July 22, 2025<\/a><\/p>\nLast night, at Toronto\u2019s Budweiser Stage, fellow Brit Rod Stewart put Osbourne\u2019s photo on the jumbotron and dedicated \u201cForever Young\u201d to him. The 16,000-capacity amphitheatre is also where Osbourne last performed in Toronto in 2018.<\/p>\n
Now Toronto reached out to just some of the Canadian musicians who have worked with, opened for or met the music legend. <\/p>\n
\u201cOf all the rock stars I\u2019ve met or worked with, Ozzy was the most self-aware, appreciative and gracious,\u201d producer\/engineer Kevin Churko says, who won two Juno Awards for Osbourne\u2019s 10th solo album, Black Rain, and 11th, Scream. \u201c\u2026During the two records I produced for him, our days were full of laughter and joy. He never disappointed me with his stories, wit and humour. I was privileged to be in the room with him and feel his energy and spirit.\u201d<\/p>\n
Todd Kerns, previously the frontman for The Age of Electric, and the long-time bassist for Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators, tells Now they opened for Osbourne multiple times in 2011 and he finally met him on the final date.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cSlash introduced us and it was an honour to shake his hand. He sat and held court for a time being every bit the Ozzy you hoped he would be. I dared not interrupt his flow with any inane question burning the tip of my tongue. I knew this was one of those rare experiences one has to just simply allow to happen.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dan Kanter, who was Justin Bieber\u2019s musical director for eight years, says, \u201cMeeting Ozzy was a dream come true. His guitarist Zakk Wylde is the reason I play guitar and my son is named after Zakk. I met Ozzy when he was in town with Black Sabbath playing at Scotiabank Arena. He looked at me while shaking my hand and said, \u2018Tell that Bieber kid to behave.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
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L to R: Canadian booking agent Joel Baskin, Ozzy Osbourne, and Dan Kanter, 2013 (Courtesy: Dan Kanter)<\/p>\n
Other artists, including The Tea Party and Finger Eleven, who opened for Osbourne dates, also sent tributes to Now.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe was a gentleman; he was delightful, and at the time, very interested in his TV ratings because the show The Osbourne\u2018s was brand new,\u201d The Tea Party drummer Jeff Burrows remembers of that 2002 show in Hamilton, Ontario, while Finger Eleven guitarist Rick Jackett calls being the main support in 2003 for Osbourne \u201camongst the highlights in our career and personal lives. \u201cWe got to watch him kill it onstage every night for 2 1\/2 hours. We learned a lot about showmanship on that tour.\u201d<\/p>\n
It is fortuitous that Osbourne got to experience and soak in all the love at the July 5 tribute concert in Birmingham and return to the stage himself.<\/p>\n
As seen in countless clips on social media, Osbourne, perched on a black throne with his original Black Sabbath bandmates, sang four songs, \u201cWar Pigs,\u201d \u201cN.I.B.,\u201c \u201cIron Man,\u201d and \u201cParanoid,\u201d after first joining his longtime solo career bandmates for \u201cI Don\u2019t Know,\u201d \u201cMr. Crowley,\u201d \u201cSuicide Solution,\u201d \u201cMama, I\u2019m Coming Home\u201d (aided by the audience of 45,000 in an outpouring of love and respect) and \u201cCrazy Train.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know what to say, man. I\u2019ve been laid up for like six years,\u201d Osbourne told the sold-out crowd, overcome with emotion. \u201cYou have no idea how I feel \u2014 thank you from the bottom of my heart. You\u2019re all special. Let\u2019s go crazy. Come on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The live-streamed event, titled Back To The Beginning, included tribute sets from footstep-following metal legends Metallica, Guns N\u2019 Roses, Slayer, Tool, Pantera, Anthrax, and a career-elevating performance of \u201cChanges\u201d from Yungblud, and raised a record $190 million USD. It will be released as a 100-minute concert film in 2026. A posthumous memoir, Last Rites \u2014 the follow-up to 2010\u2019s I\u2019m Dr. Ozzy \u2014 is set for release Oct. 7. A documentary, Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape From Now, about the last six years of his life, will be out on Paramount+ later this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Osbourne became a bona fide celeb in the early oughts after his pre-Kardashian reality TV series, The Osbournes, on MTV, set in his adopted home of Beverly Hills, provided an entertainment peek behind the curtain of a wealthy, off-the-road metal God\/family man who until then had been famous to non-metalheads for biting the head off a live bat at a 1982 concert (he said he thought it was a rubber toy tossed onstage by a fan).<\/p>\n
Born John Michael Osbourne, and given the nickname Ozzy as a kid, he had a tough time in school \u2014 including molestation by bullies, he told the Daily Mirror \u2014 but found inspiration for his life\u2019s ambition when he heard the Beatles \u201cShe Loves You\u201d in 1963.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 1968, with bassist Geezer Butler, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward, he formed a band, built on the blues and a whole lot of darkness, dirge and down-tuning. They eventually settled on the name Black Sabbath, feeding on imagery from the occult.<\/p>\n
Their self-titled debut in 1970, an album which has influenced scores of musicians and provided a wonderful escape for youth and youth-at-heart headbangers for decades. In 2023, Rolling Stone called the eponymous song, \u201cBlack Sabbath,\u201d the No. 1 greatest heavy metal song of all time. Paranoid, released that same year, cemented the group in the pantheon of metal, with classics such as \u201cIron Man,\u201d \u201cWar Pigs\u201d and the title track.<\/p>\n
