RIP To The Prince Of Darkness, Ozzy Osbourne
Man, we all knew Ozzy wasn't doing well recently - as his fight with Parkinson's Disease has been very public for years - but his passing coming just weeks after the 'Back to the Beginning' farewell show in Birmingham just has me a little shook right now. This news hit me like a truck. It almost feels like when The Ultimate Warrior passed away a day after cutting a promo on Monday Night RAW a few years ago; seeing these guys performing right before the end definitely adds to the shock factor.
Thank god Ozzy got to experience that before he went, though. He talked about wanting to get back on stage for years to play one final show for his fans, and the show they put on totally treated him like the rock n' roll/heavy metal god that he is. And that extended to all of the rockstars who met him backstage, as well - whether it be Yungblud or legends like Axl/Slash....
Ozzy sounded great, had all eyes on his home of Birmingham for one more time, and raised almost $200 million dollars for charity in the process. Now that's legendary.
'The Prince of Darkness' gets a lot of credit for the inception and innovation of heavy metal, and still - I don't know if he'll ever get enough credit for what he did. From the look, to the aura, to the voice, to the mystique, to the attitude, Ozzy was the epitome of what a rockstar is and should be. Larger than life in the best, most insane way imaginable.
Many are already posting the final 'Mama I'm Coming Home' performance, which feels like an instant all timer considering the timing of everything....
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….and I'd like to imagine Ozzy is already reunited with Lemmy, who wrote the beautiful lyrics to that one, and of course - his friend Randy Rhoads.
Expect tons of tribute posts (and what I'm sure will be an extravagant, sold-out funeral) in the coming days. Blast some Ozzy/Sabbath to pay your respects today….