Ozzy Osbourne, the frontman of Black Sabbath and one of the most legendary figures in rock music, has died at the age of 76.
A statement issued by his family confirmed on Tuesday (July 22) that Osbourne died “surrounded by love”.
The news comes just weeks after the band played their huge ‘Back To The Beginning’ farewell show at Villa Park in Birmingham, performing a rousing four-song set that concluded with Osbourne thanking the huge crowd by saying: Your support has enabled us to live an amazing lifestyle, thank you from the bottom of our hearts”.
It was the first time that Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward had played alongside each other since 2005.
The Prince Of Darkness had not played a full gig since 2018, and underwent multiple surgeries and experienced numerous health problems, including Parkinson’s disease in recent years.
In an interview with The Guardian earlier this year, Osbourne looked ahead to playing the last Black Sabbath show in good health, saying: “I’ll be there, and I’ll do the best I can. All I can do is turn up.” From there, there were also suggestions that he “may be sitting down” on stage, and rumours that he’d be performing from a “throne that flies over the stadium”.
This is a developing story – check back for further updates.