{"id":42535,"date":"2025-07-28T11:56:09","date_gmt":"2025-07-28T11:56:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/42535\/"},"modified":"2025-07-28T11:56:09","modified_gmt":"2025-07-28T11:56:09","slug":"i-wasnt-prepared-to-see-how-frail-he-was","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/42535\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I Wasn\u2019t Prepared to See How Frail He Was\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

While the world mourns the Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne<\/a>, Black Sabbath<\/a>\u2019s Terence \u201cGeezer\u201d Butler is mourning the \u201cPrince of Laughter\u201d \u2014 his friend and bandmate of nearly six decades.<\/p>\n

Just weeks after the curtains closed on the pioneering rock band\u2019s final gig together, frontman Osbourne died at age 76<\/a> on July 22. Now, in an essay for The Sunday Times<\/a>, the bassist, 76, pulled back the curtain on his \u201c57 incredible years of friendship\u201d with Osbourne \u2014 from the band\u2019s formation to its farewell concert.<\/p>\n

The Birmingham native, who formed Black Sabbath in 1968 alongside Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and drummer Bill Ward, began the tribute by detailing his and Osbourne\u2019s long history with Villa Park.<\/p>\n

Butler and Osbourne both grew up near the Birmingham soccer stadium. In 2024, the stadium\u2019s team, Aston Villa, reunited the rockers for an ad. (Prior to the spot, Butler \u201chadn\u2019t seen or spoken to Ozzy since Black Sabbath\u2019s The End tour in 2017,\u201d he said.)<\/p>\n

\"Chris<\/p>\n

Chris Walter\/WireImage<\/p>\n

Geezer Butler, Tony Iommi, Bill Ward and Ozzy Osbourne of Black Sabbath<\/p>\n

\u201cSo it was quite fitting, for Ozzy and Black Sabbath to end the long journey from our beginning in 1968 to our final show back in Aston at Villa Park, on July 5,” he wrote.<\/p>\n

Still, Butler added, \u201cI didn\u2019t realize then that I would never see Ozzy again after that night.\u201d<\/p>\n

Rehearsals for the final gig, Butler said, began a month out, with just himself, Iommi and Ward to start \u2014 and they were a bit rough at first. \u201cThen it was time for Ozzy to join us,\u201d he explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew he wasn\u2019t in good health, but I wasn\u2019t prepared to see how frail he was,\u201d the bassist recalled in the essay. \u201cHe was helped into the rehearsal room by two helpers and a nurse and was using a cane \u2014 being Ozzy, the cane was black and studded with gold and precious stones.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t really say much beyond the usual greetings, and when he sang, he sat in a chair,\u201d Butler continued. \u201cWe ran through the songs, but we could see it was exhausting him after six or seven songs. We had a bit of a chat, but he was really quiet compared with the Ozzy of old.\u201d<\/p>\n

But \u201cthe strangest part of that show,\u201d the bassist revealed, \u201cwas the end.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ross<\/p>\n

Ross Halfin<\/p>\n

Ozzy Osbourne’s final concert with Black Sabbath on July 5<\/p>\n

\u201cNormally, we would all hug each other and take a bow to the audience,\u201d Butler said. \u201cBut Ozzy was on his throne and we hadn\u2019t thought that out. What do we do? Tony shook his hand, I presented him with a cake, but it was such a strange feeling to end our story like that. I wish I\u2019d had more time backstage with Ozzy, but wishes are redundant now. As Ozzy used to say: \u2018Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which comes first.\u2019 \u201d<\/p>\n

Butler also shared more insight into his relationship with the \u201cCrazy Train\u201d singer, including their first time meeting, which doubles as the beginning of Black Sabbath\u2019s formation.<\/p>\n

The band, originally called Earth, was \u201cthe most incredible journey of our lives,\u201d the bassist said. And it all began with Osbourne arriving barefoot on his doorstep, and Butler almost immediately declaring, \u201cOkay, you\u2019re in the band.\u201d<\/p>\n

Along with Iommi, 77, and Ward, 77, the foursome \u201cbecame inseparable brothers in arms,\u201d Butler said, \u201calways looking out for each other.\u201d There \u201cwas always an invisible link between Ozzy, Tony, Bill and me,\u201d he added in the emotional essay. \u201cWe had gone through the best of times and the worst of times; the bond was unbreakable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cTo me, Ozzy wasn\u2019t the Prince of Darkness \u2014 if anything, he was the Prince of Laughter. He\u2019d do anything for a laugh, a born entertainer,\u201d Butler wrote of Osbourne.<\/p>\n

The rock legend\u2019s reputation as a \u201cferal wild man,\u201d he added in the essay, did not detract from the fact that he \u201chad a heart of pure gold.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Chris<\/p>\n

Chris Walter\/WireImage<\/p>\n

Black Sabbath’s Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler in 1970<\/p>\n

\u201cMost of his infamous antics \u2014 the bat saga<\/a>, biting the head off a dove, pissing on the Alamo, snorting lines of ants, and the rest \u2014 came in his solo years, away from the restraints of the Sabbath crew,\u201d Butler said. \u201cBut if you were a friend in need, Ozzy was always there for you.\u201d<\/p>\n

When Butler\u2019s son \u201cwas born with a heart defect,\u201d he offered as an example, \u201cOzzy called me every day to see how I was coping, even though we hadn\u2019t spoken for a year.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody knew he\u2019d be gone from us little more than two weeks after the final show. But I am so grateful we got to play one last time together in front of his beloved fans,\u201d the bassist wrote. \u201cThe love from the fans and all the bands, musicians, singers and solo artists that night was incredible. Everyone had come to pay homage to the Prince.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI am so privileged to have spent most of my life with him,\u201d he continued. \u201cOf course, there are millions of things I will think of that I should have written, but how can I sum up 57 incredible years of friendship in a few paragraphs? God bless, Oz, it has been one hell of a ride! Love you!\u201d<\/p>\n

Never miss a story \u2014 sign up for\u00a0PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter<\/a>\u00a0to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.<\/p>\n

All three of Osbourne\u2019s Black Sabbath bandmates shared heartfelt tributes to the beloved rocker following his death, with Iommi writing, \u201cIt\u2019s just such heartbreaking news that I can\u2019t really find the words, there won\u2019t ever be another like him.\u201d<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Ward wrote, in part: \u201cWhere will I find you now?\u00a0 In the memories, our unspoken embraces, our missed phone calls, no, you\u2019re forever in my heart.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read the original article on People<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While the world mourns the Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath\u2019s Terence \u201cGeezer\u201d Butler is mourning the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":42536,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[13931,4593,88,4595,216,90,4594],"class_list":{"0":"post-42535","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-music","8":"tag-aston-villa","9":"tag-bill-ward","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-geezer-butler","12":"tag-music","13":"tag-ozzy-osbourne","14":"tag-tony-iommi"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42535","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=42535"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/42535\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/42536"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=42535"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=42535"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=42535"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}