{"id":16479,"date":"2025-07-22T22:06:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-22T22:06:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/16479\/"},"modified":"2025-07-22T22:06:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T22:06:12","slug":"ozzy-osbourne-hard-rock-pioneer-dies-aged-76","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/16479\/","title":{"rendered":"Ozzy Osbourne, hard rock pioneer, dies aged 76"},"content":{"rendered":"

Ozzy Osbourne, the Black Sabbath frontman, has died aged 76 just weeks after the band\u2019s farewell show. <\/p>\n

A statement from his family said: \u201cIt is with more sadness than mere words can convey that we have to report that our beloved Ozzy Osbourne has passed away this morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was with his family and surrounded by love. We ask everyone to respect our family privacy at this time.\u201d<\/p>\n

The statement was signed by his wife Sharon and children Jack, Kelly, Aimee and Louis.<\/p>\n

The surviving members of Black Sabbath shared a photo of Ozzy at the final gig alongside the words \u201cOzzy Forever\u201d.<\/p>\n

Responding to the news, the band Metallica shared an image on X of them with Osbourne from 1986 along with an emoji of a broken heart.<\/p>\n

Sir Elton John called him \u201ca legend\u201d. He posted on Instagram: \u201cSo sad to hear the news of Ozzy Osbourne passing away.<\/p>\n

Watch: Ozzy Osbourne, dead at 76<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/p>\n

Osbourne with his wife, Sharon and daughter, Kelly, in 2020<\/p>\n

KEVIN MAZUR\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a dear friend and a huge trailblazer who secured his place in the pantheon of rock gods \u2014 a true legend.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was also one of the funniest people I\u2019ve ever met. I will miss him dearly. To Sharon and the family, I send my condolences and love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sean Ono Lennon, the son of John Lennon and Yoko Ono, said: \u201cOne of the greatest of all time. @OzzyOsbourne R.I.P.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ozzy<\/p>\n

Osbourne performing during half-time show at an NFL football game in California in 2022<\/p>\n

KEVORK DJANSEZIAN\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones said: \u201cI am so very sad to hear of the death of Ozzy Osbourne. What a lovely goodbye concert he had at Back To The Beginning in Birmingham.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tony Iommi, Black Sabbath co-founder, said in a social media post, which included a photo of him and his former bandmate: \u201cI just can\u2019t believe it! My dear dear friend Ozzy has passed away only weeks after our show at Villa Park. It\u2019s just such heart-breaking news that I can\u2019t really find the words, there won\u2019t ever be another like him. Geezer [Butler], Bill [Ward] and myself have lost our brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sammy Hagar, the former Van Halen frontman who was among the musicians who performed at Black Sabbath\u2019s final concert, said: \u201cOzzy Osbourne was and will always be a one of a kind true rock legend. For him to have been that close to death on July 5 and still get up there and perform like he promised \u2014 wow! That puts him in a category of his own. Talk about commitment and loyalty to your fans. Nobody\u2019s going to out-do that ever! RIP my brother, you did it all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Terence \u201cGeezer\u201d Butler said: \u201cGoodbye dear friend, thanks for all those years, we had some great fun. 4 kids from Aston \u2014 who\u2019d have thought, eh? So glad we got to do it one last time, back in Aston. Love you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Black Sabbath\u2019s original line-up reunited for the last time, after 20 years, on July 5 at Birmingham\u2019s Villa Park stadium. <\/p>\n

The band were heavy metal pioneers, writing classic tracks including Paranoid, War Pigs and Iron Man.<\/p>\n

Osbourne, who was suffering from Parkinson\u2019s disease, performed his last set from a large black throne and said it was \u201cso good to be on this stage\u201d, a stone\u2019s throw from where the heavy metal band was formed in 1968.<\/p>\n

The band performed last at the all-day charity benefit, which included other rock bands and featured tributes from famous well-wishers including Elton John and Dolly Parton. <\/p>\n

\"Ozzy<\/p>\n

Osbourne at the Black Sabbath farewell gig at Villa Park on July 5<\/p>\n

ROSS HALFIN<\/p>\n

He was born John Michael Osbourne in Aston, Birmingham.<\/p>\n

He left school at 15 and did odd jobs including in an abattoir and factory work before teaming up with school friend Terence \u201cGeezer\u201d Butler in several bands. Tony Iommi and Bill Ward were the other original band members. <\/p>\n

\"Photo<\/p>\n

Black Sabbath in the 1970s: Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne<\/p>\n

CHRIS WALTER\/WIREIMAGE<\/p>\n

Black Sabbath were one of the most influential and successful metal bands in history, selling more than 75 million albums worldwide. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2006 and Osbourne was added for a second time last year. <\/p>\n

Osbourne was known for his theatrical stage presence, including biting off the head of a live bat on stage, as well as his off stage antics. He once snorted a line of ants in a drunken contest with the lead singer of M\u00f6tley Cr\u00fce. <\/p>\n

\"Portrait<\/p>\n

Osbourne in 1986<\/p>\n

ROSS MARINO\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

He was also arrested for attempting to strangle his wife Sharon at their daughter\u2019s sixth birthday party. She declined to press charges. <\/p>\n

Osbourne was kicked out of Black Sabbath in 1979 and launched a successful and prolific solo career with hits such as Crazy Train and Mr Crowley. He reformed with the band several times, including in 2016 for a final world tour.<\/p>\n

\"Ozzy<\/p>\n

Ozzy and Sharon with and their children Aimee, Kelly and Jack, in America in 1987<\/p>\n

PHOTO BY DAVE HOGAN\/HULTON ARCHIVE\/GETTY IMAGES<\/p>\n

The Osbourne family became the subject of a reality television show broadcast on MTV and ran for three years from 2002. <\/p>\n

Osbourne went on to dine with President George Bush and perform at Buckingham Palace to celebrate Queen Elizabeth II\u2019s platinum jubilee. <\/p>\n

He had three children with Sharon; Aimee, Jack and Kelly, as well as two children with his first wife Thelma (n\u00e9e Riley); Jessica and Louis.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Rolling Stone in 2023, Osbourne said: \u201cIf I can\u2019t continue doing shows on a regular basis, I just want to be well enough to do one show where I can say, \u2018Hi guys, thanks so much for my life.\u2019 That\u2019s what I\u2019m working towards, and if I drop down dead at the end of it, I\u2019ll die a happy man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ozzy Osbourne in his own words\u201cPink Floyd was music for rich college kids, and we were the exact f***ing opposite of that\u201d\u201cI got rabies shots for biting the head off a bat but that\u2019s OK \u2014 the bat had to get Ozzy shots\u201d\u201cI\u2019m a lunatic by nature, and lunatics don\u2019t need training \u2014 they just are\u201d\u201cOf all the things I\u2019ve lost, I miss my mind the most\u201d\u201cI knew it was time to get off of reality TV when someone asked me if I sang as well as acted\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Ozzy Osbourne, the Black Sabbath frontman, has died aged 76 just weeks after the band\u2019s farewell show. A…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16480,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[6491,96,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-16479","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-celebrities","tag-celebrities","tag-entertainment","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16479","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16479"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16479\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16480"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16479"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16479"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16479"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}