Osbourne was fired from the band after 1978\u2019s Never Say Die!, due to his substance abuse, but launched a successful solo career with his 1980 debut Blizzard Of Ozz and metal mainstays \u201cCrazy Train,\u201d \u201cMama I\u2019m Coming Home\u201d and \u201cBark At The Moon.\u201d He reunited with Sabbath in 2013 for the group\u2019s final studio offering, 13, and released his 13th \u00a0and final solo album, Patient Number 9, in 2022\u00a0<\/p>\n
As Kerns put it in the conclusion of the tribute he sent: \u201cTomorrow I wake up for the first time in an Ozzy-less world and I can\u2019t help but think it will be a very different one indeed. Thank God we have the music. Music makes all of our heroes immortal. Whenever we miss Ozzy we are very lucky to be able to revisit him at the touch of a button. I think I\u2019ll do that right now.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ THESE CANADIAN TRIBUTES IN FULL:\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Tea Party\u2019s Jeff Burrows:\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThe best thing about touring with Ozzy, was you never knew what was going to happen on stage. He was a gentleman he was delightful, and at the time, very interested in his TV ratings because the show \u201cThe Osbourne\u2018s\u201d was brand new!\u201d<\/p>\n
Producer\/engineer Kevin Churko:<\/p>\n
\u201cOf all the rock stars I\u2019ve met or worked with, Ozzy was the most self-aware, appreciative and gracious. I celebrate what a truly royal human being Ozzy was. What an amazing life he lived! During the two records I produced for him, our days were full of laughter and joy. He never disappointed me with his stories, wit and humour. I was privileged to be in the room with him and feel his energy and spirit. He was full of abundance and that abundance spilled over into my own life. Today I\u2019m happy. Happy for his extraordinary life of fulfillment, happy he was with his family til the end and happy for the world that felt and will continue to feel his impact and influence on the music, family and art.\u201d<\/p>\n
Todd Kerns of Slash feat. Myles Kennedy & the Conspirators:<\/p>\n
\u201cIt cannot be underestimated the impact that Ozzy Osbourne had on an entire wave of music. As a solo artist he managed to introduce a whole generation of kids to his previous band, Black Sabbath. The impact of the Blizzard Of Ozz\/Diary Of A Madman double shot caught the attention of every mall wandering hesher like me.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sure we were familiar with Iron Man or Paranoid but those were those tough older kids smoking out behind the school\u2019s music. Ozzy was OURS.\u00a0<\/p>\n
His live album Speak Of The Devil was 100% classic Sabbath songs and in my opinion a lot of people\u2019s first real taste of those songs was through that album opening a treasure trove of Sabbath albums that are all winners.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I was fortunate enough to open for Ozzy while on tour of multiple cities throughout the US with Slash in 2011. Every night Ozzy went on stage and stated, \u201cI love you all!\u201d and I believed him every time. I truly believe he loved all of us. I finally met the man on the final date of the tour. The whole tour he had been illusive. I was under the impression he would fly back and forth from LA between shows. A luxury most of us would indulge in if we could.\u00a0<\/p>\n
On that final day of the tour Ozzy just casually wandered into our dressing room addressing Slash as the old friends they have always been. Slash introduced us and it was an honour to shake his hand. He sat and held court for a time being every bit the Ozzy you hoped he would be. I dared not interrupt his flow with any inane question burning the tip of my tongue. I knew this was one of those rare experiences one has to just simply allow to happen.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In 2012 while on tour with Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy And The Conspirators Slash would bounce over and play with Ozzy And Friends. It was originally booked as a Sabbath reunion tour but with an ailing Tony Iommi rebranded with guests like Slash, Zakk Wylde and more. Thankfully Tony is alive and well.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Every night I stood side stage mesmerized by the mastery of Ozzy. I\u2019ve never seen anyone as committed to his audience as Ozzy Osbourne. He never gave less than 100%.\u00a0<\/p>\n
We performed for Ozzy again at the MTV Europe EMAs in 2014 in Glasgow, Scotland. We played Crazy Train with Simon from Biffy Clyro.\u00a0<\/p>\n
I never saw Ozzy that day. He watched us play from some distant VIP section. It was yet another honour to be able to pay respect to the man.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Our stars never crossed again. The experiences feel mythical now. Like I had been in the presence of a unicorn.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Tomorrow I wake up for the first time in an Ozzy-less world and I can\u2019t help but think it will be a very different one indeed. Thank God we have the music. Music makes all of our heroes immortal. Whenever we miss Ozzy we are very lucky to be able to revisit him at the touch of a button. I think I\u2019ll do that right now.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Dan Kanter:<\/p>\n
\u201cMeeting Ozzy was a dream come true. His guitarist Zakk Wylde is the reason I play guitar and my son is named after Zakk. I met Ozzy when he was in town with Black Sabbath playing Scotiabank Arena. He looked at me while shaking my hand and said, \u2018Tell that Bieber kid to behave.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
Finger Eleven\u2019s Rick Jackett:<\/p>\n
\u201cGetting to be main support for Ozzy is amongst the highlights in our career (and personal lives). He was a living legend. And we got to watch him kill it onstage every night for 2 1\/2 hours. We learned a lot about showmanship on that tour. It was 2003 and we met him backstage. The whole band and crew were amazing to us.\u201d<\/p>\n