On Air Now
The Chris Moyles Show 6:30am - 10am
Ozzy Osbourne: legendary Black Sabbath singer dies, aged 76, just weeks after farewell show
22 July 2025, 19:43 | Updated: 23 July 2025, 18:53
The news of the Black Sabbath legend and heavy metal pioneer's passing was announced by his family.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Ozzy Osbourne has died, aged 76.
The legendary musician, best known as the frontman of Black Sabbath, has passed away just weeks after his farewell homecoming show took place at Villa Park in Birmingham.
His family shared the news in a statement, which read: "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."
Read more: Ozzy Osbourne bids farewell to the stage with Black Sabbath's all-star Back To The Beginning show
Less than three weeks ago, the Prince of Darkness performed from a throne with the original line-up of the band - completed by Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward - in a special event dubbed Back To The Beginning: Ozzy’s Final Bow.
Speaking at the special homecoming show, he told the fans: "You've no idea how I feel - thank you from the bottom of my heart."
The event was put together with performances from some of his favourite acts who the band had inspired, including Metallica, Guns N' Roses, Slayer and more.
Ozzy performed a solo set of five tracks, which included Mr. Crowley, Suicide Solution, Mama, I'm Coming Home and Crazy Train and went on to join Black Sabbath to perform War Pigs, N.I.B., Iron Man and Paranoid.
Black Sabbath - War Pigs (live from Back To The Beginning)
John Michael Osbourne was born on 3rd December in Marston Green, Warwickshire and grew up in Aston, Birmingham. Leaving school at 15, he went through a series of jobs, including working at a slaughterhouse, until he met bassist Geezer Butler, who invited Ozzy to join his band. This later morphed into Black Sabbath, with the addition of guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward.
Named after an Italian horror film, Sabbath introduced elements of dark fantasy into their bluesy rock and inadvertently forged the style of music that became heavy metal.
Black Sabbath's 1970 self-titled debut album laid the foundations for the genre, alongside the follow-up Paranoid, which had a Top 5 hit in the shape of the title track. Sabbath's run of 1970s albums included Master Of Reality, Sabbath Bloody Sabbath and Sabotage, leadng the charge for heavy music's huge popularity in subsequent decades.
Taking on Don Arden as their manager, Ozzy met the businessman's daughter, Sharon, who would later become his second wife in 1982. She supported Osbourne through some of his worst excesses - even standing by him after he attempted to strangle her during a drunken blackout in 1989.
Read more: What happened with Sharon and Ozzy Osbourne?
Osbourne's hard-living lifestyle was not unusual within the band, but his erratic behaviour became legendary, be it reportedly biting the head off a live bat or being arrested for urinating against The Alamo in Texas. Tales like Ozzy "snorting" a line of ants could be apocyrphal, but with the singer's reputation as a wild man, anything was possible.
The bad behaviour brought him into conflict with his bandmates, who sacked him and replaced the singer with Ronnie James Dio in 1979. This didn't deter the star, who - with Sharon as his manager - formed a successful solo career throughout the 1980s and 90s.
Songs such as So Tired and Bark At The Moon continued to make Osbourne a rock icon, and his 1984 album Diary Of A Madman went triple platinum in the States.
The door wasn't permanently closed with Black Sabbath as Ozzy returned for reunion performances in later years, although his own curated touring show, Ozzfest, was just as popular.
The singer also found a different kind of fame thanks to noughties MTV reality show The Osbournes, which followed the Birmingham-raised star's chaotic life in Los Angeles with wife Sharon and two of their children, Kelly and Jack.
The show shone a light on Ozzy and Sharon's dedicated and occasionally turbulent relationship to a wider audience, with Jack and Kelly becoming stars in their own right.
During his career, Osbourne was inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame - with Black Sabbath and as a solo artist.
The late icon boasts a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame - as well as in Birmingham's Broad Street - an Ivor Novello, and five Grammy wins from 12 nominations.
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon (Official Music Video)
Ozzy Osbourne's health struggles had began in 2003 when he broke his neck after falling off a quad bike. The near-fatal accident led to extensive back surgery for the Changes rocker, which included metal rods being put down his spine.
In 2020 the rocker announced that he had been diagnosed with Parkinson's and he gave an interview with his wife Sharon about his condition, revealing they were travelling to Switzerland for treatment.
The musician revealed revealed earlier this year that he could no longer walk amid his long battle with the condition, but he was determined to be well enough to perform one last time.
In a last interview ahead of his final performance, Ozzy said: "It’s my final encore; it’s my chance to say thank you to my fans for always supporting me and being there for me."
Osbourne leaves behind his wife, Sharon, and their children, Aimee, Kelly and Jack, as well his two older children, Jessica and Louis, from his first marriage to Thelma Riley.
Read more:
