“That fucking sucks that we’re in a world that doesn’t have Ozzy Osbourne anymore,” Wolfgang Van Halen says at Hartford show hours after Prince of Darkness’ death
Mammoth WVH paid tribute to Ozzy Osbourne with a rendition of his classic “Mama, I’m Coming Home” at a concert Tuesday, hours after the heavy metal legend’s death.
“That fucking sucks that we’re in a world that doesn’t have Ozzy Osbourne anymore,” Wolfgang Van Halen said during the band’s gig in Hartford after leading the crowd in a chant of “Ozzy.” “It was right before soundcheck that we found out [about Osbourne’s death]. I said we have to do something, because just mentioning it isn’t enough. We’ve played through this like three times so please bear with us and sing the fuck along with us.”
The band then launched into the No More Tears standout:
“Legend. Thank you for everything, Oz,” Van Halen wrote earlier in the day on social media alongside a photo of him and Osbourne. In a separate post, Van Halen shared a picture of his late father, Eddie, embracing the Black Sabbath singer.
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Wolfgang Van Halen was initially among the dozens of artists that were announced for Osbourne’s Back to the Beginning farewell concert in Birmingham, England, on July 5. However, just days before the gig, Van Halen was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts with Mammoth WVH’s current tour with Creed. “The tour starts the day after, and I [wouldn’t] be able to pull it off, unfortunately,” Van Halen said at the time. “I’m very excited to watch it, but I, unfortunately had to back out.”
In the hours after Osbourne’s death, a handful of artists who were slated to take the stage Thursday deviated from their setlists to honor the Prince of Darkness: Both Coldplay and Dave Matthews Band, at separate concerts, covered Black Sabbath’s “Changes,” while Lady Gaga danced to Osbourne’s “Crazy Train” at Tuesday’s Mayhem Ball show in San Francisco.
