Black Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne died just over two weeks after the band were reunited barely two miles from where they first played together more than 50 years ago.
The heavy metal singer – who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2019 – was reunited with fellow original Sabbath members Tony Iommi, Terence “Geezer” Butler and Bill Ward on stage for a final performance on July 5.
Just over two weeks later Osbourne’s family announced his death at the age of 76.
— Ozzy Osbourne (@OzzyOsbourne) July 21, 2025
The heavy metal band were the last to appear on stage as part of a star-studded line-up for the Back to the Beginning concert at Villa Park, Birmingham, not far from the Crown pub where they played their first gig in 1968.
At the start of his solo performance, Osbourne entered the stage by rising on a large black throne through a trap door, wearing his signature black attire and thick eye make-up.
He started the set by saying: “Let me hear you. Are you ready? Let the madness begin!”
Later, he told the crowd: “It’s so good to be on this f****** stage. You have no idea. I f****** love you all. Let me see your hands in the air. You are the best, each and every one of you. God bless you all.”
In an emotional moment, he added: “I don’t know what to say, man, I’ve been laid up for, like, six years. You have no idea how I feel – thank you from the bottom of my heart.
“You’re all f****** special. Let’s go crazy, come on.”
The rocker sang five songs in his own set, with fans waving torches from their phones during Mama, I’m Coming Home.
He finished his performance with Crazy Train, before confetti rained over a packed Villa Park.
After a short break, he re-entered the stage to join the rest of Black Sabbath for the first time in 20 years.
The band performed some of their greatest hits, ending with a rendition of Paranoid.
Fans chanted “Ozzy, Ozzy, Ozzy” as the rock great thanked and blew kisses to those in attendance, before departing in an emotional ending to cap an illustrious career on stage.
In one of the messages displayed before his performance, Sir Elton John told Osbourne: “You are one of the most remarkable singers of our time.
“You are the king, you are the legend. You’ve been through so much crap in the last few years – I hope this is the best day of your life so far.”
Personal videos from dozens of fans were also broadcast at the event, in which they credited Osbourne and Black Sabbath for inventing heavy metal and thanked them for their generational influence on music.
After the live performance, Osbourne and his wife Sharon celebrated the engagement of their daughter Kelly with her long-term partner Sid Wilson, a member of the heavy metal band Slipknot.
Kelly Osbourne, 40, posted a video on Instagram in which family and friends gather backstage before Wilson, 48, grabs her hand and tells her: “Kelly, you know I love you more than anything in the world.”
Ozzy Osbourne, sitting in a chair behind them, quips: “F*** off, you are not marrying my daughter!”
The room bursts into laughter before Wilson drops to one knee and asks her to marry him.
In another Instagram post, she thanked her father’s fans for attending his last live performance.
She wrote: “To say that yesterday was magic was an understatement!
“Thank you to everyone who came to support my dad. Thank you to the fans who without we are nothing!
“My dad got his moment in the sun! He was able to say thank you and good bye in the most beautiful way!”
