Geezer Butler reminisced about his memories of Ozzy Osbourne following his death last week. On Monday, the Black Sabbath lyricist and bassist shared a tribute to Osbourne via The London Times, describing their bond as an “invisible link,” and reflecting on their final show on July 5.
“To me, Ozzy wasn’t the Prince of Darkness — if anything, he was the Prince of Laughter,” Butler wrote. “He’d do anything for a laugh, a born entertainer.”
In his touching post, the musician looked back on meeting Osbourne in the late Sixties, and also the days leading up to that final show on July 5, just two weeks before his death. “I didn’t realise then that I would never see Ozzy again after that night,” he said.
In his post, Butler explained that he, Tony Iommi, and Bill Ward rehearsed for several days before Osbourne joined in, and that they quickly could see “it was exhausting him” to rehearse, even sitting down, after six or seven songs.
“I knew he wasn’t in good health, but I wasn’t prepared to see how frail he was,” Butler wrote. “He was helped into the rehearsal room by two helpers and a nurse and was using a cane — being Ozzy, the cane was black and studded with gold and precious stones. He didn’t really say much beyond the usual greetings and when he sang, he sat in a chair.”
He added: “He was really quiet compared with the Ozzy of old.”
In his post, Butler looked back to his first time meeting Osbourne, noticing him in Birmingham, England when they’d pass each other after late-night clubbing. They were “complete opposites of each other,” Butler reflected. “Little did I know then that within a year we would form what would become Black Sabbath and create a whole new form of rock music.”
Butler wrote that the first time they met was in 1968 after his part-time band was looking for a singer and Osbourne was looking for a gig. Butler went to Osbourne’s house “three or four streets away,” and he wasn’t home. Then, Osbourne stopped by Butler’s home to follow up. “My brother answered it and said to me, ‘Hey, there’s something at the door asking for you,’” Butler wrote. “I said, ‘What do you mean by “something”?’ He said: ‘You’ll see.’”
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“It was the cropped-hair mod I’d seen walking home from the all-nighters, except he didn’t have a suit on — he had his dad’s brown work gown on, a chimney brush over his shoulder, a shoe on a dog leash, and no shoes on his bare feet,” Butler added. “He said, “’I’m Ozzy.’ After I’d stopped laughing, I said: ‘OK, you’re in the band.’”
Osbourne and Butler would go on to form Earth, which would evolve into Black Sabbath, alongside Iommi and Ward. The band’s first gig, Butler reflected, ended in a “massive brawl” and it made the group inseparable.
“People always thought Ozzy was a feral wild man, but he had a heart of pure gold. Most of his infamous antics — the bat saga, biting the head off a dove, pissing on the Alamo, snorting lines of ants, and the rest — came in his solo years, away from the restraints of the Sabbath crew,” Butler said. “But if you were a friend in need, Ozzy was always there for you.”
He added, “When my son was born with a heart defect, Ozzy called me every day to see how I was coping, even though we hadn’t spoken for a year.”
Prior to their final show together in July, Osbourne and Butler’s reunited to promote an Aston Villa jersey with Adidas, marking the first time the two connected since 2017 at that point, and even if they hadn’t spoken during that time period, their “bond was unbreakable,” Butler wrote. In his tribute, Butler wrote that he had some regrets about the end of the group’s final concert, since Osbourne was “on his throne” and not able to stand for a bow.
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“Tony shook his hand, I presented him with a cake, but it was such a strange feeling to end our story like that,” Butler wrote. “I wish I’d had more time backstage with Ozzy, but wishes are redundant now. As Ozzy used to say: ‘Wish in one hand and shit in the other and see which comes first.’”
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Butler ended his note by expressing his gratitude to Osbourne, and for that final show.
“I am so privileged to have spent most of my life with him. Of 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?” he wrote. “God bless, Oz, it has been one hell of a ride! Love you!”
