozzy is forever in damn near everything you hear and will hear.  So in turn Ozzy Osborne will live forever.

RIP, Ozzy.

Well said, my friend.

[Death From Above]

Ozzy passed away on my 44th birthday, which is wild because his music has had such a massive impact on my life. When I started high school I picked one that just so happened to randomly have a guitar class, which I took because like fuckin' hell I'm gonna take a class where I have to stare at books for an hour when I could be playing music instead. I got into Black Sabbath big around that time, and the first time I heard War Pigs I said to myself "shit, I want to do THAT". Back at the time I ended up learning pretty much all the classic Sabbath tracks, and they are still my favourite of the OG metal bands to this day. I loved Ozzy's solo music too. Obviously everyone is gaga for the 80's stuff but Ozzmosis is such an underrated album, man. The songs on that are as good as any other major label hard rock/metal album in the 90's. 

I think it's metal as fuck that Ozzy's last act as a musician was a world record setting benefit concert for Parkinson's research and a children's hospital. Ozzy and friends probably did more good off that one concert than all those Satanic Panic assholes that went after him for 40 years did in their entire lives put together. Fuck 'em. We won.

Rest in Peace, king.

https://youtu.be/9dNh_5JxVmE?si=rkXX0OfA42BGhBNR

[Curt McGirt]

[Zakk_Sabbath]

What a brutal week it has been. This has been felt immensely in my house. Hope you all are doing well

[Curt McGirt]

Geezer Butler:

He showed up barefoot on my doorstep. That’s how it all began. No fanfare, no lightning bolt from the sky — just a young man with a wild grin and a spark in his eye that didn’t quite match the worn soles of his feet. “Okay,” I said, half-joking, “you’re in the band.” I had no idea I’d just opened the door to 57 years of madness, laughter, music, and, eventually, the kind of grief that clutches your chest and makes the world a little dimmer. Ozzy Osbourne wasn’t just the frontman of Black Sabbath. To me, he was the laugh that echoed through the chaos, the friend who always picked up the phone when life hurt too much to speak.

Even now, as I try to put this all into words, I still see him — not the myth, not the legend, but the man. The Ozzy who’d give you the shirt off his back, then moon you to lighten the mood. The one who, even in his final days, dragged himself into rehearsals with a cane sparkling like something out of a pirate’s treasure chest. He could barely stand. He barely spoke. But damn it, he showed up. That’s who he was.

We had drifted, as people do. After our 2017 tour, life took us in different directions. I hadn’t seen or spoken to him in years — until Aston Villa brought us back together. Standing again in that stadium where we’d once run wild as kids, something clicked. It felt like coming home, in the most bittersweet way. July 5, at Villa Park, was our last bow. But none of us knew it. We thought we had more time. Isn’t that always the story?

At the rehearsal, I saw the toll time and illness had taken. It hurt. Ozzy, once larger than life, needed help just to get through a few songs. But he didn’t complain. He sat, he sang, and he smiled that crooked smile that said, “Let’s do this one more time.” We didn’t talk much that night. We should’ve. But backstage, with cameras flashing and people buzzing, it all felt like a blur. There was no hug, no epic farewell. Just a handshake, a cake, and a hole in my chest I couldn’t name at the time.

I keep thinking about all the things I should’ve said. I should’ve told him how much I admired his strength, how his loyalty shaped my own. I should’ve told him he was the heart of Sabbath — not just the scream, not just the spectacle, but the soul. I should’ve thanked him for those late-night calls, especially when my son was fighting for his life. Ozzy called every day, even when we weren’t speaking. That was who he was — more than a bat-biting wild man, more than the Prince of Darkness. He was the Prince of Laughter. A man with a filthy joke on his lips and a golden heart beating underneath.

People will remember the madness — the doves, the Alamo, the chaos. But I’ll remember a man who, when no one else was watching, reached out his hand and held tight. I’ll remember the invisible bond between us four — Ozzy, Tony, Bill, and me — forged in smoke, sweat, and sound. We were brothers once. We always will be.

And now, the house is quiet. The music’s stopped. I keep listening for that laugh, that off-key hum, that Ozzy-ism that made even the darkest days feel absurdly light. But it’s gone, and the silence is deafening.

I wish we had more time, mate. I wish I had just one more night, one more laugh, one more song. But as you always said — wish in one hand, and, well, you know the rest.

Rest easy, Oz. It’s been one hell of a ride.

[Brian Fowler]

There have only been a few musician deaths that hit me as hard as this one still is. Prince. Dio. Cash. I think that's it. 

Been listening almost exclusively to Ozzy or Sabbath related stuff for over a week now. Just... Fuck I don't know. Just such a defining part of my life, Black Sabbath/Ozzy has been since my mid-teens when they made me truly fall in love with music, especially metal.

[Dolfan in NYC]

Reports are Mr. Osbourne's death was as a result of a heart attack.