Ozzy Osbourne, a pioneer of heavy metal, eccentric rock icon and unmistakable voice of Black Sabbath, died this Tuesday at age 76.
“With a sadness that cannot be expressed in words, we reported the death of our beloved Ozzy this morning. He was with his family and surrounded by love,” says the official statement shared by his family.
The news has shocked the world of music. Not only because it is a key figure in the history of rock, but for what it represented: a life of excesses, reinvention, darkness, humor and music that changed generations. His hometown, Birmingham, has given him spontaneous tribute with flowers in the streets and artists around the world have expressed his regret.
Born as John Michael Osbourne on December 3, 1948, in the Obrero neighborhood of Aston, Birmingham, Ozzy had an childhood marked by poverty and marginality. He went through jail at age 17 and discovered his way thanks to the music of the Beatles. Shortly after, along with Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward, formed Black Sabbath, a band that would shape the sound of heavy metal.
With records like “Black Sabbath” (1970), “Paranoid” (1970) or “Master of reality” (1971), Ozzy and his companions marked the dark, dense and rebel tone that defined an entire genre. But the excesses passed, and in 1979 he was expelled from the band for his problems with alcohol and drugs. “We were all equally bad,” he said once.
Far from going out, Ozzy resurfaced as a soloist with albums like “Blizzard of Ozz” and “Diary of A Madman”and with the key support of Sharon Arden, daughter of Sabbath’s manager, with whom he married and had three children. His solo career was as influential as his stage in Black Sabbath, with mass tours, new hymns and an increasingly iconic image.
In 2000, it became a global star thanks to reality show The Osbourneswho showed his family life and brought him closer to new generations. Despite its deteriorated health – Parkinson’s disease, operations and injuries – Ozzy continued as much time as possible.
Known for episodes as eccentric as biting the head of a bat in a concert or urinating in a monument dressed as Sharon, Osbourne built a figure that mixed chaos with genius. But behind the myth, there was always a deeply human, creative artist, and with a unique sensitivity.
Father of six children, husband, star, and eternal symbol of heavy metal, Ozzy Osbourne leaves a legacy that will continue to resonate in each dark riff, at each metal festival, and in each adolescent who discovers his music for the first time.
His last concert was on July 5, 2025 in Villa Park, Birmingham, sitting on a black throne, accompanied by Metallica, Guns N ‘Roses or Steven Tyler among others. A goodbye worthy of who was, until the end, a true rock legend.
Rest in peace, prince of darkness.
